I was blown away by the outpouring of emotion that was sparked by my FAT RANT. Thank you all so much for sharing your thoughts and feelings on the subject. I am so happy to have so many fearless and brave readers, you all had so many great things to say – thank you!
Reading all of your comments and emails touched me so much and reminded me once again (as if a woman could ever forget) how much we are taught to hate our bodies. Every article, every advertisement, every commercial, every tv show bombards us with a million different products to buy and strategies to use so we can hide our supposed flaws. The flaws that as children we don’t even realize we have, but are ceaselessly pointed out to us as we grow older. By the time we are adults, instead of seeing our body as the beautiful space we inhabit in this world we have been trained to view it as a series of parts to be broken down and scrutinized, problem areas to be fixed or hidden.
When we think our body is looking good it can be a source of (usually short lived) pride, and when we think it is looking bad it can be a source of embarrassment and shame, and sometimes horror and rage. We beat it up and force it to deal with diet pills and toxic ‘cleanses’, crazy diets and ceaseless insults. We give our body stress fractures at the gym, force it into another pair of spanx, and cry when we realize it has had the temerity to gain a few pounds. Our body – we hate it, we loathe it, we bully it, we shame it, we hide it, we break it, we hurt it.
But when is the last time we told it thank you? Thank you for being. For letting us exist. For helping us and keeping us safe. For doing the best it can. When was the last time we stopped looking at it as a series of embarrassments and flaws to be whipped into shape, and started admiring it for the unique perfection it already has? Do you remember the last time you smiled at yourself and told each and every amazing part of you thank you from the bottom of your heart? When is the last time you looked in the mirror and took your own breath away?
Inspired by this glorious piece from Dianne Sylvan, I decided to do just that and I hope you will do the same.
***
Thank you body for being so healthy and strong. Thank you for carrying me through my day without any objection or pain. Thank you for being so tall, I love that more than I can say. Thank you for giving me the past 3 years of perfect health, without one cold or flu or sniffle to speak of. Thank you for making me happy and joyful almost every single day. Thank you for letting me take care of my family and change the world and bake yummy cupcakes.
Thank you face for having so many silly freckles, they make me smile every time I look in the mirror. Thank you cheekbones for being so high and refined. Thank you chin for being so big and pointy, you announce my confidence to the world.
Thank you nose for being big and bony and perfectly crooked. You know the exact difference between too little cinnamon and the perfect amount of cinnamon in all of my tasty cakes. I can wear any glasses I want because your broad bump will never let them slide down my face.
Thank you eyes, you might not have perfection vision but with a little help from my glasses you do just fine and I love you for that. You are my favorite color of blue, tinged with cobalt and filled with turquoise. I love you for being rimmed with long, fluttery red lashes, almost invisible but still sweet. Thank you for being surrounded by fine smile lines that remind me of how much I love to laugh.
Thank you mouth for bringing me pleasure every time I eat, for letting me love cilantro and adore chocolate. Thank you for letting me kiss Cody and tell Polly how much I love her. Because of you I have an infectious smile and lips that are red and rich without ever needing lipstick. Thank you teeth for never getting a cavity and for being straight and strong. You might have needed braces for help, but I’m glad for you anyway.
Thank you hair, you really are my crowning glory! You are long and soft and you might look flame red at first glance, but you really have almost every color from platinum to auburn streaked through your waves.
Thank you neck for being long and lovely and Cody’s favorite place to kiss. Thank you collarbones for being delicate and fine, like the two sweeping wings of a bird. You remind me to always stand up straight and be proud of who I am.
Thank you shoulders for being so broad and so strong. You make any shirt or blouse or dress or jacket look phenomenal, and every time I see you I’m reminded of how much weight you can lift. You make me feel invincible. I can move mountains.
Thank you arms for being so long. I can hug the biggest horse and reach the highest shelf because of you.
Thank you hands for being so capable in the kitchen and for giving me the loopy, bouncy handwriting of a 6th grader writing her first love letter. Thank you for being so gentle with animals and knowing how to stroke and pet and calm any fear.
Thank you breasts for being perfect pale tear drops. I waited so long for you when I was a little scrawny, gangly girl, and now that you are here I wouldn’t know what to do without you. You are one of my favorite accessories.
Thank you stomach for letting me eat whatever food I want without ever feeling the worse for it. Questionable street food, spicy food, old food, weird food, all different kinds of food, you’ve never let any of it bother you and I thank you for that. You let me be a fearless taste-bud explorer!
Thank you waist for being the perfect tiny accompaniment to my broad shoulders and curving hips. The juxtaposition makes me smile and always gives me a place to put a belt. You are soft and creamy white, sometimes flat and sleek and sometimes round and adorably pouty. I love you.
Thank you hips for flaring out so extravagantly from my waist; you give me a sense of drama even when I’m just walking around the house. I love to toss you from side to side and feel your strength. They tell me you are good ‘birthing’ hips, but I just think you make great dancing hips.
Thank you legs for being soooo loooong. You’ve made it hard to find jeans at times, but I don’t mind. You sometimes make me feel like a graceful deer, and at other times like a clumsy foal. You are stronger than I know and have never met a horse you can’t ride. You move with strength and anchor me to the earth, muscles bulging and lean lines dancing. You amaze me.
Thank you feet for carrying me through this life’s journey. You’ve never led me wrong and I will always trust your intuition. I like that you don’t hesitate to let me know when you’ve had enough and you aren’t shy about hating high heels. You are full of humor and look great with pink painted toes.
Thank you mind, for letting me be smart enough to do anything I can think of, courageous enough to face any opposition, determined enough to conquer any challenge, and with enough of a sense of humor to laugh at myself when I sometimes fail. Thank you for giving me more love and hope and compassion than I know what to do with.
Body, you’ve gotten me so far in life and you’ve done it without complaint. There were years when I didn’t treat you right, times when I took you for granted. You dealt with every blow with dignity, healed me, cured me, helped me, and saved me. Patiently and kindly you started to tell me when enough was enough, and you insistently guided me down a healthier path. I now revel in your beauty and your ferocious, limitless strength. I am in awe of you, humbled, enamored, and forever yours.
***
I encourage each and every one of you amazing people out there to write your own love letter to your body. Post it on your blog, write it down below in the comments, stick it on your mirror, tuck it underneath your pillow. Whatever you do with it make sure you know it is true! You really are that amazing and that beautiful and you deserve this praise. If you start to feel silly or worry that it is vain, give yourself a good shake and realize that kind of thinking is just the brainwashing we feel after a lifetime of being told we aren’t good enough, pretty enough, thin enough, or curvy enough. Pick up that pen, or your keyboard, or your snazzy colored markers, and remind yourself again and again and again that you are just right, exactly how you are.
Subscribe to RSS Feed!
Two thumbs up for this, Tasha
It’s all about body love. I’ve often thanked different parts of my body on different occasions but never thought to give it a collective praise. So, I shall get to it shortly. Hope you’re having a great day x
Thanks Sarah!
Love this. I spend far too much time focusing on my flaws and not nearly enough appreciating all the amazing things my body does. Like carrying me through a marathon, biking me to work, stirring and cooking up daily feasts, and taking my dog on long walks. Thanks for the great reminder!
I’m glad you liked it, Chrissy. Wow, if I could do a marathon that is all I’d be thinking of. A big thank you to your amazing body for achieving that! Congratulations.
I love this post Tasha! Hopefully, others who read this post will begin to look at their bodies in a more positive way and appreciate it. Over the last several months I have really learned to appreciate my body and I wish I could have done this sooner.
Thanks, Kiersten, I hope so!
Great post! I was just telling my body the other day, thank you for carrying my beautiful little girl and bringing her into this world.
Awww how beautiful, Sarah! I can’t think of anything more amazing that a body creating life, truly something to say thank you for.
That was so cute! I missed the Fat Rant, so I’ll have to go back and catch up. But I struggle with body issues sometimes too. I’m 5’1″ and have no boobs at all (think double AA’s!), and while I’m totally cool with those two parts of me (I don’t want boobs!), I always worry that having no boobs means that my stomach can never extend beyond my boobs….which means it has to stay totally flat. And it kind of is now, but I’m always stressing that I’m going to get fat if I eat this or if I eat that. Then I usually eat whatever it is anyway and feel guilty…and then I have to work out crazy hard at the gym.
Thanks, Bianca! I’m so glad your shared some of your feelings on this subject. I know so many women who make up rules for their bodies, whether it is shape, size, weight, there is always something that they have to stick to. It can be exhausting, but it is a fact of life that is just pounded into us
Thank you Tasha! This was beautiful and an absolute inspiration. Sometimes it’s so difficult to think beyond the body hatred that we are “taught” almost from the moment we’re born. Thank you for being a voice of love in the midst of it all.
Thanks for your comment, Amanda. I’m glad you liked the post. You are right! Sometimes it can be hard to turn off the voice of negativity that seems to be on constant repeat in our heads. It can be a struggle, but one that it is important to win!
Tasha, GREAT post! I actually paid a tribute to my body/physical self by posting those photoshoot pics of myself on my blog. I wondered if it was narcissistic before i posted it, in addition to getting nasty comments for whatever reason. But actually it was the highest viewed post ever. AND no nasty comments. AND i had scads of women write in thanking me for posting the pics and for the words i wrote announcing the post b/c it helped them accept themselves. For the good, bad, and the ugly and to just let it all hang out and not be so critical of themselves. People seemed genuinely appreciative AND I of course had TONS of fun doing the shoot and love the photos. I grew a human being in my body, i nursed her for 3+ years, and I have proven my body has form AND function, ie.. yoga, lifting, and creating a life: Skylar.
xoxo
Thanks, Averie, I’m glad you liked the post. I think it is important to live with confidence, a sense of bravado, and a real LOVE for who you are. Not only because it makes your life happier and healthier, but because it sets a great example for everyone else. People look at you and your strength and your confidence in the way that you look and they can say ‘well, if she can do it so can I!’ I’m glad you inspired and touched so many people. I’m proud of you!
I think this is a great post. Women, especially in the West and in the States are constantly told that they are not good enough no matter what they look like. You could go to the most objectively perfect and gorgeous super model and I’m sure that she would be able to give you a list of things that she HATES about her body.
It seems like women are torn down based no their look regardless of their body shape, or weight, or whether their hair is straight or curly. If they have short legs, they’re told their legs are too short, if they have long legs, they’re told they are too long and gawky. Women are told that they are too short, too tall, too fat, too skinny, and blah blah blah. Men and culture in the west seem to think that women’s bodies are there for them, that the point of a woman’s body is to look a certain way for the male gaze and that is BULLSHIT. I love how you said you “reclaimed” your features. Because it seems like women’s bodies have been hijacked by men and the patriarchal culture and they do need to be “reclaimed”.
Women’s bodies belong to women. A woman’s body is hers and hers alone. Take it back and love it for what it is.
Have I told you lately how much I love you? Thank you for this comment, you are amazing. xoxox
Yet another fab post and a great inspiration to all!
Wow, this post is awesome. I have a lot of weight to lose (30 lost so far, about 100 more to go), and I am so hard on myself. I forget that I need to be grateful for this amazing body that, despite the abuse I have put it through and the yo-yo dieting for so many years, has kept me upright and moving forward in this world for 45 years. I am going to sit with myself this week and create a similar blog post to thank this body of mine. Honestly, I so look forward to all of your posts and you are such an inspiration.
Lolly
Wow, Lolly, thank you so much for such a kind comment. Isn’t it amazing how much our bodies put up with? I just want to give myself a big hug sometimes, because seriously, it just keeps on going no matter what I throw at it. I’m really glad you feel the same way! I look forward to reading your blog post.
um, we must have same body. i have a totally big crooked italian nose, extra large birthing hips (without having babies), and long lean legs.
i love all my little quirks… including my crooked smile! as long as i know i’m staying healthy, i don’t worry about the nights when i sometimes eat two bowls of lo mein and have a little pooch. whatever!
Twins! Hahaha, I love it and it makes me so happy to hear you say you love all your little quirks. You are awesome!!!
another fantastical post, Tasha! i very much enjoyed your fat rant and i love this post as well. we do forget to thank our bodies, and we do grow up to hate them – it’s so sad. sad how we turn on ourselves, indeed. i’m gonna thank my body too – it does some pretty amazing things and it’s about damn time i stopped beating myself up! amen, my friend – and THANK YOU!
Tasha, thank you for this beautiful and moving post. Reading it, I realized (yet again) how much I beat myself up over imperfections. Writing such a piece would be a good exercise for me because it would be very challenging to find positive things to say. Thanks for your courage in putting it out there and your obvious loveliness…
All I can say, is you’re such an inspiration, in so many ways!
tasha, thank you so much for this post. you truly are an amazing lady!
i couldn’t help crying when i read this…because i am THAT girl…the one that hates her body everyday…the one that abuses it to no extent…and it makes me sad, that i have such a horrible relationship with the one thing that makes me ME! that gives me strength and life everyday, my body! without it, i wouldn’t be here…today is the day, i look at it all differently, i hope!
thanks deary. you amaze me with every post…
screw the people that have nothing better to do than call you stupid…they’re just envious that they’re not as smart and kindhearted like you…don’t stop being who you are my friend.
<3
What a wonderful post that many or most women deal with. When have we become so obsessed about our bodies? If you were to ask most men, they like some curve and aren’t judgemental like women are. We need to start accepting ourselves for who we are instead of all trying to look the same. How boring to look the same eh? My husband loves me for who I am and loves me just as much now as when we met, smaller boobs and all(from having a kid years ago). hee hee.
Absolutely exquisite, Tasha. Definitely brings up a lot of the stuff I wrote about in my Eat the Damn Cake posts. Food for thought for all of us. Being injured right now definitely makes me all the more grateful for what my body normally does — that is, it carries me around and gets me where I want to go without pain!!!
[...] Sylvan’s post containing a thank-you letter to her body and everything it does, Tasha of The Voracious Vegan created one of her own to serve as a sequel to the rant she poured out in frustration over [...]
[...] Please scramble on over there, and kiss her toes because, WOW. And while you’re there, A Love Letter to My Body is also required reading. [via a recommendation from The Wholestyle [...]