Celebrate every body, even men

Every time I’ve trudged to the Student Recreational Services Center for a workout this week, I’ve been greeted and cheered by signs declaring “Celebrate EveryBODY.”

Celebrate EveryBODY Week fights back against a must-achieve-a-beach-body mentality with gigantic posters, encouraging messages scrawled on mirrors, and colorful little reminders to “be-you-tiful” posted on every machine.

But that’s just what troubles me. “Be-you-tiful.”

As I walked past all the phrases and quotes painted on the mirrors, I couldn’t help but notice that nearly all of them included vocabulary like “beautiful” or “gorgeous.” It’s no secret that those who battle insecurity regarding weight and body image are overwhelmingly women — more than 90 percent — but the almost complete absence of messages geared toward men speaks to a different issue entirely.

If we keep negative body image a women’s issue, it will not only exacerbate the problem for women, but limit support and availability of resources for men who battle the same damaging mentality.

Of course, the SRSC’s oversight is one in a million examples of gendered self-empowerment campaigns.

A quick visit to the WeightWatchers website shows women joyfully swinging in the sunset or running through the waves, exalting in their new bodies. Seventy-five percent of the customers featured on the “success stories” page are women. Their celebrity spokeswomen include Jennifer Hudson, Jessica Simpson and Jenny McCarthy, but there’s not a man in sight.

The media spreads two dangerous body-image messages every day. The first is that worrying about one’s weight is for women, and the second is that it’s a totally acceptable part of female culture.The high prevalence and normalization of physical insecurity among women in America needs no reinforcement, considering we celebrated the 10-year anniversary of “Mean Girls” this week.

But what about the guys? They comprise only 10 percent of those who struggle with eating disorders, but even 0.1 percent would be a statistic worthy of attention.

Despite many shortcomings, our generation will usher in a new era of more open-mindedness and acceptance. We need to make sure that everyone is welcome on that bandwagon.

I applaud the SRSC’s campaign to end self-criticism and encourage us all to appraise our reflections with a little more kindness and love. There are not nearly enough organizations today who attempt to promote that message without promoting a product or agenda alongside it.

Let’s just remember to truly celebrate every body by removing the gendered stigmas of self-image battles and promoting the kind of fellowship that allows us to love ourselves and each other for who we are.

­sbkissel@indiana.edu
@QueSarahSarah_