Most days we wake up, look in the mirror, and nitpick all the things we wish were different about our bodies. It’s not from a place of hate; there are a lot of things to be proud of. That said, most days we aspire for change in how we look in some way or another. Some desired changes are constant, while others come and go. Regardless, we never seem to be satisfied. We never seem to be enough.
We know we aren’t alone in feeling this way. From being in sororities, to managing a fitness studio, we see women that are easy to be envious of, yet even they complain about “flaws”. Why do we feel this way? …Society. Culture. We see and hear subtly and directly that we’re not enough.
With unachievable beauty standards, we’re bombarded by beauty/wellness products marketed in ways that have nothing to do with true health and everything to do with not being enough. Now we are NOT saying boycott mascara if that makes you feel good, but we ARE saying, let’s redirect our focus to something more productive. Let’s create content that lifts us up instead of holding us back.
There is no right way that our bodies were meant to be or look. We’re not all suppose measure 34-24-34 (the ideal measurements for a Victoria Secret Model). There is no “perfect” height, skin color, eye color, hair thickness that we as humans are supposed to have.
In reality, our bodies were created as a vessel to allow us to survive. The purpose of our bodies is to be able to move, hunt, find food, reproduce, fight disease, consume fuel, and share human contact. Our skin tans, not because it is beautiful, but to protect us from the sun. Our bodies store fat to help up reproduce and to fight against potential famine. Our muscles grow so we can have strength in a fight or flight situation. These features have nothing to do with beauty and everything to do with capability. To be fair, there are scientific reasons for attraction that we won’t get into in this post because they play a smaller role in beauty and desirability.
What we want to focus on is honoring all the things that our bodies ARE capable of, and we want Valentine’s Day to commemorate this celebration. Somedays it’s frustrating, after a year of hard work at the gym and in the kitchen our bodies might still seem to have the same “problems”. We tend to totally forget the things our bodies are capable of today that they weren’t capable of a year ago. Our weight on the scale may be the same as it was in July, but we’re stronger, faster, more flexible than we have ever been. Movements that seemed impossible a year ago, we can now accomplish with ease.
We invite you all to celebrate what our bodies can do this Valentine’s Day. Today through Saturday, February 18th, Rachel and I will be sharing what excites us about our bodies capabilities! We will be posting photos and videos on The True North Collective’s Instagram as well as our own personal platforms. We want to invite you all to join us publicly or privately. If you’re willing to share publicly, we would love to celebrate with you by using the hashtag #MYBODYCAN.
So tell us….what is YOUR body capable of?