Our awesome friends at Smartglamour have teamed up with the gals behind the body positive blog Stylaphile to launch an awesome new campaign called ‘Measure Me Beautiful‘. It sounds a little redundant, right? “Measuring” your beauty? But when you look a little deeper into their campaign, what it does it turn the spotlight back onto ourselves and in a sense expose the often harmful ways we measure our beauty against other standards in the world.
Mallorie Carrington (who is the brains behind the Smartglamour clothing line) and Sydney Stone (who started Stylaphile) hit the streets to interview ordinary women and ask them about their body insecurities. Of course, there was no shortage of complaints from each subject. But then Mallorie does something interesting, and takes their measurements after asking them about their bodies, because the campaign is trying to show us our confidence lies in knowing our own bodies and measurements without having to compare it to anyone else. They believe knowing your own measurements is a powerful start to a journey of body confidence.
“Society has taught us that only thin can be beautiful. However, humans come in a variety of shapes and sizes. You can be the healthiest version of yourself and never come close to a size 4. And there is absolutely nothing wrong with that,” says the explanation on their website.
“Knowledge is power. And your measurements are just that – facts, information. In order to be an informed shopper – you have to know your size. But sizes vary from store to store, and every brand uses a different fit model for their line. So why not throw away sizes all together and simply know yourself? When you know your measurements, you are in control – not the clothing or their designer.”
Seeing some of the women shocked at their measurements and instantly feel a little happier with that knowledge shows that this campaign is onto something. The body positive movement has steadily been gaining steam online, providing resources, and more importantly sharing individual stories which have been empowering other women in a big way.
A mother from Alberta, Canada was horrible fat-shamed on the beach recently, after sunbathing in a bikini. This is the photo she posted:
Two men and a woman nearby laughed and pointed at her which made Tanis rather upset. Instead of lashing out and stooping to their level, she chose to share her story online.
“I’m sorry if my first attempt at sun tanning in a bikini in public in 13 years ‘grossed you out’. I’m sorry that my stomach isn’t flat and tight. I’m sorry that my belly is covered in stretch marks,” she wrote in a Facebook post which went viral.
“I’m NOT sorry that my body has housed, grown, protected, birthed and nurtured FIVE fabulous, healthy, intelligent and wonderful human beings,” before signing off: “I can only hope that one day you’ll realize that my battle scars are something to be proud of, not ashamed of.”
The 33 year old had the last laugh because a large group of women in the community organized a public rally called #Bareyourbelly in support of her and other women who have been shamed because of their bodies. All the women proudly wore bikinis, and so did Tanis, the exact same pink bikini which garnered stares on the beach a week earlier.
The women held signs that said “Wear your skin proud” and “Girls aren’t born hating their bodies. We teach them to.”
Here’s another body image story which went viral recently. Blogger and mother Bridget White was on a vacation with her family, and unbeknownst to her, her son took a photo of her while she was sprawled out on the sand, exposing her cellulite. Here’s the picture:
The photo took Bridget by surprise when we looked back at the images on her camera, and she was disgusted. “Self-loathing and disgust swell up and threaten to bring me to tears,” Bridgette wrote on her blog. It ended up being an important lesson to Bridget about the way she sees herself, vs the way others see her, and it was her young son who taught her that.
When she asked him why he took the photo he innocently stated that she looked so beautiful he “couldn’t help it”. That really struck her, because up until then, her beauty-factor wasn’t measured by her own realistic standards.
“I don’t hate my body anymore,” she wrote on her blog. “It is that I have more to worry about than just how I look? Or maybe it’s because my kids look at me with such adoring eyes.”
When most women and mothers look at these photos, there’s a good chance they see themselves reflected back. Wanna know why? Because they are normal, beautiful, healthy bodies! And they are real, not some super-imposed, heavily-photoshopped image to dupe us into thinking we can achieve some fantasy body image the fashion industry tries to sell us constantly.
Body bullies are something we all face, even those in the public eye. Soul singer Laura Mvula from the UK recently stated in an interview she hates celebrity culture because it makes women feel like they aren’t good enough. She has been on the receiving end of comments about her appearance which make her realize how superficial chasing fame can be.
“I stumbled across something on the internet recently that said I’d chosen the wrong dress and my figure was all wrong. I think a lot about body image and the ideal we’re subconsciously nurtured to aspire to. With ‘That’s Alright’ I wanted to express that I’m tired of being made to feel like I lack because of what society projects on to me,” she said.
The 28 year old believes in singing about having a healthy body image so that girls who listen to her don’t have to grow up feeling the same way she did.
The thing all these women have in common is that they are sick of the beauty standards that society is projecting onto them, as it doesn’t exactly make the majority of us feel beautiful in the way we should. What ‘Measure Me Beautiful’ wants to do is reverse that and hand us back the power to choose our own definition of beauty, and be confident in our own bodies. They are literally taking measurements, so that women stop measuring themselves against something unrealistic.
Take a look at their video below, and be sure to follow their campaign online. You can submit a photo by using the hashtag #measuremebeautiful and including your measurement details on the picture you post on social media. It’s a movement that will inspire other women to own their bodies, own their measurements and celebrate individuality as beauty.
@GirlTalkHQ @lauramvula @sydneystone Thanks lady! Appreciate the love. Keep killin it at http://t.co/1yUQExkJwc.
RT @GirlTalkHQ: #MeasureMeBeautiful Campaign Fighting Body Bullies & Self-Loathing http://t.co/xAiUsMyKPe @lauramvula @smartglamour @sydney…
Thanks for the love! <3
Fabulous article! Thank you so much for supporting Stylaphile and SmartGlamour in our #MeasureMeBeautiful campaign!
#MeasureMeBeautiful Campaign Fighting Body Bullies & Self-Loathing http://t.co/N9NOSQGCm1 @lauramvula @smartglamour @sydneystone
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