Body Image Self-Descriptors and Diversity

Have you guys seen or heard of TEDx Talks before? They’re absolutely brilliant.  They are essentially short and poignant talks, on topics from society, to science, to global issues, and absolutely everywhere inbetween! They are dedicated to spreading and sharing ideas around the world (creating deeper understandings, changing attitudes, changing lives and eventually, changing the world).

It is one of my aims to try and listen to more, my goal at the moment is at least one a week! So, with that being said, one of the very first TED Talks I ever listened to is one that I find INCREDIBLY interesting.
  

Her first minute or so really caught my attention, challenged my ideas and introduced me to the concept of self-descriptors.  It also helps that her confidence is KILLER. 

I know that some of you may not get around to watching this talk straight away, so take a read of these:
  



YES, LILLIAN!

She's right. We, as a society, place such connotations on specific words; I'm guilty of it, I am not the tallest person by any means haha, I'm most definitely a bit of a shorty - and although there are times where I will joking or genuinely complain about it, at the end of the day - it's a self-descriptor. Nothing wrong with that.

I think I found this talk incredibly interesting because, as much as I do believe that what she's saying is valid, not everyone is as confident as her when it comes to their "thing" that deviates from body image societal expectations.

For a while when people would say to me I'm short I wouldn't like it, even though it is a self-descriptor (I think I just wanted to be taller - society's typical beauty standards speaking there, I reckon), but I will say I'm definitely much better at owning it now. 

But, what the above has taught me, is even though something may seem to be a self-descriptor for another individual, be mindful of how they may feel about it. Be sensitive and respectful of potential insecurities. 

At the same time, maybe our society could be doing a better job in getting rid of those insecurities. She continues her talk to mention a study called, 'Visual Diet versus Associative Learningas Mechanisms of Change in Body Size Preferences' 


Via

Basically, "The more we see one kind of body, the more we like that kind of body." I think we would all know that tall and skinny is the kind of body we tend to see in media all the time, but recently lots of people in the spotlight have been embracing curves and more girls are wanting that now as well. Lillian said, the more body diversity that is shown to us, the more it's normalised, the more people will feel comfortable in accepting whatever they are. ❤️ 

'Seeing body diversity, makes us more comfortable with diverse bodies'. 
Ultimately, her message that you can be happy with your body no matter what it looks like is a welcome reminder of just how important positive body image is. 

She is socially significant and she's sharing that, and that is so brave.

P.S. If you guys do watch the video, how brilliant is the idea behind 'Courage Reference' - can you think of one for yourself? ☺️



New blog post will be up next wednesday!
Until then, you can follow me on - 
They're all linked so you should just be able to click on them! :)

Have a great rest of the week!

❤️Raashi
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10 comments:

  1. This is one of my favorite Ted talks! I was shown this in my child development class and it’s so inspirational! If we see all these adjectives as only self descriptors, I think there would be a lot less bullying and body image issues.

    And I’m short too! But it’s good that we embrace it. ( : It is tough though...my legs are so short I always have to roll up my jeans.

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    1. Oh my gosh, I just love that you were shown this in a child development class - it's so important! It just really hit me how certain body traits have been turned into synonyms for ugly, more so than ever in our generation.

      Hehe yes, shorties together :) Haha oh my gosh yes, the struggles are so real! Haha.

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  2. Another inspriring post!
    I have actually watched that Tedx Talk after i saw the GIF set on tumblr multiple times and I was blown away by Lillian's confiedence and the talk really made me think.

    I actually have a physical version of a "courage reference". I have a tiny notebook with happy thoughts, exciting moments, and accomplishments, written down in it. I carry it with me when I know I have to go through challenging situations to give me a little push of confidence and a more happy mindset.
    It really helps if you have to do presentations or take exams/finals.

    www.rosegoldheart.blogspot.com

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    1. Right! Her confidence is amazing - I just love her for it!
      Oh my gosh Rose that's so awesome, I may have to do something like that for myself! ☺️

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  3. Wow, this totally made me think! It's totally inspiring me, I wish I'd read this when I was 14 and going through my I'm-so-fat phase.

    New follower! :)

    Sinead @ Less Reality More Books

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    1. Aww thank you!

      It's such an interesting way to look at it, just because I feel like our society is so used to looking at it in the exact opposite way. It's quite thought-provoking how certain words have been conditioned to our ears to equal "pretty" or "ugly".

      P.S. Your blog is just awesome! :)

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  4. I adore TED talks and have enjoyed some of the recent empowering ones on body image - will give this one a listen too! xxx

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    1. Aww yay Miranda! :) A fellow TED Talk lover, they're just so eye-opening, give me such different perspectives - and I love that!

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  5. I really like TED talks and I usually listen many of them. They are all so inspiring (like this one) and you learn so many things, they are amazing! One of my favourite is the one that Jamie Oliver gave, and it's quite relevant with the one you shared. I was shocked when I first watched it.

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    1. I've opened it up on my laptop and I'm already so excited to listen to it tomorrow when I get back from uni! Thanks so much for the suggestion Aeriko! ☺️

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