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Sometimes I hate the media. Really hate it. Especially media geared towards women.
I know, pretty rich coming from me, right? But seriously, there is some kind of worldwide conspiracy that has everyone I know, including women actually working in this industry, in its evil clutches.
Not only are we constantly being told what to wear and what to buy and how to act and even how to have sex (apparently if you’re not licking your partner’s bottom these days you’re not doing it right). We’re also told that if we don’t spend all our earthly wealth and all our waking hours to comply with these outlandish demands we’re not good enough.
Of all these ridiculous burdens I believe the one that does the most damage to women is the ridiculous body myth.
You all know what I’m talking about, so I’m not even going to go there, but currently I am extremely annoyed by the recent duplicitousness of the thindustry.
Over the last decade or so, since women have started to rebel against the impossible standard of beauty, words like “thin”, “skinny”, “diet”, “slender” etc have become unfashionable in some circles.
Instead, people have started using the catch-all term “healthy”: Get healthy this summer! Eat your way to a healthy body! 10 tips for a healthier you!
Ja, right.
Women have developed such a negative connotation to the whole “being healthy” farce that they’ve stopped doing actual healthy things because they’ve given up on being thin. Just to be clear: You do not have to be a size 6 to be healthy, the same way that being a size 16 is not necessarily unhealthy.
And those who haven't given up yet are so desperate to be thin that they’ll achieve it at any cost. The other day someone actually told me that I should start smoking again to lose the weight I’ve gained since I quit. Very healthy, right?
So, in response to all this nonsense we’re offering you the #24Challenge.
Whether you walk 1km every day for 24 days, or run 24km in one go, whether you meet 24 new people or tell 24 loved ones how much they mean to you, whether you do 24 sit-ups, or just one sit-up for 24 days, we want you to share it with us.
This is not about getting thin. It’s about getting excited about our lives and our minds and the bodies we live in. It’s about going back to the roots of what healthy really means.
Go here for more details and also to see on what you can win (yes, of course there’s a prize!) and join us in taking “healthy” back.
Love and still not smoking,
Lili
