Growing up, Chelsea Chaffee had severe body image problems.
These insecurities are what led her to join the Body Project as a junior at IU, Chaffee said.
The Body Project is a Panhellenic Associaton organization at IU that promotes positive body image.
As a student director for the Body Project, Chaffee participated in Celebrate EveryBODY week this year, which is used to promote the Body Project’s ideals among other students.
“We’re trying to make them more aware of negative body image thoughts so they will have more positive body image thoughts,” Chaffee said.
Chaffee joined the Body Project because she wanted to use her experiences as an example to improve the lives of those with similar experiences, she said.
When she was 10 years old, she said she noticed she was “chubbier” than other girls at her school, and members of her family began pointing out how she looked “chunky.”
Upset by this, Chaffee said she began skipping lunches, regulating her meals closely and looking in envy at slim models she saw in magazines.
When she was 14 years old, her former stepmother told Chaffee she had an unattractive nose and should get a nose job.
Chaffee said this only furthered her insecurities.
Through her experiences with the Body Project, Chaffee said she realized kindness and generosity were more important traits to have than beauty.
“My training with Body Project helped me devalue beauty,” Chaffee said.
Celebrate EveryBODY week launched Tuesday with an exclusive screening for sisters of the 2015 documentary “The Illusionists” at Delta Gamma.
The film explored how society places an emphasis on beauty internationally, as well as the consequences of trying to achieve absolute beauty.
“The Illusionists” showed the Western world wasn’t alone in regards to trying to capture the perfect body image.
Several audience members said they were shocked by just how spread out this insecurity was, including Body Project peer leader Arielle Cohen.
“I didn’t think this kind of problem was as prevalent in other countries,” Cohen said.
The content of the film, particularly the tendency of modeling companies to hire only slim models, brought up the discussion of Sports Illustrated recently introducing their first plus-size model, who is a size 16.
While there has been controversy over whether or not a size 16 model could be considered plus-size, Cohen said she thinks Sports Illustrated is correct in their new move.
“I think baby steps are a great thing,” Cohen said.
Those involved with Celebrate EveryBODY week tabled at the Indiana Memorial Union Starbucks three times.
While tabling, the Body Project had students write on hearts their favorite part of their body, based solely on its function, Chaffee said.
“We wanted them to choose parts of their body based on what they do for them rather than how they look,” Chaffee said.
All the hearts were posted along the back wall in the IMU Starbucks.
Celebrate EveryBODY week ended Thursday with a “scale-smashing” event outside on East 10th Street and Fee Lane.
Passers-by were able to take a hammer and smash one of 10 available scales.
This event was put on to actively engage students by having them reject society’s body standards and smash a scale, Chaffee said.
Afterward, she said she and other members would give the participant a sticker and an explanation of what the Body Project is.
Two participants, who were missionaries from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, said they enjoyed smashing the scales.
“It doesn’t really matter what you look like because God gave us our bodies,” Patrick Lorsch, a sophomore missionary, said.
The other participant, freshman Mitch Palmer, said he agreed with Lorsch’s statement.
“As long as we’re taking care of our bodies,” Palmer said. “Our bodies are perfect the way they are.”
