Here at CollegeTimes we do like to discuss the lighter things in life; be it sex related, inappropriate jokes or a good drinking story. But today we've decided to veer into a topic a little more serious, but equally as compelling; body image. It's something that has been bandied about by so many people, but there's a reason for that. Everyone is constantly subjected to judgement about every facet of themselves. If it's not the clothes you're wearing, it's what music you like. Daily life can sometimes feel like you're trying to dodge a constant barrage of bullets attacking your self confidence. One of the most prominent issues this pertains to is body image. Women in particular are expected to have the perfect figure, with the curves of Kim Kardashian, while still being pint-sized enough that men find you cute; an impossible feat. You're not taught to love your body but to envy others and that's a dangerous road to start down. So we'd like to take a minute and remind you all why you should love your body, no matter what shape or size, cause you are all wonderful, magical unicorns!
1) "I keep telling myself that I'm a human being, an imperfect human being who's not made to look like a doll, and that who I am as a person is more important than whether at that moment I have a nice figure."
2) "In Hollywood, I'm obese. I'm considered a fat actress. I eat like a caveman. I'll be the only actress that doesn't have anorexia rumours! I'm never going to starve myself for a part. I'm invincible. I don't want little girls to be like, 'Oh, I want to look like Katniss, so I'm going to skip dinner.'"
3) "I always thought it was way more important to be funny and honest than to look any certain way."
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4) "I get so worried about girls with body image stuff...And I feel like I have been able to have a fun career and to be an on-camera talent and be someone who has boyfriends and love interests and wears nice clothes and those kinds of things without having to be an emaciated stick. And it is possible to do it. In life, you don't have to be that way and you can have a great life, a fun life."
5) "I think no matter what you look like, the key is to first of all be happy with yourself. And then you know, if you want to try to improve things that you don't like about yourself, then do it after you appreciate yourself."
6) "My smile is my favourite part of my body. I think a smile can make your whole body. I want women to know that it's ok. That you can be whatever size you are and be beautiful inside and out."
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7) "God made a very obvious choice when he made me voluptuous; why would I go against what he decided for me? My limbs work, so I'm not going to complain about the way my body is shaped."
8) "I've been through my highs; I've been through my lows; I've been through the gamut of all things in this business. Being too thin. Being bigger. I've been criticized for being on both sides of the scale. It's noise I block out automatically. I love my body. My boyfriend loves my body. My son is healthy and happy, so that's all that matters to me."
9) "I believe it is important to go on insisting that normality is not what we are exposed to. Honestly, among my acquaintances there is no woman wearing XS. No, sorry, there is one: my daughter. The point is that Mia is 11 years old."
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10) “I’m pretty comfortable with my body. I’m imperfect. The imperfections are there. People are going to see them, but I take the view you only live once.”
11) “Who cares if there are lumps on my thighs? I’m guilty of having human legs made up of fat, muscle, and skin, and sometimes when you sit, they get bumpy!”
12) “Actresses have definitely gotten thinner over the course of my lifetime. Women I admired growing up—Debra Winger, Diane Keaton, Meryl Streep-were all beautiful and thin, but not too thin. There are a lot of actresses who are unhealthy-skinny—much, much too skinny. You can’t Pilates to that. I’m a very small person, and if I lost 15 pounds, I’d look like them; it’s scary. For young girls, what does that say? You need to look this way to be successful? That’s not true. You do not need to look or be anorexic to be successful in Hollywood. The range of what’s acceptable is larger than what people believe.”
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13) “Being pregnant finally helped me understand what my true relationship was with my body–meaning that it wasn’t put on this Earth to look good in a swimsuit. I was like, ‘Look, I can carry a baby! I’m gaining weight right, everything’s going well.”
14) "Go around your body and thank yourself for your thick hair, or your nice legs, or whatever it is that you were given - make friends with those parts of your body and try not to focus on the parts that will never change."
15) "I definitely have body issues but everybody does. When you come to the realisation that everybody does - even the people that I consider flawless - then you can start to live with the way you are."
16) "I wish I could go back and tell my teenage self that I was beautiful. But since I can't, I'm going to say it to you: Every single one of is unique, beautiful and worthy of a great life."
17) "If you retain nothing else, always remember the most important rule of beauty, which is: Who cares?"
