Since time immemorial, beauty standards have been assigned to the female body positivity and they have been told how they should ideally look, as a result of the patriarchal framework of the society. Women and girls have been shamed based on their color, the way their body looks, etc. for centuries now and it’s difficult to come out of it, even today. Many people preach the importance of female body positivity and how it can go a long way in making you fall in love with yourself but how often do people believe what they preach?
Children are bullied regularly whether they are boys, girls, or non-binary depending on the color of their skin or the size of their waist, even today. It’s no surprise that due to years of internal conditioning, females have developed body worries and they are insecure about their bodies more than anybody else’s. They shy away from wearing what they like and doing what they want to do because they are scared of being judged.
There are several organizations in India and abroad that are working towards giving women their voice and self-esteem back to be able to practice female body positivity. They promote that all bodies are beautiful, irrespective of however they look or have been termed. Years of hard work have gone into the emergence of inclusive clothing brands, producing merchandise for all body types. Several changes are happening with time but there’s a long way to go, as far as establishing female body positivity is concerned, among the masses, who’re not privileged and don’t have much awareness about the same.
Related: Female Body: 9 Amazing Facts About It
How can you get Female Body Positivity ?
Change begins at home and as difficult as it may sound, you’ve got to be your change and incorporate the sense of body positivity in your horizon. Several ways can help you to do that.
Practice self-care
For others to admire you and your physicality, you’ve got to love yourself first. If you’re not respectful towards your features, you cannot expect others to do the same. Invest in clothing that makes you look your best and dress yourself up in the way you like. You should spend as much time with yourself as you can to enjoy the company of yourself, more than anybody else.
However hard others try to discourage you, you’ve got to tell yourself that you’re better than all the negativity and you can wear whatever you want to, as long as you’re comfortable wearing it. If portraying yourself in a certain way makes you feel confident and better about yourself, there’s nothing wrong with it.
Don’t be harsh on yourself
Just because you’re expected to love yourself and present yourself in a certain way, you don’t have to force yourself to act that way. That would again mean that you’re giving in to societal expectations, instead of listening to yourself. That’s not what female body positivity stands for. It does not mean looking a certain way to feel empowered. It means, developing the ability to feel empowered, no matter how you look.
Female BodyGive yourself time and reflect on yourself. Focus on your likes and dislikes. You should have an agency of your own, and the sole power to decide what makes you look good.
Ask yourself
There’ll be days when you’ll face crippling self-doubt, even if you’re aware of everything about female body positivity. It’s natural to feel that way and there’ll be such days for a long time since it’s not easy to get rid of self-doubt easily. In such moments or days, ask yourself whether it’s worth it or not.
Would it truly make a difference if you hate your body? You wouldn’t be able to change yourself overnight and neither would you be able to stop people from judging you, despite all the efforts that you make. Instead of focusing on the negatives, you should start counting the positives and remember them whenever you’re in doubt. Give your time to only those who deserve your time.
Female BodyDon’t compare
The only kind of comparison that can help you to incorporate the feeling of female body positivity in your life, is the comparison with yourself. Instead of comparing yourself and your growth, based on that of the people around you, you should look back and try to view your earlier self. This practice is going to make you realize how much you’ve changed and how much you’re going to change with time. This is how you would be able to view your growth and be proud of it.
Comparing yourself to other people doesn’t make sense because your journeys are different and you would never know what the other person might be going through, even if it seems like they have the perfect body and the perfect life. Insecurities are universal and happen to everybody. If you compare, you’ll be the one to demean your journey and all the efforts you put on to be who you are and whoever you’re becoming.
Motivate others
If you feel that others should also experience the kind of growth that you’re experiencing, you should make it a point to spread awareness about female body positivity.
Female BodyYou can’t transform people at one go but you can surely make them realize that they’re beautiful in their own way and whoever tries to make them feel otherwise is not worth it. Words of encouragement and belief can go a long way in changing lives for good and if you’re able to inspire even a handful of people through your actions, that’s a very big step for the greater good.
Conclusion
If you feel that you’ve been following all of the above to practice female body positivity, you’re on the right track. However, if you think that there are areas that you can work on, start focusing on them the right way. The parts of your body that are called imperfect or flawed are no less beautiful than the others and nobody can be termed flawed based on their physical appearance. Beauty lies in you being comfortable in your own body and flaunting it like never before!
Also, read: Can Body Hair Be Beautiful?
