Body Image

I have been noticing this more and more of late and it's beginning to upset me. Actually, it's really upsetting me. For starters, women seem to have a really complicated relationship with food. I might speak about that more in a another post, as I'm only dimly coming to a realisation of it myself. It's part of the way beauty is represented, for sure, but also men simply don't have a clue what you're referring to if you bring it up. Blokes seem to eat what they want: when they're young their metabolisms handle it and when they're old they either are lucky enough to stay slim, or they get fatter. Or they have a partner aiding their cooking choices. Massive massive generalisations aside, I can vouch for almost every female in my knowledge feeling, deep down inside, that life would be better were they 'a little bit slimmer'. This is including friends of mine who used to be anorexic. Some of my absolute closest female friends have survived this disorder, long before I knew them, and thankfully are all in fighting shape now.
I know that one Christmas, one of their mothers bought them a pair of scales.

So really, this is an open letter to the "Twiggy Generation", 40 to 60-year-old mothers:
YOUR DAUGHTERS ARE THE RIGHT SHAPE
I have never been more ashamed or mortified than when I hear these stories relayed back to me, and recognise them in my own experiences. They very rarely have anything to do with health concerns. The sly remarks, vague comments, rude frankness and sometimes open ridicule. Our mothers simply think we could be thinner. Perhaps, for the most part, inadvertently. I admit, this is an emotional issue and one I personally worry about. My own mum is a culprit, who talks proudly about how little she ate for lunch, who tells me to tuck my bum in with a tone of absolute horror (when I am already fully upright: I have a round behind), and, when I said I was happy with my shape and carrying myself better, told me I could 'still lose a bit of weight'. Her being my mum, I take these remarks to heart.
Try asking (nicely). Ask a woman in her 20s if she feels she could be a bit slimmer. Use the word slimmer, it sounds healthier for one thing, has less of the negative connotations of being 'thin', and you'll be far more likely to get an answer. Then ask her, whether she says yes or no (and amazing kudos if she says no) what she feels her mother thinks. If she still says her shape is fine, she is the luckiest person in the world.