Fat-Free Talk Week Part 2: Marci’s Rant
Over a week ago I blogged about Fat-Free Talk week, which many of you were inspired by. And a conversation I had with a client actually sparked a memory of a recent talk I wanted to blog about!
The intelligent, vivacious, and inspiring Naomi Wolf (see here and here) gave the keynote address at The National Eating Disorders Association conference in Brooklyn, NY. Naomi is the author of several books and came to the scene in the 90’s with her best-selling book “The Beauty Myth.” A must-read for every woman. It’s considered to be “the groundbreaking best-seller that changed the way we think about “beauty” and female identity.”
Naomi’s talk was filled with inspiring messages about how we as women can stop participating in the body-bashing that is so inspired by the culture we live in. She encouraged us to think outside to box, to expand the vision of what it means to a successful woman, without having to prove her worth by looking a certain way.
But one specific point she made has stuck with me. She suggested that we, as women, do one thing to make a positive difference for future generations of women: stop complaining and speaking negatively about our bodies, especially in front of other women and girls. It may be socially acceptable to bash your body, but it is certainly not attractive. And it sets an unfortunate standard that women are expected to be unhappy about how they look. Let’s agree, you and I, to stop it right here and now.
So if you can’t do it for yourself, do it for another women. KNOCK IT OFF! Fake it if you have to. You know what our Grandmother’s taught us “if you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all. ” Who knows, if you start giving yourself some positive feedback, it just might start to feel true.