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My name is Haley, a 23 year old designer interested in the relationship between health and aesthetics, feminism, and the way body image has been presented in the media over time.

This blog focuses on using design-oriented work, media, research, writing, and community input to fuel body positive discussion and outreach. My role in creating this blog is to help do my part to redefine the way we view and think about body image, size, fat politics, health, fitness, wellness, and other related topics.

I am also constantly redefining my own perspective, and therefore tend to write a lot about my personal experiences as a cis, fat, white female with anxiety and depression. Many of my followers and contributors are dealing with anorexia, bulimia, body dysmorphic disorder, depression, and other body image disorders or mental illnesses, so please be respectful and remember that health applies differently to everyone. Any and all potentially triggering content will be prefaced with a trigger warning.

RBI supports all races, genders, classes, and sizes. I try my best to make this a safe space for everyone. If I am not doing my job or checking my privilege, I invite you to please inform me.

Some of the artwork you see here has been created by myself, some sourced when applicable. Please be kind enough to source this blog whenever you share it's content.

ANSWER
11:22 pm
February 12, 2012
9 notes

Anonymous: Is it wrong to want to be skinny? I am 226 pounds, I've been overweight my entire childhood, and I'm sick of it. I want to be thin and small and not have to worry about looking pregnant all the time (people ask me if I'm expecting constantly). I hate being this way but everyone tells me I'm wrong and I need to learn to love my body. Why can't I just love it later? Why is it wrong to want to change? Why is it okay to tell skinny girls to eat, but if a fat girl wants to be skinny, we tell her no?

Redefining Body Image:

I don’t even know where to start so I’ll just commence the babbling.

First of all, it is NOT okay to tell skinny girls to eat. It is never okay to police anyone’s body, lifestyle, or eating habits.

Second, it is not wrong to experience that feeling of wanting to change. Everyone - regardless of body type, size, skin color, or gender identity - experiences that kind of feeling.

The reasons may be different from person to person, but the problem is the same in that most people get stuck on wanting to change their shape - tone up, slim down, bulk up, nip and tuck, pluck and shave, nit-pick - for one reason or another. The insecurities are endless.

But think about it. Why do you want to be skinny? There could be a million reasons. Our culture and society puts idealized images of bodies that don’t exist up on a pedestal. Diet products and companies looking to cash in on our insecurities are thrust upon us as we are told our fat bodies are unhealthy, unwanted, undesired - when in reality, health is attainable at every size. All bodies, all sizes, deserve to feel worthy.

What is the point of hating the body you’re living in right now? What possible positive outcome can come from that kind of self hate?

I’ve been through it, as a fat child going through adolescence on into adulthood, I’ve experienced the bullshit hand society deals you when you exist within a fat body.

In my past I did everything I could to change the things about my body I hated, but nothing happened. Despite what I did to try to fit myself into a smaller size, my body was resilient in letting me know that I was meant to exist as I am - As a strong, fat woman.

So rather than fight it, I accepted it.

Being happy and healthy in the body I have now is what is most important to me. If in the future my body were to somehow naturally thin itself out (which is highly unlikely, but who the hell knows, anything is possible), I would accept that as well - but losing weight will never be part of my game plan to happiness.

Listen to your body. Own your parts. If something doesn’t feel right and you want to improve your health and wellness, by all means do something about it - but focus on what you’re feeling and try to push weight loss from your consciousness, because you are capable of finding health and happiness in the skin you’re in, right now. And I hope you will.

I can’t promise it will be easy, but once you accept yourself as you are, no matter what changes your body goes through, that peace will remain.

Tags: health

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