Body Positivity

“The most important relationship we have in our lives, is the one we have with ourselves, and we’re not taught about it.”

Iskra Lawrence

Ask yourself these questions and answer them as truthfully as you can:

• Have you ever looked in the mirror and wondered why you couldn’t look like the people in the magazines, TV, or films?
• Have you ever walked into a store and thought you couldn’t pull off certain articles of clothing?
• Have you (or has someone else) ever compared yourself to another person (family member, friend, stranger, or celebrity)?

You’ve probably answered yes to all these questions.

That’s okay.

Now, let me ask you one more question.

Can you stand in front of a mirror right now and be completely satisfied with the way you look?

...

The answer is mostly likely no.

So, you’ve probably seen or heard the phrase body positivity floating around the internet a lot lately but you’d like a better understanding of it, or maybe you worry you’re excluded from it because of how you look or feel about yourself

What is body positivity?

Body positivity is unlearning the idea that only certain bodies are worth acceptance and praise, and instead recognizing that ALL bodies are equally valuable. It’s deciding what feels good and healthy for YOU personally, and letting other people do so for themselves. It’s understanding that you deserve to live in your body without receiving the prejudice of others (rude comments, reduced economic opportunity, inadequate health care, or something else), and working toward a world where NO ONE’S body is the target of such bias.

The roots of can be found in the fat acceptance movement, which supports the liberation of fat bodies and fights against stigma surrounding them. However, the definition of body positivity has been broadened to encompass bodies that haven’t traditionally been the target of such disproportionate bias.

One big misconception is that body positivity isn’t for men. It is important to recognize that people who identify outside the gender binary (or those who don’t easily “pass”) should also be able to live in and love their bodies without being treated by healthcare professionals, employers, law enforcement, or anybody else.

Accepting and loving your body doesn’t mean that the outside is the most important part about you, or that you cease working to improve your nonphysical qualities. For me, adopting body-positive ideals actually freed up my mind to learn more about what I want to get out of life, to open myself up to others, to be more accepting of others, and to work on gaining knowledge and skills I never gotten around to learn about because I was so consumed with the size of my thighs.

So here are the main points of what body positivity is and isn’t:

• Being body positive doesn’t make you immune to the pressures society places on your body.
• Modern body positivity is for people of ANY size.
• It is for people of every gender.
• It doesn’t make you vain or vapid.

As part of the project, I spoke to friends and family about the topic of body positivity. I asked 3 people on why they think its important to have a positive outlook when it comes to body image. Also, if they had the opportunity to go back and talk to their younger selves about body positivity/image. What would they say to their younger self?

Anna Martha Agundez

Age: 25

English Student at California State University, Sacramento

"Body Positivity is important to me because even though we as humans should all strive to be healthy, we should also love our natural bodies with whatever genetic cocktail we are born with. Trying to "over-correct" our bodies causes stress and shame which are unhealthy."

"If I could talk to my younger self, I would simply say that 'No matter what you envy in other girls' bodies, they envy something about you, which means you are actually beautiful and you don't need to feel like your body is missing something to make you feel beautiful.'"

Sarah Jihad Al-Tayab

Age: 23

Vegan / Body Positive Activist

"Being apart of the body positive community has given me the confidence I've long needed to embrace the body I have and show it off to the world. Nobody can tell you your body isn't beautiful."

"Just because she's thinner than you, doesn't mean she's prettier than you."

Michaela Nasello

Age: 26

Masters Student at San Diego State University

"Body Positivity to me is empowering yourself to go and erase the definition that society has made for what is considered beautiful and to redefine it to what beautiful means to YOU."

"I know you don't like the way your hips, thighs, and booty look right now. But in a few years, girls will be paying thousands of dollars to have them. So get off the treadmill and go eat a canoli."

Body positivity is about working toward a world where everyone can live in their bodies as they please while receiving the same respect, representation, and opportunities as everyone else.

References

http://www.thebodypositive.org/

http://everydayfeminism.com/2015/12/what-is-body-positvity/

https://www.buzzfeed.com/norawhelan/body-positivity-101?utm_term=.wcpYab012W#.nbmMDLp5bK

http://www.refinery29.com/2016/07/117556/fat-acceptance-movement-sizeism-explained

http://www.womansday.com/health-fitness/advice/a57752/what-is-the-body-positive-movement/

The Perception of ADHD

Research

The perception of attention deficit disorder (ADD) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is an issue a lot of people with the disorder face, because many people do not believe the validity of this disorder. ADHD is considered to be a mental disorder and is usual accompanied by other learning disabilities and mental disorders like depression or anxiety. As a community mental disorders are not often talked about or discussed and are invisible to everyone but the person diagnosed with the disorder. This means that ADHD and ADD are taboo topics to most of the community and are often misunderstood by teachers, employers, friends and even family. ADHD was one of first mental disorders believed to be caused by a lack of a neurotransmitters in the brain called norepinephrine. This is why one of the main treatments for this disorder is adderall, which is a drug that acts likes norepinephrine for the brain and helps to improve the function of different parts of the brain such as the frontal cortex, helping the person with ADHD to focus, organize and process things better. Sometimes though the stigma surrounding ADHD keeps people from getting treatment or even getting diagnosed. This misconception of the disorder by the community leaves many thinking they are just scattered brain forgetful or have bad time management when in reality it may just be a symptom of ADHD. The more people are educated about ADHD the more people will be able to get help, support and understanding from others in the community. We need to change how people percive this disorder in order to help people feel comfort with getting help and to make sure children in school are not getting left behind.

Resources

https://www.additudemag.com/neuroscience-101/

https://www.additudemag.com/truth-about-adhd/

Buchanan, T. , Charles, M. , Rigler, M. , & Hart, C. (2010). Why are older faculty members more accepting of students with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder? a life-course interpretation. International Journal of Disability, Development and Education, 57(4), 351-369.

Personal Insight

When I was young although I was intelligent I had trouble in school, completing my work at the same pace as other kids, completing my homework was alway a dragged out and long fight between my mother and I, I would get hyper focused on my writing and It took a lot of patience to make me a fluent reader. All these small things never seemed like hugh issues but were definitely not average, in fourth grade I tested into gate, but my teacher did not sign me off to enter the program because I did not complete my classwork and homework. My mother thought this was unfair, it was not like she was not sitting at the kitchen table for hours trying to make me complete homework. Eventually, in middle school my teachers realised I was not in the right academic level of classes, they decide to allow me into the gate program and the honors classes that accompanied. This however proved to be a challenge for me my sixth grade year because of the work load that followed. Eventually my mother decide it was not normal how long it took it me to complete assignments, so she took me to get tested by a psychologist to see if there was a reason for my slower pace. At this point I was told I had attention deficit disorder (ADD) and a few other other minor learning disabilities. This was the answer my mother was finally looking for and gave her peace of mind. However the perception of this mental disorder at the time was very misunderstood and left my education experience riddle with challenges and needs that were never met because teachers did not understand that I learned differently than others. The reality of how this mental disorder is perceived came full force when my brother who also diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) reached middle school. The middle school fought my mother on all of the accommodations she requested for him, because they believed he was smart enough to just do the work.

Unfortunately, there are still many people who are unaware and uneducated on the signs and symptoms of this mental disorder. This disorder has a huge impact on my daily life and so many people perceive me differently when they learn I have ADD. This usually comes from a place of misinformation on the topic and misunderstanding of the breath of this disorder. However, I feel this mental disorder is becoming more understood thanks to the recognition of the disorder in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). Overall, communities are becoming more educated on this topic, but I think we need to continue to educate our communities further so children with this disorder are not left behind and adults have the opportunity to find help if they are not diagnosed.

Matthew A.

Alan C.

Jeff J.

Claire J.

Zachary C.

Victoria P.