Wednesday, Oct. 17th, marks the 15th anniversary of Love Your Body Day. Originally the National Organization for Women (NOW) started the day to prompt dialogue and action around women's experiences around body image and it emphasized the impact of the media on women's perceptions of their bodies.
This year at www.everybodysgood.com we decided to take a queer slant on the day. We know that in our community body image affects all of our members and can take many forms. Body image is a significant issue in our community. According to the Gay and Lesbian Medical Association (GLMA) gay and bisexual men are more likely than their heterosexual counterparts to have an eating disorder. GLMA also finds that women in our community face higher rates of obesity; something that may be challenging for some of us (myself included) in a world in which most media representations of ourselves come from either professional athletes (hello Megan Rapinoe!) or the women of the L-word. In addition, folks who do not fit norms of gender expression may experience a disconnect between the images of femininity and masculinity that do not match their experience.
Not only can these negative messages about our bodies impact our emotional and spiritual well being, they also have implications for our physcial health. For some folks this may mean an eating disorder and for others it may mean neglecting parts of our bodies we do not feel comfortable with.
This year, we encourage you to love your body by caring for your body.
Love your body, check your butt -> Click here to learn more about Anal Paps and other anal health topics.
Love your body, check your box (your junk or whatever else you call your parts that need an annual pelvic exam).
-> Click here to learn more about the importance of Pelvic Exams courtesy of Planned Parenthood.
We also encourage not just lesbian and bisexual identified women, but also gender non-conforming folks and trans men who still have a cervix, vagina, uterus, etc. to also get these important pelvic exams.
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