The Body Is Not An Apology: One Woman’s Quest to Defy Society’s Standard of Beauty

I really like this idea. A woman named Sonya Taylor (no relation) is using Facebook to launch a self-acceptance movement. 

Sonya started Bad Picture Monday as part of her body empowerment project, The Body Is Not An Apology.  For the last two years, she’s been posting an unflattering photo of herself every Monday and encouraging others to do the same. Taylor says that by sharing “bad” pictures, people are defying society’s limited standards of beauty and accepting themselves as they are.

If you think about it, this project is pretty significant in our social-media-obsessed world, where everyone is working overtime to craft the perfect image on the internet.

I can’t even tell you how many reports I’ve read by experts who say the constant presence of social media puts extra pressure on people to compare themselves to each other in an unhealthy way. And you know, it's true.

I told my sister-in-law the other day (she's a tall thin woman) that I always feel like a little football player and feel a bit of jealousy toward small boned and lean women. I was born with broad shoulders and a stocky build and it’s all compacted into a height challenged body.

Whenever I’m feeling especially unattractive, I try to remind myself of a girl I knew who was a cheerleader for a professional NFL team. She was one of the most beautiful girls I’ve ever known, but one day she unleashed all of her insecurities during a chat with me and a light bulb went off and I realized that no matter how beautiful the woman, we’ve all pretty much got a lot of the same insecurities underneath.

I know it’s not Monday, but I’ve decided to share with you my least favorite picture of me. When I look at it I find myself picking out all of my flaws.  Round face, double chin, extra weight. But maybe sharing it will in some way help me start to get over my some of body issues. Maybe.