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Fallon Flowers, senior biology major, shared her personal story about her battle with her own body image Wednesday at open mic night.

You are free to love your body

By: Barbara Cordes

Posted: 10/21/05

According to statistics provided by the Social Issues Research Centre, over 80 percent of fourth grade girls have gone on a fad diet. Did you know that the average weight of a model is 77 percent less than that of an average woman, and 20 years ago models were only 8 percent lower than average women?

With all of the negative ads and images that are forced upon women, it is about time women spoke up about it.

On Wednesday night, women did just that. In honor of National Love Your Body Day, the Women's Center and Feminist Action Alliance sponsored a Women's Voices Open Mic Night.

"Love Your Body Day is a national day of action to speak out against ads and images of women. It is about protesting unrealistic and unhealthy images of women and discrimination based on size and appearance. It also is about promoting positive body images and having positive self-esteem," said Temika Walton, Women's Voices Open Mic Night coordinator.

At the event, any woman who felt like she needed to be heard was invited to go on stage and share her personal story or a poem related to body image, personal appearance or anything that was on her mind.

Ashley Rodgers, sophomore women's studies major, shared her story involving the modeling industry.

"About a month ago, my friend and I had the opportunity to try out for a modeling job for Bedhead hair products. My friend told me we would get $100 for doing it, and it didn't matter what size we were."

When they got to the studio, it was very different than they had expected. The room was filled with overly thin models.

"They weren't a real depiction of what normal girls look like," Rodgers said.

She said she was so upset that she talked to the director about how she felt. The girls still received their $100.

"I can walk away a stronger person and be proud of who I am," Rodgers said.

Janine Cavicchia, Women's Center director, went on stage to read a few poems. The poems, titled "My Daily Self-Evaluation" and "More Secrets for Bountiful Living," both talked about girls who at first felt their flaws were endless, but then came to realize that those are what brings out their uniqueness.

Afterward, Cavicchia added, "There are so many women that want to look like the models they see in ads. Women need to understand there is no such thing as a flawless model. They are all touched up and airbrushed. The media has us believe we need to be a size two or four and weigh 100 pounds. The actual average clothes size for women is a 14 and about 160 pounds."

Walton returned to the stage to express her feelings on the issue.

"You can be any size you want to be as long as it makes you happy, but it doesn't make it alright for you to be obese. It is important to live a healthy lifestyle. Someone who is obese needs to eat healthily so they don't develop high cholesterol, high blood pressure or any other health-related problems."

Fallon Flowers, Women's Health Outreach coordinator, came up next to share her personal story about her battle with her own body image.

"As we all know, everyone has body parts they wish they could change. I, myself, have had issues with my long arms and tall, skinny body ... being a part of the black community, I was told I needed to put some 'meat on my bones.' I was even called a 'monkey' because of my long arms."

Flowers said she no longer has any problems with either of these issues. She now stands up for herself when compared to the thicker, heavier girls, and whenever someone needs to reach a high shelf, they come to her for help.

"When I was younger, I wanted to be a ballet dancer. I was told I was too tall and my arms were too long. I proved everyone wrong, and now look what I can do," said Flowers as she danced across the stage.

Flowers added she now understands that it is OK to look the way she does and she loves her body.

Rose Bell, senior African-American studies major and student assistant at the Women's Center, shared with everyone her view about women needing to stop comparing themselves to each other.

"I know that all women compare themselves to each other. What every person needs to realize is that he (or) she is unique. If someone doesn't have a beautiful smile or perfect hair, it doesn't matter. We all have our faults. If your boyfriend thinks you need to look like Beyonce, tell him to go be with Beyonce. You don't need to change your looks for someone else. If, for some reason, you feel you need to change, do it because you want to do it, not because someone else wants you to," Bell said.

Cavicchia summed up the whole purpose of the event by reminding all of the women there, "Be who you are and love who you are."