Say What You Really Want to Say + Big Announcement

Wow! Just read some great advice for writers and anyone trying to gain readership for their cause, blog, or business. Here it is:

(also check out my big announcement!)

Say What You Really Want to Say!

Don’t censor yourself. Stand for something! I think I may have played it a little too safe in the past in my writing. From now on I am going to let this be my guiding mantra when writing! This inspiration is courtesy of Jeff Goins the wonderful writer/blogger who wrote this powerful post: Get More Followers By Breaking the Rules

I love it!

I’ve been on a journey towards this with my latest endeavor and so here is what I want to say today:

Women of the world, please come and visit Real Women’s Bodies today and consider posting an anonymous picture of your of your body along with your story of your body and how you feel about it.

Before you say, “Are you out of your mind?! Get lost!” please read about my mission to help women and why you might want to help:

My New Very Risky Website

RealWomensBodies.com

I have just started a new website that I hope will make a difference for women of all ages. It’s called:

Real Women’s Bodies

The goal of the site is to help women feel better about their body through seeing other women’s bodies in all their glory of different sizes and shapes. From the voluptuous, to the slim, to the in-between, to the so-unique-you-can’t-label-me. They are all: Naked.

Yes, naked. Anonymous, but naked. (that’s how we came into this world, right? So how can naked be bad?)

Naked and beautiful.

Women’s Bodies in the Media, blah, blah, blah, But It’s True

For a long time now the collective media (TV, magazines, billboards, web, etc) have mostly displayed a very narrow range of female body type. You know the one: slim, toned, curved in just the right ways, lustrous hair, and even “perfect” private parts.

There is nothing wrong with this body type. The problem arises when women and girls start to think that this is how they should look in order to be seen as beautiful, desirable, and valuable. From the constant media bombardment of this “standard” female body type in the media, this message gets lodged into women’s subconscious.

For the majority of women who don’t look like this standard, there is often a sense of feeling “less than” or never quite good enough, whether that feeling is fully conscious or just below the surface. This is especially dangerous for young girls and women who then go on to have surgery to meet that “standard.”

The Solution to a Poor Body-Image

If you want to feel better about your own body, there is one powerful way to do that: take a look at what other real women’s bodies look like. I accidentally came across some websites last winter that are doing something similar to my new site, posting pictures of real women’s bodies along with their incredibly personal and moving stories about how they feel about them.

When I read these stories, it made me feel tremendous compassion for these women. I saw the beauty in each of them and realized that this beauty is in me too and that I need to give myself the same level of compassion. This was the beginning of a new way of viewing my own body, a very kind-hearted and positive approach.

Inspiration

I was inspired by several websites that are doing something similar. I wanted to take the best of what I saw available out there and expand it to include all parts of women’s bodies. The reason is simple, women are very insecure about many parts of their bodies including even their most personal and private parts to the point of having cosmetic procedures that are unnecessary and quite frankly, dangerous.

I want women to be able to see the true expansive variety of women’s bodies. We are all different. As humans we can feel insecure and when we absorb the media’s message about the standard female body, we feel all the more insecure. We want to blend in and look like everyone else so we will feel safe from ridicule. But this never fixes our insecurity. We just continue to measure ourselves against the “standard” which is nearly impossible to measure up to.

The way to feel more secure about your body is to realize how different we each are and to realize that Different = Unique and that Unique = Good. (Tweet This)

When you see that Different IS the Norm then you will come to see how perfect you are, just the way you are! (Tweet This) It is a process. It doesn’t happen overnight, but you CAN feel better about your body, good even.

Even if you have a decent body image, by seeing other women’s bodies, it can really have a positive impact on your life. It did for me. I believe it will do the same for you.

Build It and They Will Come

So I have built the site, RealWomensBodies.com, and now it is just waiting for you to arrive and to share your pictures of your body and just as importantly to share your personal story. It is waiting for your friends, sisters, and mothers to arrive and share their stories and pictures. Will you invite them?

Will you post your picture?

What’s In It For You?

Why would you do it if there was no benefit to you? Here’s how you will benefit:

Knowing that you are helping other women, maybe women who are feeling the way you do or the way you used to feel. Perhaps your story will make such a positive influence that they begin to make positive choices that have far reaching impact on their life. And you were a part of that.
In posting your picture you are coming to terms with how you feel about your body. You may surprise yourself by what you write. You now have the opportunity to see your positive aspects. And this is the beginning of a new positive way of viewing your body.
Posting your own picture is an acknowledgement to yourself and the world that you are beautiful and perfect just the way you are. That you don’t have to be anything other than who you are to be valuable and beautiful. It is a show of strength.
In posting your picture, you help give another woman to courage to post hers. This courage leads her to change how she feels about her body and she teaches that new positive view to her daughter and now one young woman might not have to fight the same demons because she was brought up with a strong positive foundation. Knowing you made a difference you become a recipient of that goodness as well.

Don’t think that your contribution couldn’t possibly have such a positive impact on other people’s lives because it really can. And I thank you in advance for any contribution you can make to spreading our message, even if it is to simply pass along the website to your friends and sisters.