Like most American women, I’ve struggled with my body image since I was about 8 years old. Of course, it didn’t get really crazy until I got to High School. I was bored and intellectually unchallenged at my high school, a destructive combination for me, and I became obsessed with what I perceived to be my physical imperfections. I struggled with an eating disorder for about six months before I got angry and decided I didn’t want to hurt myself anymore. But ever since, I’ve hated my belly, where I really manifested a lot of my body image issues.
Apparently, I’m not the only one! Turns out many women have a complicated relationship with their bellies.
Which brings me to The Belly Project. Started by Dr. Karen Rayne and Midwife Christy Tashjian, the site aims to show all kinds of bellies, from young to older, from pregnant to washboard and everything in between. They write on their site:
…perhaps nothing is as preoccupying to us as our bellies. Our bellies are intimately related our sexuality and to our reproductive lives.
We will include pictures of women’s bellies, their age, and the number of pregnancies, abortions, and miscarriages they have had.
This site made me realize that I only ever see two types of bellies about 95% of the time; those of models and those of pregnant models, which definitely gives us all an unbalanced perception about the variety of women’s bodies. It is so rare that we see regular women’s bellies, and after looking through the gallery I had a totally new perspective on my own! So much so that I contributed my own belly and details to the project. And this has all helped me think about my body differently, and more kindly.
The site’s been featured on tons of blogs, including Glamour.com, Jezebel, The Feminist Majority, and others. What an amazing and creative use of the Internet to shed some light on a subject that is endlessly discussed, but often hard to tackle in a concrete way.
Oh, yes!..I have lately been feeling and looking like a blessed belly dancer. Now all I have to do is find my way to some enticing moves in the mirror for my own blessed-body-enjoyment. I love my new beautiful body. ;P
06/24/09 » 11:59 am »
Your right, most people do have a distorted view of what a nice belly looks like. If it isn’t flat and toned, it’s fat, right? What’s really important is for women to keep their waistlines under 35″ for their health. The bigger the belly, the greater the health risk. The Belly Project is a great idea!
06/24/09 » 12:05 pm »
Well, I think a beautiful belly is definitely in the eye of the beholder! I can’t say what that is, except for me. Also important (and often overlooked) is the idea that our body parts are part of a whole; I have a short waist and that’s why I’ve always been sensitive about my belly- but looked at in proportion to everything else, it actually works, as I have long legs. I think we pick ourselves apart too much rather than seeing our bodies wholistically, which is how most people see us.
I don’t want to promote being overweight here, either, because belly fat has been proved to be the most dangerous kind for women and is connected with higher rates of heart disease. But I think an obsession with a totally flat belly (as opposed to one that’s a bit rounded and strong and toned) is problematic too. Ah, balance!
06/25/09 » 11:34 am »