FMaybe you’ll have enough. In fact, you won’t be able to take it anymore. Of proclamations and commands that have long enjoined: «Be proud of your body! Or: «Love yourself as you are!». Orders given in the name of diversity, body positivity, self-acceptance.
So why talk about it now, and with even more determination? Look at these images. They are elegant, charming, smiling women, girls, ladies who avoid burdening their bodies like inexorable armor but, rather, they are the shining witnesses of a precise choice: that of giving oneself a value, of developing a better version of oneself, whether they are petite or curvy, small, medium or large in stature, of adolescent or more adult age, people fluid or with disabilities.
Models of imperfection
They are imperfect, of course, just like each of us. But also and above all satisfied with themselves, dedicated to strengthening who they are because it makes them feel good. «It is a shame for a person to grow old without seeing the beauty and strength of which his body is capable”, argued Socrates who, even if we didn’t know him, we assume he wasn’t a good-looking Hollywood star type.
These are words with which he invited everyone to make peace with their physicality. Body positivity doesn’t mean punishing yourself, or even eating junk food or not exercising which allows us to stay fit: a new concept of beauty, freer from aesthetic prejudices and more inclusive, is becoming established. A beauty that points to the uniqueness of each person. Which expresses the true self, the authentic emotions and the singular personality of each of us. A beauty in which the clothes, accessories and colors speak of the wearer and express their authenticity. «Beauty exists in truth, not only in appearance», wrote the famous sociologist Francesco Alberoni, who recently passed away.
Be kind to yourself
Many people are beautiful, but they don’t know they are, because they are not kind to their bodies. And they have not become aware that beauty has no stable standards like cherry tomatoes on bruschetta: they change profoundly, they reflect ideas, thoughts and culture of every era. Harmony, nature, spirituality, light, rebirth, sublime, rebellion, emancipation, introspection: all words used to frame it in time, but its transformation is continuous and impalpable because it goes beyond the sphere of rationality and enters the soul and essence of life. Just look at the works of art and aesthetic thoughts produced in history: it is clear how it has always taken on different faces depending on the period and place.
We must celebrate a plurality made up of many singularities and praise what we would once have called “imperfections”, because they make us distinguishable and not homologated like models on the catwalk. Very good, for goodness sake: but honestly, if any of us met them on the street so streamlined and aerodynamic, wouldn’t they also seem far from normal, whatever this word means?
Even influencers, when you think about it, are actually not that similar: just compare the anatomy of the slender Chiara Ferragni (similar to that of the “stereotypical Barbie” played on screen by Margot Robbie), with the opulent silhouette of Kim Kardashian: two opposite female examples, yet imitated by millions of followers. It is, to steal the expression from the title of an interesting essay by Paola Pizza, fashion psychologist, about exercising The courage to like yourself (Franco Angeli).
photo by Andrea Gandini – styling Alessandra Corvasce
«When we think about beauty, our mind falls into cognitive traps. We often believe that the same concept is universally shared. Nothing could be more wrong, we must stop comparing ourselves with unattainable models of perfection and look for the beauty within ourselves. Look in the mirror and be aware of what we think of ourselves, focus on our strengths, get out of the sense of inferiority.” Perfectionism leads us towards unhappiness, while the consensus we can offer ourselves only produces well-being and harmony.
iO Donna © ALL RIGHTS RESERVED