This weekend, remind yourself about how beautiful your body is

Have you ever looked at yourself in the mirror? I don’t mean glance, like check-out-if-everything-is-in-place kind of look, but really look. If yes, what do you see? And if no, why? Personally, I can say that there are days when I’m feeling myself and I end up lingering in front of the mirror, celebrating my body. But there are days too when looking at a mirror seems more like a difficult chore, or a punishment. Our relationship with our own body can get complicated, especially for us ladies. For years, how we perceive our body has been dictated by society, mainly through media platforms. Fortunately, as more voices speak out against these harmful messages on  body image, more media outlets and marketing campaigns have also taken the stand to promote body-positivity. For instance, some publications and brand advertorials have agreed to stop airbrushing models. Fashion and beauty brands and platforms have also become conscious about how they present their message or present the woman’s body in the public. While we celebrate these genuine efforts, we remain critical.

As body-positivity advocate Jameela Jamil said in an interview with Marie Claire, “It’s become a marketing slogan, and that’s not what it was originally for.” She explained,”It was supposed to be inclusive, and again now, it’s been taken over by very slender, often Caucasian women. And that’s fine, but they weren’t the reason that body positivity was started and needed. So it’s turned into just a way for brands to have an excuse to talk about women’s bodies some more.”

This is why we’re a hundred percent behind She Talks Asia, an organization whose values and advocacy we believe in. Founded and managed by a group of bad-ass ladies, girl bosses in their own right, they believe that the improvement of self is tantamount to the improvement of society. Part of their efforts is building programs and platforms that focus on education, dialogue, and community, with the aim of empowering individuals to work with or through their struggles and become the best version of themselves—thus creating leaders, innovators, and confident individuals that make better overall life choices. They use the power of  dialogue and storytelling to connect with the public.