About Me

My photo
I am a contradiction, a thoughtful contradiction. I have thoughts, and I want to share them. I am a blogger....

The Beauty Myth

The Beauty Myth is a nonfiction book by Naomi Wolf which argues that as women have become more powerful in society the standards of physical appearance have also grown.

Wolf believes that "beauty" is a societal construct:

"The more legal and material hindrances women have broken through, the more strictly and heavily and cruelly images of female beauty have come to weigh upon us... during the past decade, women breached the power structure; meanwhile, eating disorders rose exponentially and cosmetic surgery became the fastest-growing specialty... pornography became the main media category, ahead of legitimate films and records combined, and thirty-three thousand American women told researchers that they would rather lose ten to fifteen pounds than achieve any other goal...More women have more money and power and scope and legal recognition than we have ever had before; but in terms of how we feel about ourselves physically, we may actually be worse off than our unliberated grandmothers."

Wednesday, 27 November 2013

If you don't like something; change it

If you don't like something; change it. If you can't change it; change your attitude. - Maya Angelou
 Recently I have been going through a lot of change. Much of this change I talk about here on my blog, some of it I don't. I don't mind being honest with people, and I am probably more open about personal issues than most - posting it out onto the virtual world on a semi-regular basis. However, there are some things that go on in my life that I do keep private, or that only a select few know, and that is not so much  because I care about others knowing, but because of the other people involved in those scenarios, and the privacy that they deserve.

Recently, to be honest for several months now, I have not been myself. I have been angry, unstable at times, flash tempered (right, all you people saying that is me being myself...stop it). I have had thoughts, ugly thoughts, and I became at times rather low. There has been a lot of recent stress in my life, moving house, moving job, and these stressors have put stress on other aspects of my life too; including my relationships.


For the last month or so however I have been taking positive steps to try and self heal these issues. I feel now, finally, that these steps are converging into a more positive mind set, and I am beginning to feel...well...much more like my old self. I can feel my comfort levels increasing, my personality is shining through, and my confidence is gaining. Part of this positive self healing process has included eating more healthily and exercising regularly. Exercise is the cheapest, most effective anti-depressant, and it is the most under used. It helps build positive chemical balances in the brain, creates feelings of fulfilment, achievement and happiness, and it allows your physical health to improve as well. Increased circulation, oxygen and blood flow reduces aches and pains, builds the immune system and improves posture and stability, all of which have a positive impact on the mind.

What's been interesting though, is that as my positive changes have came through I've began to change my appearance. That need to reflect what is on the inside to the world becomes so strong. I mean, I know I am still working towards my body image goals, but I feel myself caring more about what I am wearing day to day, trying to think more about my general appearance before I go out, and have impulsively got a new tattoo and haircut in the same week. The alternative me that I feel on the inside is coming through, and I couldn't be happier!

(even if the manfriend hates the hair)

Posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)