6 questions to ask yourself about body image

I came across this article a few weeks ago and it really challenged me. Basically, it's 6 questions to ask yourself about your body image, and I had an amazingly difficult time filling them out. I wanted to share my answers and perhaps get a little blog-chain going, so if you feel inclined, perhaps answer them as well and post about it? Definitely let me know in the comments if you do!


(pensive blogger is pensive)

1) What’s a simple activity that consistently contributes to your positive body image?
Having sexytimes with my husband. Also, secondarily, clean laundry.

2) What’s something you know now about body image that you didn’t know when you were 18 years old?
I don't need to be thin or thinner or different in any way to enjoy the way I look, or for others to think I look awesome. Also, being fat won't keep me from getting married. I am lovable just as I am!

3) Is there anything you find yourself doing repeatedly that gets in the way of your body image?
Lack of contentment. Comparison with others. Wanting more than I have or different than I have. Tweaking.

4) Is there a body image mantra or motto (or any kind really) that you’ve found very helpful?
I'm not fooling anyone that I'm anything other than fat, so why dress to minimize? Dress to look awesome, not thin. I think I heard this first from Xtina, but my memory could be incorrect.

5) Have you always felt about the same level of body image, or have you been through a period when you felt exceptionally better about your body and yourself as a whole – if so, why? If you were unhappy with your body or yourself, how did you become happier?
When I first discovered Fat Acceptance via the fatshionista flickr group and fatshionista.livejournal.com, it changed me by changing the way I see myself. I saw all these beautiful and confident and stylish women being daring and edgy and out there and realized that I didn't have to hide or apologize for being fat. That being fat and enjoying the way my body looks was an option for me, the two were not mutually exclusive. This opened up a world for me of questioning diet culture and the guilt put on women and men to conform to a thinness and beauty ideal. I could go on and on.

Lately, perhaps over the past year, I have been feeling back down in the dumps about my appearance, and I'm not sure why. I think part of it was declaring to friends and family that I did feel confident, and also starting to plan for my fashion consulting business, made me feel vulnerable in some ways. I've also gained some weight and changed shape quite a bit over the past year, which has left me outgrowing some of my favorite clothes and also wondering how to dress my new body shape.

6) Have you ever been surprised that something you expected would make you feel better about yourself, didn’t – or vice versa?
I am continually surprised - like, to the point of 'insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results' - that buying new clothes doesn't make me happier or make me feel better about myself. I think I still subscribe to the notion that just a little tweak, a new dress, a different silhouette, will change things for me. It doesn't, and it never has, and it won't.

What about you, dear readers? Care to answer the 6 questions?