Because bellies are beautiful.
FAT-TALK-FREE FEBRUARY DAILY CHALLENGE: take a moment to notice your belly today. Think about all it has been through with you. For one moment today, let out those muscles you were taught to tighten. Stop sucking it in. Just for a moment. Notice what it feels like.
CLARIFICATION:
There seems to be some confusion about the message of Fox Tales Art, as well as the purpose of my Fat-Talk Free February awareness campaign. At no point have I ever suggested that people should ignore food with nutrients or give up exercise. My brand has nothing to do with the health affects of different weights. My message is the following:
1. Your body is your business.
2. No one has the right to shame someone.
3. Being over the ideal weight does not mean you are "unhealthy".
4. All bodies are to be loved, accepted, and valued.
5. People who have or are predisposed to Eating Disorders generally do NOT present as emaciated. EDs affect people of all races, genders, ages, abilities ... it is a mental illness, not a choice.
6. Shame only begets shame.
7. Kindness and compassion above all else.
8. Moving your body feels good and doesn't need to be a chore.
9. You don't need to change yourself because someone doesn't like your appearance.
10. Making changes to your lifestyle, eating habits, and physical activity are wonderful when they are made from a place of self-love. Making those changes due to shame, guilt, or deprivation will not lead to lasting change.
I hope this clears up the questions and comments I have been receiving.
#EDAW2017 #notachoice #FoxTalesArtFatTalkFreeFebruary #edawareness #edadvocate #ed #eatingdisorder #edrecovery #recovery
Because body shaming hurts.
FAT-TALK-FREE FEBRUARY DAILY CHALLENGE: today on your lunch break, talk about something unrelated to appearance or your body. If someone starts a topic along those lines, try changing the topic. See how it feels to have a fat-talk free lunch time.
"I always wonder why people who are a lot smaller than I am think I want to hear them complain endlessly about their bodies. It makes me wonder what they think about mine, and ignites a sense of shame in me that carries on for many hours after the interaction." R.W.
Words matter. Someone is always listening. If fat-talk shames an adult the way that R.W. explained it, imagine how children must feel. Imagine how children must wonder what we think of their bodies, when we stare in the mirror, hating our butt.
#EDAW2017 #notachoice #FoxTalesArtFatTalkFreeFebruary #bopo #torontoart #torontoartist #edawareness #edadvocate #ed #eatingdisorder #edrecovery #recovery
Because shame affects how one feels about food, and acts around food.
FAT-TALK-FREE FEBRUARY DAILY CHALLENGE: today, choose a food you love and fear ... and eat it ... with gusto!
When people are shamed about food, it reinforces societal and familial pressures to conform to the current body ideals.
When you comment on what someone else is eating, you have the potential of bringing up shaming feelings. Even when you are simply saying it's delicious. Commenting on what someone is eating, when you don't know their story, can have a harmful impact.
Fat-Talk is commenting on food in a one on one or group setting. Saying "no" when offered cake is not Fat-Talk. Saying "oh I can't possibly eat that" or "I was so bad yesterday I shouldn't" or "I was good today so yes please" .... or any other comment that takes the choice of yes or no to a place of good/bad. That brings up shame feelings in others. If you say you can't have the cake because you've been bad, it makes me think about everything I've eaten and if I've been "bad". There are no good or bad foods. There are simply foods. Different foods have different levels of nutrient values. Or they taste different. But food is just food.
Because anyone can wear anything they want and enjoy their time on the beach.
FAT-TALK-FREE FEBRUARY DAILY CHALLENGE: wear something that makes you feel good today.
Fat-Talk is when you try on a bathing suit and say "this makes me look fat" or "I hate my thighs" or "ugh why can't my stomach be flat?" The person with you begins to think about their own body. Especially if that person is larger than you. Even if they aren't, it still leads to shame. Fat-Talk also includes saying things about other people's bodies such "I can't believe she's wearing a bikini" or "fat chicks shouldn't wear that". Negative comments about the bodies of other people lead to shaming the people around you that are listening. They begin to ask themselves if they are too fat to wear what they are wearing.
YOU CAN WEAR OR NOT WEAR WHATEVER YOU WANT TO!
Because you can love your body at any size
FAT-TALK-FREE FEBRUARY DAILY CHALLENGE: notice the curves of your body today. Bodies are not meant to be flat. We have a shape. We have curves.
This week I asked a child, what's more important, what you look like or who you are inside? He replied that it was obvious your inside is more important because that's where all your organs are and without them you'd be dead.
He isn't wrong!
Our bodies are curved to hold and protect our organs and other inside parts.
Thank your curves for their cushion of protecting.
Welcome to FoxTalesArt FAT-TALK-FREE FEBRUARY! I challenge you to live a fat-talk-free life. Let's start with day one.
Today your challenge is to replace one compliment with another. How a person looks has nothing to do with what they do. Pay attention to the people around you today. Are they wearing something you want to comment on? Have you noticed they've lost weight? If you do, what was your initial reaction to noticing. Did it make you think about your own body or your own weight? Listen to what they say ... are they saying something interesting? Did you walk by their office and see something they are doing?
Today I ask you to give someone a compliment; a compliment that has nothing to do with the way a person looks. I look forward to hearing how it goes!
Be kind ...
Because no one has to explain anything to you about their bodies.
FAT-TALK-FREE FEBRUARY DAILY CHALLENGE: say something positive about what your body does, not what it looks like.
"The current North American beauty ideal is for slender, toned bodies. Such bodies have become symbols of many valued attributes, such as self-discipline, good health, and success in all areas of one’s life. There is a false assumption that one can tell a lot about an individual based on their physical size, so being slender has become highly desirable and something that one is told is achievable with enough self-control. This occurs despite evidence that we inherit a genetic predisposition to a particular body size, weight, and shape, and that dieting and physical activity do not guarantee a socially ideal body." - Sarah Royal
