Comments on Cranky Fitness: Why Care if Women Hate Their Bodies?

Aye-Men, Sistah!

2008-03-29T17:55:00.000-04:00

Aye-Men, Sistah!

your significant other better care... if u hate yo...

2008-03-26T19:04:00.000-04:00

your significant other better care... if u hate your body it could lead to potentially harmful things, like bolemia and such.
~Jessica

What an eloquent post! Your daughters are lucky to...

2008-03-26T17:29:00.000-04:00

What an eloquent post! Your daughters are lucky to have such a grand role model - and they will be sure to pass their confidence on to others. Think of what a great ripple effect you are generating!
The earlier we teach our youngsters to appreciate their bodies and their inner talents, the better prepared they'll be for adolescence when they start questioning themselves. Starting with a solid foundation is essential!

I'd never really thought about how much body image...

2008-03-26T10:01:00.000-04:00

I'd never really thought about how much body image and self-esteem are linked to our confidence and effectiveness in the world. Great post!

Oops, that was me under my other assumed name...I ...

2008-03-26T01:45:00.000-04:00

Oops, that was me under my other assumed name...

I did want to add that my hubby looks in the mirror and sees a handsome fellow, not a skinny geek with thinning hair and a pot belly, though he does have a cute rear. That's an example of guys viewing themselves much less critically than women do in general. We need to be more like that. ;)

I love him so I see the fine mind and the good heart and that makes him very handsome to me too. I need to do that more for myself, and the rest of humanity likewise. We'd probably be a LOT nicer to each other.

Yes, excellent topic choice and a very serious sub...

2008-03-26T01:36:00.000-04:00

Yes, excellent topic choice and a very serious subject. I will note that I turned 51 yesterday, and I look in the mirror and have to not only be resigned to where I have some stubborn fat, but also havoc the aging process wreaks on my body, It's not going to get better, because if I'm lucky I will get to be even older. If you're in your 20s and 30s and 40s, celebrate that and make peace now, because it just gets harder! ;D
Then it's not only the physical, but regrets about past life choices and living situations and job disatisfaction and how little is stashed away for "retirement" that will drag one down if you cannot find peace with the person facing you in the mirror. That person needs kindness, compassion and understanding first and foremost, now and every day for the rest of your life.
If we can't be kind to ourselves, and if we can't forgive ourselves first, we can't truly be kind to or forgive others.

And Merry, some men do go through the same thing, but it's been proven that overall men actually rate themselves as MUCH more attractive than they are! :D

Karly, thank you for posting this! Looks like this...

2008-03-25T22:41:00.000-04:00

Karly, thank you for posting this! Looks like this was a message a lot of people were ready to hear.

Good post. I would add that for some personality t...

2008-03-25T12:29:00.000-04:00

Good post. I would add that for some personality types, having a bad body image could lead to overall bad self-image (I'm stupid therefore don't deserve better)and lead them into a physically &/or mentally abusive relationship.

This has to stop. I am glad to see you getting the message out there.

Great post - so very true.If we liked ourselves as...

2008-03-25T10:32:00.000-04:00

Great post - so very true.
If we liked ourselves as we were, we'd move forward to positive change and be more positive to those around us too.

Excellent post! It's so true. Loving your body and...

2008-03-25T10:20:00.000-04:00

Excellent post! It's so true. Loving your body and self-acceptance are so much bigger than ourselves. Our positive examples could change the way young women see themselves and their bodies. I just wish it were easier for me to overcome all that negative conditioning...

A-freakin-men (apologies to my religious peeps) bu...

2008-03-25T09:34:00.000-04:00

A-freakin-men (apologies to my religious peeps) but seriously!

I'm in a healthy weight range but constantly see imperfections in my body and sometimes find myself striving for something that isn't healthy, really.

It's only recently that I'm realizing I need to love the shape I'm in now and appreciate how healthy I am otherwise I'm only working against myself.

Great read and it does start with the kids.

Yes. I'm glad someone has given voice to this, and...

2008-03-25T09:13:00.000-04:00

Yes. I'm glad someone has given voice to this, and so eloquently.
How we feel about ourselves is reflected in all we do and all we influence.
Excellent post.

awesome, awesome post. I wish I'd had someone to t...

2008-03-25T08:45:00.000-04:00

awesome, awesome post. I wish I'd had someone to tell me this when I was younger, and being taught to hate my body instead.

And yes, men go through this too. I remember my little brother, in elementary school, having a breakdown one morning because of the number on the scale. He became fitness obessessed, and while is thin and gorgeous now as an adult, he confessed that he still doesn't think he's good enough, and won't be happy until he sees six-pack abs staring back at him from the mirror. My fiance also struggles with body image and eating issues. It's just not discussed to the extent it is with women, I think. It's assumed men are okay with how they look, no matter what, because looking thin and young doesn't hold them back to the same extent in society (look at Drew Carey, and the guy from King of Queens - you can be overweight, and not handsome in the traditional sense but still have your own TV show if you're a man. You're reduced to the joke, if you're that way as a woman - Think Mimi on Drew Carey.)

(suze, stillbaking.ca/blog)

POWERFULespecially your point about not being able...

2008-03-25T06:01:00.000-04:00

POWERFUL

especially your point about not being able to fix the BIG STUFF till we heal ourselves.

M.

Carolyn, this sort of thing seems more natural wit...

2008-03-25T01:44:00.000-04:00

Carolyn, this sort of thing seems more natural with adolescents -- they're at a time when all the hormones are pinballing through their systems, and every physical or metaphysical part of their selves that is less-than-perfect seems magnified into a Horrible Flaw. But I'd expect (at least in theory) that this sort of slanted thinking would start at puberty and end sometime in the twenties. It troubles me that girls as young as 5 or 6 are disparaging their physical shapes, while women into their 30s are starving themselves.
And what about men? Do they go through this self-distortion?

Wow. That's really profound! I work with adolescen...

2008-03-24T23:02:00.000-04:00

Wow. That's really profound! I work with adolescents, and this is the exact type of thing I see all the time. This hits home in a lot of ways... excellent post!

I know what you're thinking -- that's a pretty nea...

2008-03-24T22:23:00.000-04:00

I know what you're thinking -- that's a pretty neat trick, Miss Crabby posting a blog while driving down the freeway!

Okay, the truth has to be told: I posted this, but Crabby did all the work of formatting and Karly did all the work of writing it.

This is a good topic -- I get mad when I read about young children declaring that they're "fat" and need to go on a diet. These views are taught to them by the adults around them. I think we should be more positive toward the girls and boys around us.