It is easier to say to someone else, “Be happy with who you are”, than to actually be happy with ourselves. All of us, in some way, shape or form, are unhappy with our physical appearance. Whether that be our big nose, big behind, or general lack of shapeliness, we do whatever we can to make it better.

With a positive or healthy body image, a woman has a real perception of her size and shape, and she feels comfortable with her body. With a negative body image, a woman has a distorted perception of her shape and size, compares her body to others, and feels shame and anxiety about her body. Being unhappy with your body can affect how you think and feel about yourself as a person. A poor body image can lead to emotional distress, low self-esteem, dieting, anxiety, depression, and eating disorders. Developing a positive body image and a healthy mental attitude is crucial to a woman’s happiness and wellness.

http://www.4woman.gov/bodyImage/

When we think of Hollywood, we think of bodily perfection. We never think of reality, as the search for perfection in this part of the woods creates results that are far from perfect, and creates a look that is as far away from ‘human’ as one can imagine. Take a look at the likes of Kenny Rogers, Joan Rivers, and actor Mickey Rourke. It is not known as the place where you can be comfortable to just ‘be.’

Enter fashionista Carson Kressley, one of the five gay men from the series ‘Queer Eye for a Straight Guy.’ This man is flamboyant, but not the most attractive little stick insect on the planet. However, he knows his stuff, and he has brought to television the most extraordinary show. The show is ‘How to Look Good Naked.’ Unusual name for a program, I know, but what it achieves is remarkable. Throughout the course of the program:

These women hate to look at themselves in the mirror. One woman doesn’t even own a full-length mirror. Without any diet or exercise, Carson helps them get through their image crises and feel good about themselves and how they look. Just a little bit of encouragement, the right clothing and a good hairstyle can make all the difference in the world. And their final test is a photo shoot – naked! But tastefully so.

http://www.movieweb.com/news/NEppvttqBnIxsy

Now, you might think this is just typical hollywood trash, but what this man does for women who think they are less than perfect could single handedly lower depression amongst overweight woman, and drastically lower the levels of bulimia and anorexia amongst woman who feel hideous because of the way they look, as stated in the earlier quote.

Yes, he is like the ‘gay best friend’, who thinks you are fabulous, no matter what. But in the episode I saw, he brought an attractive young lady out of a twenty year cycle of depression and hatred of herself, to a point where she was in a naked photo shoot. This part did surprise me and made me think that he may have gone too far, but it is an incredibly tasteful shoot, and not really naked at all. It also allows the women to feel that they are so sexy, that they can achieve a level of attractiveness and desirability that they never thought possible.

Remember, these women hate themselves. And because they hate themsleves, there is no way they think anyone can love them. What Kressley does, is go beyond just putting them into a nice dress, putting on some makeup and doing their hair. He gets them to see the good parts of their bodies before all that happens. He affirms them and affirms what parts of their body are beautiful and sexy. He destroys the myths that our minds can create, and doesn’t just give the woman lovely sweet words to ‘make her feel better.’ Case in point was when the girl I watched thought she had huge hips. Kressley got together a line up of woman with a variation of hip sizes from smallest to largest. He got this girl to stand where she thought she should be. She of course put herself at the largest end. Kressley then informed her that she was actually at the smallest end of the scale, thereby destoying a myth, and making the girl wonder whether all the other assumptions she has made about herself were true. He did these kind of ‘mythbusting’ experiments throughout the whole show. Take a look at this experiment:


 What I was so impressed with, was Kressley’s decision to do this. He is a gay man in Hollywood, and he knows about image. Even if this is just a great career move for him and he doesn’t believe a word of it in real life, it is immaterial. What he will do for thousands of women with negative body image is to be praised. I wrote a very popular blog post some months back about British TV presenter Louise Redknapp and her experiment to get into an American size 0, and the appalling techniques of her personal trainer. Because of the money he makes, he is willing to destroy the health of his female clients. For me, Kressley has gone completely the other way, and through positive suggestion, affirmation, and sensible tips, has allowed women to feel they are sexy, they are desirable, no matter what their shape.

With more shows like this, eating disorders and depression among many women may well be a thing of the past.

Enjoy your day.

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