How a Fitting Room Taught Me to Love My Body More
This is going to be short and sweet, but I need you to pay attention. Ready?
The other day I was in a fitting room where the light was coming from overhead. As I tried clothes on I became increasingly frustrated with myself because of how I looked in the outfits and to be honest, how I looked in general. Exasperated, I gave up and went across the road to another store (normally I would have went home, but I need an outfit for a workshop next week). The next fitting room I went into had lights that went around the mirror aka the ringlight effect and I couldn’t help but check myself out - “she’s cuuuute” I said out loud. And that’s when it hit me. My body hadn’t changed between one fitting room and the other - the LIGHTING had. One type of lighting made me look older and more textured - both things we’ve been taught are things to avoid. The second type of lighting made me look fresh faced and youthful - both things we’ve been taught to strive for.
In both scenarios, I. Was. The. Same. Person. With. The. Same. Body.
The same thing happens when we have a “skinny” mirror or a wide angle lens. It contorts the true way we look, but with the “skinny” mirror we feel more confident and the wide part of the wide angle lens we feel less confident. With clothing choices, certain outfits will make us look bigger and others will make us look closer to the beauty standard - in all of these situations our bodies remain the same, so why do we get so frustrated with ourselves?
BEAUTY STANDARDS.
The truth is - your body is not the thing giving you stress. It’s the needless attempt to achieve beauty as it’s been sold to us. So, the next time you are in the fitting room and getting frustrated - pay attention to the light. Stop berating your body and start looking at the external context that’s actually bringing you frustration.
And if you do find yourself in a fitting room with shitty overhead light that’s making your body image bullshit come to the surface, take a step back until you are out of the direct spotlight as in the photo below so that you can adhere closer to the beauty standard and survive your trip to the store. Just understand your body was never the problem.
