http://gingermiss.wordpress.com/

Newt in a Tea Cup has posted a survey about body image that she wants others to take and answer on their blogs. I have done so. If you’re interested, you should do so as well. It’s positively educational – both for them, and for you.

Name: gingermiss

Age:mid-20’s

Height: 5′6

Weight: You know, I’m just not brazen enough to do it.

Do you consider yourself attractive? I do. I know I’m slightly overweight, and it bothers me, but I still feel pretty quite a lot.

Do others consider you attractive? There certainly seems to be some contingent who does.

What is your biggest insecurity and why? Relating to body image? It would probably be my excess tummy chub, but it changes.

Have you/Would you consider using plastic surgery? Why or why not? Not usually, no, because I do love myself and would be panicked by the idea of changing anything about me and never being able to get it back. I’m still young though and I’m not sure how I might feel when I become older.

What is your relationship with make-up? Sometimes it’s on, sometimes it’s off.

How much money do you/think is reasonable to spend on your appearance? It depends. When I was a teenager, I had acne problems, which were definitely a source of insecurity for me, and it was one of the few appearance things that I spent money on. It differs from person to person, and it seems like each individual person assigns a different importance to it.

What is your experience of dieting? I’ve hardly ever tried to do it. I love bread too much, and most diets are highly anti-bread.

Have you/ anyone you know tried any specific diet programs i.e. Lighter Life? How did that affect your health? your moods? your relationships? I have not.

Do you have any experiences of eating disorders i.e. either yourself or someone you know? I think there are very few women and girls, in America at least, who do not know someone with an eating disorder. If I had an eating disorder, it would definitely be overeating when I’m emotionally unstable or just bored. There are periods when it gets better and worse. Having a dog is wonderful because it encourages constant exercise, my stomach shrinks, and I eat a lot less.

How did other people react to this; what was the fallout? You know, it almost becomes common place. It’s like a point of gossip amongst other women. “Yeah, I’m pretty sure _____’s anorexic.” There was a girl in my aerobics class who I was 99% sure was anorexic. She was thinner than a rail and manic about exercising. She always tried to keep up with our instructor rather than the rest of the class, which in itself isn’t bad but she looked sick. She was skeletal. It made me sad, but I didn’t really see a way of approaching it. I told some people about it. She was just one of many possibly anorexic girls on our college campus.

Have you had negative experiences relating to your appearance and people’s reactions to it? Definitely. I’ve been called ugly and God knows what else. I’ve also been ‘complimented’ by men, and women, openly evaluated by my appearance which I was apparently supposed to feel flattered by. I think most women have experiences of both.

What about positive reactions to your body? Definitely, but it’s more difficult to sort out those messages because something that seems positive may not be. General groups of guys drooling over how pretty you are, your date/significant other praising your body… I’ve definitely had positive praise of my body, but I’ve also had disconcerting praise.

How has your body image and attitude changed over the years? I always felt beautiful, but puberty was extremely difficult on me. I was a skinny, tomboyish girl who turned into a buxom hippy girl seemingly overnight. I wore a lot of oversized t-shirts. I put little effort into looking ‘attractive’ for a long time.

What do you love about your body? I love my eyes, my face, my breasts, my hair, my lower legs. When I see a beautiful picture of myself I’m proud to be me. I’ve been described as “classically beautiful”, which resonated with me. I feel that I’m uniquely beautiful.

What is your opinion on the media portrayal of women’s bodies? Negative for the most part. What bothers me the most is how the media has embraced and promoted the image of adultifying little girls, a la “Bratz” dolls.

What would you change about the way you/ your friends/ your family/ general people see their bodies? You may not be conventionally physically attractive, but the spectrum of beauty operates beyond much more than that one narrow line. Confidence is attractive. Finding yourself beautiful is paramount; not easy, and not always possible in my experience, but paramount to feeling beautiful.

What makes you feel beautiful? Oh God, lots of things.

and just for fun… Do you shave legs/pits/upper lip moustache? More commonly than not, no, but sometimes I break under the constant whining of my family and significant other. I hate shaving. It’s a complete pain in the ass.