Body Talk
Your body, your choice? A place to debate and discuss the complexities and controversies surrounding women's' health issues, reproductive rights, and bodily autonomy.
Stretch Marks and Stigma
Body positivity: A foreign concept to most. Looking in the mirror and analysing every feature of your body, reciting words of others repeatedly around in your head until they eventually become a part of you, chipping away at your mind. It's a sad fact that anxiety surrounding body image has significantly increased in the 21st century, with social media constantly defining beauty standards.
Fat Girl Vs. Beautiful Girl
Being fat — No... having fat makes you "fat" and therefore I am a "fat girl" and have been all my life — or so I was told. It's not as much fun being the "big girl" as it is being the "big guy," for one is a compliment while to the other is considered "polite." This is a prose poem about Fat Girl.
Jennifer RPublished 6 years ago in VivaWhy Shouldn't I Be Confident?
Being a woman is hard. They want us to be thin, then they want us to be thick. And sometimes, both at the same time. This is an everyday struggle that we all face.
Mikaela BallPublished 6 years ago in VivaHow I Made Myself Feel Better About My Body
I never thought that I would get this far. I had no future plans. I really thought that by the age of 16 I would kill myself. Here I am today now 21. I still struggle with things but I'm not as bad as I use to be. For the record the picture featured is not mine. I don't own it.
Jess PerryPublished 6 years ago in VivaGuys We F*cked
I am an avid Podcast listener. My obsession began this past summer, when I was looking for a healthy distraction from a lot of chaos in my life. I am fortunate to work at a job where I am not micromanaged, I work at my own pace, and I have the freedom to put in my Air Pods and listen to Podcasts all day long. I love it and I recommend Podcasts to anyone who needs a good distraction. Honestly, they have helped me overcome my depression and anxiety and feel less lonely during a period of time in my life that proved to be extremely difficult. I discovered the Guys we F*cked Podcast about two months ago, and I have been binge listening ever since. If you haven't heard of this amazing Podcast or if you have and are unsure of what the hell you just stumbled upon, allow me to introduce you.
RaeAnna MercadoPublished 6 years ago in VivaBody Positive
I was told as a child your body is your temple, ever heard that saying before? But what I wasn’t told was not all bodies were accepted and celebrated in society or on social media. I was never told that even though it is beautiful that women's bodies come in different shapes and sizes… not all shapes are acceptable.
Patrice BoothePublished 6 years ago in VivaWaist Trainers Are a Scam, Personal Trainers Are Not
My fellow ladies, we want to be beautiful. We want to be slim with curves in all the right places. And I can assure you that waist trainers have no part to play in the pursuit of beauty. There is no quick-fix to a small waist except for surgery!
Why I Don’t Shave
I don’t shave my underarms. Right now some of you are mentally giving me high fives, raising your fist to cheer me on and cursing the beauty standards that making shaving your underarms so important. Others literally gagged a little and may have stopped reading because you think this is another stand against the patriarchy and their beauty standards. It’s not.
Kathryn BrownPublished 6 years ago in VivaA Love Letter to My Body After 3 Kids
I'm only 28, yet my belly is not as tight as it used to be. My breasts don't sit quite as high, and, if we're being honest, are not even close to being the same size. My nails are more brittle, and I'm starting to see laugh lines appear by my eyes.
Letitia LouPublished 6 years ago in VivaWhat Is Beautiful
Being a young lady in today's generation, I have struggled with this subject for some time. It is not until recently that I have started challenging it. The past few years have been nothing but following the styles and trends, trying to "keep up with the Joneses." These trends I have now found are not quite "me," yet I was so fooled into thinking they were....
Elizabeth JohnstonPublished 6 years ago in VivaOf Metamorphic Potential
The sun beamed on my face as sweat mixed with hair grease burned the side of my eyes. Or maybe it was the smell of freshly laid tar that sat on top of Abu’s storage extension.
Jamila KhanPublished 6 years ago in VivaMother May I
It seems to be a popular topic to discuss regarding body shaming. With social media in our grasps, today’s generation have taken bullying to the next level… we have young girls starving themselves and committing suicide every day because they couldn’t reach that idealistic “perfect” body.