Body Types Aren't a Trend

Visual by Savanna Chada

It’s hard to remember a time when I was satisfied with the way my body looked. To be honest, I don’t think that time has come yet, and I’m not sure it ever will. My self esteem, though a factor, is not the only culprit of my longing. As crazy as it sounds, my body type went out of style long before I was born.

Someone once told me not to try so hard to change the way I looked because one day my figure would be trendy again. Trendy? How can someone’s body— someone’s genetic predisposition— be trendy? With some light research, I found I had missed my time by either about 80-100 years. I guess you could say I was “born in the wrong generation” though I don’t think that’s why people really use that phrase, nor would I ever long to go there. During these periods, thin, willowy, and boyish figures were praised, admittedly not without causing some harm, as these standards left an epidemic of eating disorders in their wreckage. As someone who looks this way naturally, it seems I have missed my time. Now what? Am I just supposed to wait another 80 years?

In all transparency, I am aware that “skinny” has always been fashionable in some way or another. My body type has always been catered to in the media and these statements should not be taken as a complaint on my behalf. However these standards go further than just weight, they extend into features that have been sexualized by our culture and frames that ultimately can’t be changed. The ideal bust, hip, butt, and even shoulder proportions change from year to year, which are standards that affect myself and others of all body types. It seems like every decade the standards decide to drastically switch up on us, making it utterly impossible to fit into the mold that’s been set.

A brief walk through the 20th century shows us this dangerous game of cat and mouse that women have been playing for many lifetimes. In the 20’s, the slim physique was in, and disordered eating rose to the highest it has ever been. At the same time the bust-to-waist ratio of women in popular magazines decreased drastically, supporting the idea that the media’s promotion of “fashionable “ body types is and was harmful. Later on in the 50’s, hourglass figures grew popular and bust-to-waist ratios increased. Hot on its heels, however, came the 60’s where the ratio dwindled back to the ideals of the flapper era. Most recently, in the 90’s, women tried to hide their hips and slim to emaciated frames coined under the term “Heroin Chic”, which sounds like enough of a warning in itself. This constant see-sawing is not only unrealistic but unhealthy for our minds and bodies. Trying to keep up with this inane game would be damaging, and yet as I acknowledged this, I found myself and others still playing a hand.

At the beginning of isolation, I told myself I was going to do the best I could to work out and ”improve” my body during this new found free time, maybe I would finally fill out and get some hips. This didn’t last very long though, because a couple of weeks later I completely turned around after watching an Instagram live with Charli Howard and Lili Reinhart in which they discussed body image and their experiences. For those who don’t know, Charli Howard is a plus sized model, author, body activist, and owner of Squish Beauty which is a brand focused on diversity and an unretouched campaign. Lili Reinhart is an actress and advocate for mental health as well as body positivity, whose body image speech at the 2018 Glamour Women of the Year Summit really resonated with me. Now, it may seem crazy that watching something as silly as an Instagram Live would make me rethink my view on my body, but it really just shows the impact someone with a platform can make just by speaking out on topics they are passionate about. Of course, this wasn’t the first time I had heard people speak about body image. In fact, I am and always have been a huge advocate of body positivity, but I have just never taken my own advice to heart. In the Instagram Live, Reinhart said “I’ve come to terms with the fact that I will never have a body that looks like a Victoria’s Secret model” and that “you’re not a shapeshifter, you can’t make your body something that it’s not.” Though the rest of their discussion was moving and powerful, these statements really stuck with me because they are so true and I desperately needed to hear them. Maybe listening to an hour long live of these strong women discussing body image as I did yoga subliminally got this message into my head, but however it worked I felt like a weight has been lifted off of my shoulders. Your body is beautiful as it is, and you shouldn’t expect it to be like a clay that can be molded at will.

To be fair, one should not be shamed either for complying with a beauty standard. It is your body and it is your choice the way you choose to present yourself. If you naturally look the way that society decides is the trend at the time, then I will wholeheartedly cheer you on from the sidelines. If you take healthy measures of change in order to fit a standard, then I support you one hundred percent. The issue isn’t in changing your body, but in feeling like you have to. It’s heartbreaking that there are so many women and young, impressionable girls going to extreme lengths to reach these goals that shouldn’t even be set in the first place. No matter what size or shape you are, societal pressures will make you feel like you need to change something, so sadly the race is never over. Ultimately, a body type should not be fashionable. Fashion should be reserved for patterns and hemlines, not whether you are an apple or a banana, a triangle or a rectangle, or even a knife or a fork. (P.S. you are not an inanimate object, so why compare yourself to one?)

Accepting your body the way it is and relieving yourself of these pressures is so liberating. I’ve realized that I will never look like anything but myself, or I would hurt myself trying not to, and that’s honestly not a price I am willing to pay. I can’t say that I’ll always be happy with the way that I look, but content is worth a whole lot more than hate. As overplayed as it sounds I ask you to take this time to love yourself, accept yourself, look in the mirror, and thank your body for the life it has given you.

National Eating Disorder Association: https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org

NEDA Helpline: +1-800-931-2237