Following on from my last post about swimming against the dieting tide, this little gem arrived in my inbox from Lauren, a reader here at BBC.
Lauren is part of a group of high schoolers who are helping to change the conversation about negative body image in those crucial teen years.
Remember the old trick of tying a piece of string on your finger so you remember that there’s something you need to remember? The girls have designed an Embracelet, to help you remember that you are much more than an object to be looked at by others (or yourself!)
Knowing there are awesome young women like Embrace out there – makes my heart sing 🙂 Yes Virginia, there is hope 🙂
We are Embrace
We feel like we need to combat the issue of negative body image now, as high schoolers, because our energy can often be consumed by counting calories, instead of being used to pursue our passions.
Embrace helps communities “kick” the habit of making body shape and size a topic of conversation and source of judgment.
We want to raise awareness and change behavior by selling bracelets.
Women of all ages will buy the bracelets and, whenever they think or say something that has to do with body image, they will switch wrists.
This small action, which we have been testing ourselves for the past month, helps us stay aware of just how much time and energy they spend thinking about their bodies.
We also believe that if two people are engaging in “fat talk”, the act of switching their bracelets will help them catch themselves and move on to a different topic.
Talking about body image can be a “taboo” topic among teenage girls, but our project aims to remove this stigma.
There are many assemblies and programs that target the extremes of this issue, like eating disorders, but the reality is that all girls struggle with this on some level.
The bracelet system will encourage casual conversation among all girls who worry too much about what they eat or how they look.
We found that efforts similar to our own are being made on college campuses, but in high schools, the problem is too often brushed aside.
Our goal is to focus on this neglected community. With teens keeping each other be accountable, we are confident that we can change the attitude and dialogue surrounding body image.