{"id":21302,"date":"2019-08-29T13:42:10","date_gmt":"2019-08-29T12:42:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/vanel.org.uk\/va\/?p=21302"},"modified":"2020-01-21T16:44:34","modified_gmt":"2020-01-21T16:44:34","slug":"curves-in-all-the-right-places","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vanel.org.uk\/va\/2019\/08\/curves-in-all-the-right-places\/","title":{"rendered":"Curves in all the right places"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s 2022, and Victoria Secret have finally given in and \u201crebranded\u201d. A real-life size ten is on the catwalk! Just one of them, mind. We are all required by Mika\u2019s Law to take to the streets in celebration. Now they\u2019re just like us! The internet is engulfed in a collective nervous break-down. Joyful proclamations of progress are set against the bitter realism of the \u2018too little, too late\u2019 crowd. Some remind us that there are bigger issues at stake; the planet is on fire. Still, we march and sing. In true British fashion, we find an excuse to party. Yet, an unspoken unease remains in the air. We chant and wave banners. We sing \u2018big girls, you are beautiful\u2019. We ignore the \u2018curves in all the right places\u2019 line.<\/span><\/p>\n

In truth, I find it exhausting. I\u2019m tired of hearing about how Instagram perpetuates unrealistic aspirations, as if deleting the app will lead to world peace. I\u2019m bored of hearing emphatic arguments over what is or isn\u2019t \u2018plus size\u2019. About agencies that \u2018welcome big girls, too\u2019. I\u2019m not bashing conscious inclusivity, or Loose Women. It\u2019s just that the narrative irks me. It seems skin deep, like when Facebook issues identical apology number ten.<\/span><\/p>\n

Yet, I buy into it. The conversation, the pressures, the self-doubt. The sun is finally making an appearance, and part of me is freaking. I walk into Boots and can\u2019t help but cast an eye over diet pills that I\u2019m aware don\u2019t work \u2013 pills that many would say I don\u2019t need. Of course, nobody needs diet pills: there are natural ways to lose weight. \u2018Calorie counting and exercise – it ain\u2019t ROCKET SCIENCE!!!\u2019 screams the social media of your annoyingly bronzed local PT, who advocates replacing Full Fat Coke with Coke Zero, as if this is the cusp of the revolution.<\/span><\/p>\n

But back to the diet pills \u2013 and people thinking that I wouldn\u2019t want or need them. For clarity, I don\u2019t want the pills. But I do want to be thinner. Try as I might, I can\u2019t shake that. I want to be thinner in some places, but fatter in others. And herein the problem lies. Something that should be subjective is dictated in incredibly stringent terms. No one idolises Victoria Beckham\u2019s slight frame any more, yet the new \u2018body goals\u2019 seem equally out of reach. It\u2019s Kim K and the fitness influencer\u2019s who are rocking the go-to dream bod. You need slim legs, but they should be toned. Your bum should be peachy, but muscular. A bit of a wobble is great \u2013 but no one ever bantered \u2018more to grab\u2019, when chatting about bingo wings, or mum tums.<\/span><\/p>\n

Speaking of the mum tum. It hasn\u2019t quite kicked off in the same way as the \u2018dad bod\u2019. No recent survey has attested that in order to alleviate the pressure of attaining their own washboard abs, men have realised that the \u2018mum bod\u2019 is incredibly attractive. Cellulite, stretch marks, and excess skin haven\u2019t become dreamy in the way that a protruding beer gut seemingly has. Yet apparently, as women, men with \u2018a little more to love\u2019 are deemed attractive simply on the basis that they allow us to relax a little. Fantastic.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sadly, the relativity concerns don\u2019t end there. Female friends and strangers alike: I analyse and contrast. I compare their thighs to mine. How toned their back is. Are their shoulders sculpted, their calves defined?<\/span><\/p>\n

In many ways, society\u2019s gravitation towards strength \u2013 thus away from pure weight loss – is positive. Taking control of our own health can be empowering; often especially so for those who have suffered from eating disorders, or poor mental health triggered by physical insecurities. Fitness can facilitate coping mechanisms. It is ultimately very good for us. Yet I, like many others, am left feeling increasingly inadequate in the knowledge that there are now infinitely more areas that I should be sculpting. Since when did I care about some random woman\u2019s back muscle?<\/span><\/p>\n

Societal perception of what is beautiful, or healthy, will never escape its state of flux. Concepts of the ideal body are not static; they evolve and vary between culture and generation. Yet the notion itself, that we are all working towards a specific ideal, has not budged. As a millennial, I\u2019m hardwired to try to look a certain way. As a woman, I\u2019m also hardwired to compete. To discover and embrace our own inner beauty is the only real ideal. A token \u2018curvy\u2019 girl on a catwalk may in some sense represent this, but it\u2019s going to take a little more realness to truly make an impact.<\/span><\/p>\n

Article by Young Reporter May Woods<\/span><\/strong>
\n<\/span>Appeared in Grimsby Telegraph 29th August 2019<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n\n

\n <\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This week’s article by a Young Reporter is from May. Her article is all about body image. Have a good read.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"xn-wppe-expiration":[],"xn-wppe-expiration-action":[],"xn-wppe-expiration-prefix":[],"spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false},"categories":[369,11],"tags":[626],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3cThd-5xA","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vanel.org.uk\/va\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21302"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vanel.org.uk\/va\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vanel.org.uk\/va\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vanel.org.uk\/va\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vanel.org.uk\/va\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21302"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/vanel.org.uk\/va\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21302\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21304,"href":"https:\/\/vanel.org.uk\/va\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21302\/revisions\/21304"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vanel.org.uk\/va\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21302"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vanel.org.uk\/va\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21302"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vanel.org.uk\/va\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21302"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}