And my reply??

One morning, not so long ago an interesting post showed up in my feed. It was a post about ageism, beauty, body image, technology and our young people.

Here is the post: https://www.instagram.com/reel/C3HD2cRPZpx/?igsh=OGoxbzA0b2liNjMy

I found it to be quite disturbing. It made me wonder why on earth we humans waste so much ENERGY on dissing other people’s appearance!?

It seems to go beyond the underlying evolutionary principles of attraction, which still apply to some degree today. Although, it is clear that our appearance is not the ONLY thing that potential mates find attractive.

It is an interesting topic, I think and I would like to read more about what makes us attractive to each other. However, I do know that what we look like is only part of the puzzle.

So, why then, did Julia Roberts receive such a brutal reception to her (clearly LOVELY) snap of herself and her niece?

What is behind the viciousness and quite frankly incredibly SHALLOW judGement of Julia’s age and appearance? I am not entirely sure, but in my life I have definitely noticed that beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Some people are incredibly judgy about other people’s appearance. That might come from deep seated feeling of underlying defectiveness, perhaps. It certainly says a lot more about the person doing the judging than the subject of the judgement.

I do think things have improved a great deal, at least in Melbourne, Australia (and hopefully other places in the country and world too).

There has been some significant pushback from proud and effervescent influencers on instagram. These bright and beautiful people are doing a wonderful job of normalising diversity in body shapes and sizes in the media. Our traditionally ‘fat-phobic’ societies are being transformed gradually.

Fat and happy?

I think I make a good point above though. It is not ALL ABOUT what we look like. I am not sure why people are SOOOOO obsessed with it. I never have been, I think because an interest in these things was not encouraged all that much as I was growing up (in the bush). But I see a lot of women and men in the world too, and my frightened mind is constantly scanning for signs of social rejection. What I have noticed from my own perspective is what is REALLY attractive is someone who feels great about themselves, and loves the skin they are in. It is intoxicating to see someone like that, no matter what their size.

I have no doubt that there will be men (and women) who will disagree with me. Perhaps these people are not my people. Because anyone who wants to tell me that I am not a worthy human being just because I am fat is no one that I am interested in investing my energy into. 

It still rings true to me. I would rather be funny a thousand times, over being hot. That is my value judgment, I suppose. I find laughter more fun than physical attraction. I would still like to lose some weight because I don’t think it is so great for my internal organs. . . but I do think this isn’t possible for everyone, and if I had to aspire to be one person, it is the person who FEELS GREAT ABOUT THEMSELVES!! And that is the person I intend on becoming!!

Another example of a body-positive role model:

@thebodzilla on Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/thebodzilla?igsh=MWppcDhvZWttbHNkMA==

(You are most welcome!!)