Ah, springtime. A time of lots of allergies, and a ridiculous amount of ads reminding us that we need to “get our bodies back” before the summer sneaks up on us.
I’m sure that you’ve seen adverts come up with taglines like, “say goodbye to 2020 and the quarantine 15,” or “step back into normal life better than ever,” with a super bubbly person showing off their body or that weird mirror thing that Lululemon keeps pushing on everyone.
Every year around this time, you get pummeled with companies trying to remind you to hate your body, but did you ever ask why you are meant to hate your body in the first place?
Chicken or the Egg?
We don’t realize the extent that society over the years has shaped a lot of subconscious beliefs that we may hold today, and one of those beliefs is about bodies.
Many might say, “No, I just hate my body. I need to lose weight.” And while I never want to invalidate anyone’s experience, I think it can be useful to look at the historical influence over why we all tend to gravitate towards hating or wishing our bodies to be different.
At one point in time, our bodies were only seen as tools for survival. I mean no one gave a shit if we were considered a size 6 or a size 12 when we had to fight for our lives and our food every day. We just were…
