Body Image

Take a quick second and ask yourself, if exercise had no effect on your appearance would you still do it? If exercise had no effect on your weight, muscle tone, or appearance, would you still make time for it in your routine? It is important to establish a healthy relationship with exercise that is rooted in appreciation for your body, not hatred.

One way to do that is to focus on all the benefits of exercise that have nothing to do with calories!

According to the CDC, some of the benefits of being physically active include:

• Reduced risk of anxiety.
• Reduced risk of depression.
• Improved bone health.
• Improved sleep quality.
• Reduced blood pressure.
• Reduced risk of chronic diseases such as dementia, heart disease, stroke, and Type 2 diabetes.
• Reduced risk of 8 different cancers (bladder, breast, colon, endometrium, esophagus, kidney, lung, and stomach.)

There are so many kinds of movement and exercises that the options are endless. Something is always better than nothing when it comes to movement. Especially when we are all stuck in the house all day it can be so easy to forget to move in the day. Choose a form of movement that energizes you, makes you feel good, and is enjoyable to you!

Are you interested in body positive exercise and movement? Do you want to focus on having fun and maybe even breaking a sweat in the process? Do you want to learn how to incorporate movement in your life without focusing on calories?

Love Your Body Week is a university initiative taking place from February 21^st -28^th and there are so many movement focused events you can attend online! These events focus on the joy of movement and getting in touch with your body.

• Sunday, February 21^st 7-8 pm – Yoga for Everybody
• Wednesday, February 24^th and Thursday, February 25^th 5-5:45 pm – Breath Strong (meditation)
• Thursday, February 25^th 5-7 pm – Find What Moves You
• Thursday, February 25^th 6-7 pm – Radically Restorative (yoga)
• Friday, February 26^th 12-1 pm – Zumba for YOU

Learn more about these events and the many others taking place on our Love Your Body Week 2021 website. All OSU students, faculty, and staff are invited to participate. You can sign up for Love Your Body Week events using our Love Your Body Week – RSVP Form (qualtrics.com). Come join us and take some time to thank your body for all it allows you to do every day.

Tali Spira,  4th year 

Major – Human Nutrition 

I don’t think most people stop to think about how early in life the societal pressure to be thin sinks in. But seeing magazine covers with extremely fit women on the covers at the grocery store, hearing people talk about their bodies negatively, and only seeing certain body shapes in television and movies are all messages that are absorbed by children. At the age of 7, I went on my first diet. Leading up to age 21, through 14 years of childhood, I went through constant cycles of hating my body, dieting, bingeing, then back to restricting, and so on.

It wasn’t until this past year that I reached the point of body acceptance. I didn’t love the way I looked, but I accepted my body for what it was, because I realized that I was doing my physical and mental health a major disservice by not loving my body and all the things she does for me. I figured out that food is fuel for my brain and body to perform at their best. I began seeing exercise as a stress reliever and strength builder, rather than an opportunity to burn the most calories.

These were all radical perspective shifts after so many years of believing differently. However, even after all the time wasted on calorie counting and anxiously wondering how my body was perceived by others, I wouldn’t change a thing.

In fact, it’s because of those moments that I am now studying dietetics and psychology, with the hopes of becoming an advocate for intuitive eating and body positivity for those that don’t feel comfortable in their own skin. I want to be a dietitian that helps people struggling with disorderly eating find joy in nourishing their bodies and trusting their intuition, so they don’t have to continue to suffer the way I did.

Additionally, I created an Instagram account to spread body positivity and share yummy recipes with my friends to get them excited for mealtime. I joined The Body Project program so that I could be a voice that fights against diet culture and the media that tells us how we “should” look. My story back then is why I love myself now, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Learn strategies for body kindness, self-love, and eating disorder support during Love Your Body Week 2021. During the week of February 21-26, twenty-three events will take place virtually, focusing on educating, celebrating and creating a sustainable and supportive campus environment for all body types and experiences. Love Your Body Week offers a wide range of programs including fitness classes, educational programs, art therapy, mindfulness, and more.

All OSU students, faculty, and staff are invited to participate.
Kristen Etzler, 4th year  

Major – Dietetics 

Minor – Psychology 

Historical Background

Over the past few years, the body positivity movement has gained substantial momentum on social media. This movement, originally formed by a group of fat, queer Black women in the 1960s, was, at its heart, a fat liberation movement, and meant to create a space by and for marginalized bodies. It was absolutely revolutionary for a group of fat, queer, Black women to demand respect from society.

In 1972, activist Johnnie Tillmon said, “I’m a woman. I’m a Black woman. I’m a poor woman. I’m a fat woman. I’m a middle-aged woman. In this country, if you’re any one of those things you count less as a human being.”

Where Modern Body Positivity Falls Short

The body positivity movement of the 21^st century is unfortunately an often watered-down, whitewashed version of what it used to be. White women dominate the conversation. The larger bodies celebrated are often still relatively small. The intersection of body positivity and gender identity is largely ignored.

It seems as though society has taken the body positivity movement, originally an absolutely radical rebuke of societal beauty standards, and warped it to still be revolutionary, just not “too” revolutionary.

Black model Simone Mariposa commented on these limitations of the modern-day movement, saying: “Body positivity right now is centered around women who are still conventionally desirable.” Research has shown, time and time again, the importance of representation for marginalized groups—and not the token “checking-the-diversity-quota” representation we see so often in America.

We need real, intersectional representation. It feels important to note that thin bodies and white bodies are not excluded from the movement; they just shouldn’t be the center.

Going forward, it is vital that when we use the term “body positivity” we acknowledge and remember the history behind the movement. We need to continue to advocate for Black voices, queer voices, and fat voices in the movement, and recognize the intersectionality of race, class, gender, sexuality, and weight stigma.

Love Your Body Week: Ohio State’s Body Positive Initiative

Love Your Body Week 2021 is an initiative to drive conversation around body image to the Ohio State community and takes place during the last week of February. When recruiting events for the week, we wanted to make sure there were events that pushed this conversation beyond what we normally see on social media:

• Book discussion events on The Body is Not an Apology by Sonya Renee Taylor and Hunger by Roxane Gay center Black voices.
• Our Gender Identity and Body Acceptance event brings awareness to the gender dysphoria that trans and nonbinary individuals experience, and how that relates to body image.
• Our Weight Stigma in a Diet Culture World event emphasizes the systemic stigma and hostility that fat people experience every day.

We are so proud to be offering events that include and celebrate everyone. You can learn more and sign up for events on our Love Your Body Week 2021 website.

Claire Pitrof, 4th year 

Demi Lovato said it best in her new “I Love Me” song. Below are 10 things you can do to love yourself, others and the world even more than you already do:

1. Practice Positive Self-talk: Positive self-talk has been shown to improve satisfaction with life, decrease stress and even physical benefits like better immune function and reduced pain. Checkout examples of re-framing to positive self-talk below:
   • Negative: “I’m not going to get better” Positive:“I’ll give it another try and ask for help if needed”
   • Negative: “I’m a failure” Positive: “I’m proud of myself, that took courage”
   • Negative: “I hate the way my body looks” Positive: “My body is strong and allows me to live a fulfilled life”
2. Improve your Physical Wellness: This includes eating a balanced diet, exercise, getting enough sleep, practicing safer sex and reducing your risk when it comes to alcohol and other drug use.
3. Quiet your mind: Living in a digital world in may feel hard to disconnect but taking a screen break and letting your mind wander will do wonders for your well-being. Engage in meditation, pray or grounding in nature – any mindfulness technique will help quiet your mind. 
4. Be Kind: Kindness increases happiness, energy, and the good hormones: oxytocin and serotonin. Be Kind and send a kudo to a friend, family member, or a staff member who has made a positive impact on your life.
   
5. Set attainable goals: You can aim high but unattainable goals will have a negative impact on your mental health. Utilize the SMART Technique when goal setting:
   • S: Specific
   • M: Measurable
   • A: Attainable
   • R: Relevant
   • T: Time bound
6. Identify small steps to be more environmentally friendly: Give back to the earth that has given so much to you! Small steps will make a big difference. 
   • Swap out single use plastic items to more eco-friendly options when they run out (i.e. switch from a shampoo bottle to shampoo bar)
   • Host a clothing swap with friends (easy way to switch up your wardrobe without buying new clothes)
   • Limit your food waste
   • Unplug chargers when not in use
   • And so much more
7.  Resist: Resist harmful messages that society forces on you.- unfollow accounts that don’t promote social issues that you stand for (body positivity, equal rights, social justice). Resist with your spending – support organizations that align with your values and don’t support places that uses degrading images or messaging. Also, speak up and out to your friends – your speer of influence is bigger than you know. 
8. Adopt a daily mantra: A mantra helps you focus on something bigger than yourself. Adopt a mantra, recite it daily and post it everywhere for your to see.
9.  Listen to music daily: Music provides a boost to your physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being. Checkout our Body Positive Playlist below for all your self love jams.
10. Be proactive in your well-being: Utilize the free services the Student Wellness Center offers. The SWC offers group presentations, educational events, and 1on1 peer coaching appointments around a variety of wellness topics.