This Is My Body
Please note : stories are writers own and where requested, names have been withheld or changed to protect anonymity. If you have a story you'd like to share, please email us at hello@becomingmums.com for more information.
This Is My Body by Kay Loveday
This is my body.
This is just me.
Every bump, every mark,
Every freckle you see.
But we live in a world where our image is rated.
Our faces retouched.
Our bodies debated.
Our children are learning,
To nip, tuck and tweak.
And filter their faces,
For the “perfect” we seek.
How do they feel,
When they see their reflections?
As they watch us spout hatred,
Towards our imperfections.
“I hate my big nose”
“I need plumper lips”
“My legs look like tree trunks”
“I want smaller hips”
Their self worth relies
On the actions we show.
If we don’t love our beauty,
Then how will they know?
How will they know how to accept their own?
When chasing perfection is what they are shown.
Influenced by influencers,
The filtered, the fake.
Retouch, add filter,
Re-take, re-take.
Smooth out the marks,
That adorn your bare skin.
Make your eyes appear larger,
Make your nose appear thin.
The lines of reality blurred beyond vision.
Our image enhanced to beyond recognition.
Looking into the mirror,
It’s our duty to say,
“I love you” to ourselves.
Say it every day.
This is my body.
This is just me.
Every line, every blemish,
Every scar that you see.
My flaws are flawless.
My uniqueness my power.
My beauty it blooms,
Like a blossoming flower.
My imperfections are perfectly me.
From the kinks in my hair,
To the scrape on my knee.
The self love we have,
trickles into our daughters.
May confidence flow through them,
Like the purest of waters.
The acceptance of ourselves
Will reflect on our sons.
Their self esteem encouraged,
By their dads and their mums.
Normalise pimples,
Stretch marks and lines.
Normalise real beauty,
and what it defines.
Celebrate curves, breathtakingly bold.
Embrace the greyness of hair growing old.
Admire the wrinkles, the indents of time.
Bask in the glow of young skin in its prime.
Normalise you,
Normalise me,
Normalise the “normal” bodies we see.
These are our bodies,
In their unfiltered glory
Every one of them different.
Every one holds a story.
And the moral of this story
If you’ve come this far
Is that we are all beautiful,
Just as we are.
(You can watch Kay's beautiful video of body positivity here.)
