Body Acceptance-A Few Thoughts

After reading an article posted to Facebook by my dear friend, about allowing yourself to be captured on film as you really look right now, I was looking around the internet for the most flattering poses for big girls. However, I am growing ever more disturbed, as all of the tips for photographers and subjects alike seems to be "hide the fat." i.e., stand behind people, hold a bag in front of your midsection, don't take full body shots.

I realize that some people are not confident enough to embrace themselves as they are-fat/skinny, tall/short, masculine/feminine-whether or not they are working towards something else. But to actively advocate the hiding of one's self is harmful. I'm big. Do I love me anyway? Most of the time. Do I wish I was smaller? Sometimes. Everyone has things about themselves they don't like and wish they could magically erase.

But here's the thing I think people forget: Usually, pictures *of* you are not *for* you. They are so others can remember you. And anyone who knows you, knows what you look like, all the time, when you are not posing for a picture. And guess what? They love you anyway. If, god forbid, something happens, do you really want to leave your loved ones with no mementos, no record that you were HERE?

I guess what it boils down to is this: if you are living, laughing and loving with wild abandon; if you let down the walls and are JUST YOU; if you stop worrying about your arms or your tummy and focus on your heart and your smile, it will still be you, and you will still be loved. Let your beauty shine from the inside out, and allow yourself to be loved and admired as you are right now. Because, chances are, you're pretty awesome.