Loving yourself shouldn’t be a radical thing to do, but in a society that capitalises on self-hate, to love yourself is the most radical thing you can do…

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Big bum, small waist, small bum, curvy waist, the ‘in’ thing is constantly shifting form.

It is for this reason that so many people are turning to surgery, because it allows one an opportunity to entirely reconstruct their body.

I have nothing against cosmetic surgery, in and of itself. I very much believe that people should have the choice to do whatever they want with their bodies, and if that means going under the knife, then so be it. But what I am against, however, is a society that makes us feel like we must have surgery, or like we must wear makeup, or like we must lose weight in order for us to be worthy.

In such a sorrowful situation as this, whereby we are told that we are inherently ‘wrong’, it’s no wonder that eating disorders continue to wreak havoc on so many lives.

Boys are being diagnosed with eating disorders at an unprecedented rate.

Whereas once upon a time it was only women who had the pleasure of having every element of their bodies microanalysed and deemed to be either ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ (insecure women were seen as an ‘easy target’, easy to manipulate), now society is getting greedy. It wants to sell more. Because of this, boys and men are now also being fed the extremely harmful narrative of there being a ‘right’ body and a ‘wrong’ body…’

As something that you must live inside of, every single day, for all of your days (your body), it’s extremely difficult, if not impossible, to ignore the offer of a solution to stop you feeling ‘wrong’. It is for this reason, this desperation that people feel to be accepted, that explains why any industry concerning changing our bodies in some way- The diet industry, cosmetics/makeup, surgery, clothes, fitness– are all so profitable.

These industries are so profitable because our supposed ‘shortcomings’ are impossible to ignore when they’re not just something that we acquire, like a phone, for example. If you were told that your phone was too outdated and no longer ‘in’, you’d just go out and buy a new one. When we’re told that our biggest shortcomings are our bodies, though, we cannot just go out and buy a new one. Instead, we buy the only thing on offer, momentary relief.

Like a carrot being dangled in front of us, constantly, we’re forever chasing the wholly unattainable temptation that we’re offered, despite none of it, not even society itself, being real…*

*(When I talk about ‘society’ here, I’m referring to the structure of society, all of which is, and, I hate to be so repetitive but it has to be said, rooted in capitalism).

A structure as deep-rooted as capitalism will, inevitably, take time to break down. I’m not naïve enough to think otherwise. But we can revolt.

We made society, so we can change it.