Ever since becoming interested in emotive photography, I have come to find how truly beautiful the human body is. I’ve photographed both my own body as well as the bodies of others in my life, and, I have yet to see somebody who I define as ugly. In fact, I am starting to believe that a ugly human being does not exist. The way that muscles can outline and contour a body, the way that skin can fold, the way that cellulite can bulge, the bursts of colors in eyes, the waves of hair, the protruding angles of bones….. it is all so incredibly beautiful in my eyes.
So, to everybody who identifies as a girl, I have this to say. Love yourself, because it will be a slap in the face to society. We are taught from a young age to perfect ourselves, to become fixated on our successes, our appearances and our careers. Yes, it is possible to do all those things while despising yourself and your body, but, what do you get out of life, sleep-walking through life?
Love yourself, truly love yourself, and everything else will follow. I don’t mean this in the cliché, boring sense that society seems to drill into people’s head….. I mean it in every sense of the word.
Love yourself by changing your internal dialogue.
Love yourself by taking better care of yourself, physically, mentally, and psychologically.
Love yourself by never accepting anything but the best from yourself and others.
Love yourself by taking the time to relax once and a while, by taking in everything around you that this beautiful world has to offer.
Beauty is everywhere, but, in order to tap into that perspective, you first need to tap into your sense of self. <3
I love my body because
-it houses my soul
-it’s extremely responsive to touch
-it has an awesome immune system that keeps me healthy every flu season while everyone else is sniffling and hacking
-it’s soft and curvy and (my idea of) feminine
-it’s very good at letting me know when I’m not getting enough of something, even before I ask my doctor
-it has lots of stretch marks to remind me of how quickly it shot me through puberty
-my face has really sweet dimples
-it has no allergies or sensitivities and allows me to eat whatever I want and wear all the cheap, fake jewelry I want
-I have long, skinny fingers that allow me to retrieve things easily out of little places
-it has prominent veins that I can see and admire under my skin, and make donating blood really easy
-my stomach is sometimes really loud when it’s digesting, which can be embarrassing but also keeps me mindful of the processes going on in my body
-it has responded readily to my frequent stretching and is very flexible, and stays that way even if I go a while without stretching/exercising
here is my grrrl body on topless tuesday
Thanks everyone :) and remember to spread the word about the grrrl bodies revolution.
Purchase! Only 27 left available. They will be finished by the weekend and I’ll be sending them out next week.
We will not listen to your body policing.
We will not adhere to unrealistic beauty standards.
We will love our bodies no matter what is said to us.
Negative connotations regarding our bodies won’t matter to us because we are a group who love each other and support each other in the worst of times.
We promote grrrl love and despise grrrl hate in all forms, physical and verbal.
We do not marginalize any body type.
We do not let jealousy get in the way of grrrl love.
But, most of all, we love ourselves, our bodies, our lives because it is the only one we have.
The earliest I remember being aware of my body hair I was in second grade. A girl in my class made a comment to me during lunch about how hairy my legs were, and that I probably shouldn’t wear shorts again ever. When i was in third grade, my mom took me to get waxed and have electrolysis. I wasn’t really aware what was going to happen. I thought I was going over to Melissa’s to play, and instead found myself in her mom’s in house electrolysis office.
I writhed about on the table, I cried, I begged, I screamed. I wanted the pain to stop. My mother stood next to me and held. me. down. My mom. My mommy. The woman who cuddled with me each night before bed adn told me how special I was. The woman I was supposed to be able to trust more than anyone. She just stood there and let me feel this excruciating pain. I twas fro my own good and I’d thank her when I was older…
I am so ashamed of this part of my life. I hate that my mother does this to me, I hate that I let her.
I am 22 now. Why am I letting this continue? It goes against everything I believe in and stand for. I should just play hooky, but I still go, I submit.
Ami I consenting tho this now? I don’t know. My body is naturally hairy. Why can’t I have hair? What is so horrible about a woman having hair on her body and face?
Can someone please tell me? Why do I have to be hurt because of my hair? Please tell me. I really need to know.
Jamie Barak
