Let’s talk about comparison. I am not going to tell you to get off your phones and that social media is evil, that said, the apps are specifically designed to keep us on there scrolling so they can be problematic. While we don’t have the power to change that feature, we do have some power over the content we see and how often we access it. 

Social media, and the media in general, play a pivotal role in formulating and sharing what is and isn’t on trend. They used to do this in a way that was much more transparent than they do now. Even though influencers technically have to disclose if they are in a paid partnership with a brand, many still don’t. We are constantly being sold to. Whether it is skin care, make-up, clothes, juices, snacks. There are ads everywhere. 

The unfortunate thing for us as media consumers is that, generally speaking, we only see tiny glimpses of diversity in our feeds. We are silently inundated with the same look everywhere. It has taken a long time and very conscious effort to search for new people, voices and opinions to diversify my algorithm to reflect just how much diversity there is in the world. This diversity also comes down to the ways that a person’s body looks. 

When our TV shows, movies and social media are filled with people that all look the same, it facilitates a way of thinking that idealises a certain look. Often that look, more so lately, is of a thin body for women and a muscular body for men. Our bodies are not trends. The way that you look does not determine your worth. You are enough and you are valuable just as you are today. Your body is precious, and it is yours. 

There are still countless messages plastered up in gyms, sports clubs, and posts on Instagram or TikTok promoting 8-week challenges to “transform”, “lose weight”, and make “lasting changes.” The pictures used to promote these challenges, more often than not, are of thin (or muscular), happy people. The subliminal message, “you do this, and you will be happy and thin (muscular) like me”. It is a poor representation of what a happy person looks like and sells the idea that improving health and wellbeing is as simple as dropping some weight or gaining extra muscle. Let me tell you as a health professional, we are so much more complicated than that. Our overall health, both mental and physical, is determined by so much more than our weight and our body looks. End of rant. 

What I want you to take away from this post is that the way that you look is nobody’s business but your own. I hope you feel proud of the body you’re in. If someone makes an unsolicited comment on your body, I invite you to politely reply, “I don’t talk about my body.” Easier said than done but believe me when you address it once you usually don’t have to do it again.