Hi Lovelies,
I recently saw the incredible and life-changing documentary ‘Embrace’. It was so brilliant and gut wrenching that I bawled my eyes out through most of it because it hit home so strongly. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, here is the trailer:
This film should be seen by everyone, especially by women and I ask all Mum’s out there, please take your daughters. You won’t regret it.
You see the distortion of body image and how negatively most of us view ourselves has reached truly disturbing proportions. The percentage of people, especially women, who dislike their bodies and / or the way they look in general is incredibly sad and society has a lot to answer for when it comes to the projection of an unrealistic and unattainable ‘perfection’ that we can’t avoid. That is unless of course we crawl under a rock and stay there.
It’s everywhere. Images of so-called ‘beauty’ that are not real. It’s been said before and I’ll repeat it now. Not even the models in the images look like the models in the images. They’ve been stretched and slimmed and primped and smoothed. Eyes are made larger; teeth are whitened; breasts are enlarged and cheek bones are raised. Even Men’s biceps and other body parts I won’t mention are exaggerated and chiselled. No one actually looks like the pictures we are surrounded by and although we all know that photoshop is the culprit, the visual assimilation of these images are what we are absorbing, whether that be subconsciously or consciously.
The beauty and fashion industries are worth billions of dollars and are sold to us in the seeking of perfection. A perfection that doesn’t actually exist and largely lowers the vibration of society as a whole by making people feel they are ‘less than’.
It’s sad and it’s time we all took responsibility for what is going on, not only for ourselves but for the children growing up in this world of false imagery.
We owe it to ourselves and others to stop the nonsense and start spreading the message that ‘you are enough’ as you are. People come in all shapes and sizes and that should be celebrated. It’s what makes each and every one of us unique and special. We are who we are because of everything we have experienced in our lives and none of us should feel like we’d be happier or better off if only we had bigger boobs or lost 5 kilos or got botox to smooth our skin. It’s bullshit and it’s time to change the dialogue we allow to come out of our own mouths and the mouths of others.
It starts with you. Watch your thoughts. Watch what you allow to come out of your mouth. Watch what you allow to be said by those you care about. Pull yourself up. Pull your loved ones up. It’s time to pull society up on this craziness.
As someone who has been in the fashion and beauty industries for 26 years, I know full well the effects this falseness has had on not only myself but on others around me. Eating disorders are rife and people are unhappy in their own skin, which has a ripple effect on their whole life. I’ve been conditioned to ‘talk the talk’ and ‘walk the walk’ and have been criticising my own self for way too long. I’ve also criticised others’ bodies and appearances and I’m ashamed of that. Very ashamed.
I’ve done a lot of work over the years to change this but I have to say, seeing this film has been one of the biggest game changers for me. Truly. Madly. Deeply.
This film helped me to embrace myself, jiggly thighs and all and I want nothing more than each and every one of you to feel the same way about yourselves, so make sure you see it! It will be one of the most valuable documentaries you will ever see.
I believe it’s creator, Taryn Brumfitt, is an Angel in disguise.
Have you seen it? I’d love to hear your thoughts.
Love & Light Always,
Yvette xxx