It’s a time of year when words like “diet” and “exercise” and “less wine” and “fewer carbs” start filtering into conversation.
Ironically, they tend to pop up at the same time as “acceptance” and “love my body for what it is” and “be kinder to myself”. All these words and phrases spoken by (mostly) women everywhere in an attempt to create a more positive, healthier relationship with their body, usually in the name of New Year’s Resolutions.
Molly Galbraith – co-founder of Girls Gone Strong that provides body-positive nutrition, exercise and self-care information – is having none of it.
"A popular message often shared among women is to encourage each other to 'accept' or 'embrace' their flaws. These messages are well-intended and seen as supportive and inspiring for many women," Galbraith posted to Facebook yesterday.
"Me? I'm NOT embracing my flaws in 2017. Why? Because I'm not the one who decided they were flaws to begin with."
Galbraith goes onto talk about the way her body has been judged and scrutinised since she was a young girl. A story too many women can relate to.
"It's a narrative that made me feel self-conscious and like I was bigger than all of the other girls. It's a narrative that made me feel ashamed of, embarrassed by, and apologetic for my body," her post reads.
"I agreed with this narrative for decades, and I let it run through my head like a broken record while punishing myself with intense exercise and restrictive dieting to fix those things the world told me needed fixing. Not anymore. I’ve realised that I simply don't agree."