There's just a couple issues.
One, who made up what is beautiful?
Somehow I seem to skip over that question and continue to depreciate myself, knowing I won't meet the world's idea of beautiful. Truth is, the world should not define what beauty is. We need to look for higher sources than the world for the definition of beauty.
Two, skinny is not the same as healthy.
I also forget that. So often our eyes are slammed with gorgeous and extremely thin women. The word "fat" is uttered from so many people's mouths and captured in so many head lines, mostly with cruel tones. Diets, diet pills, diet foods, diet drinks, diet, diet, diet. Commercials, billboards, movies. All filled with the same message. Skinny is beautiful. We need to remember that is not true. Sure, it can be. But HEALTHY is better.
It's true. I sometimes have a hard time accepting my image... I feel like that will be a lifelong battle--- do I accept myself the way I am or strive to improve the way I look? I want to change that battle a little. I want to always accept myself, WHILE improving myself and remaining healthy (making sure I keep a check on what improving myself means.)
Sure, I won't ever be a size 0, but I can carry all the groceries in with one trip.
Yeah, I'm always gonna have that little pouch, but I can belt out laughs straight from that same source.
True, it sometimes looks like I have two chins, but the second one is usually from smiling.
Yes, my thighs touch, but I can run 4 or more miles without stopping.
Now hear me out. I am not trying to say we should strive to be bigger, or that being heavier is better. I'm only trying to say being your most healthy self is better. Whether that means you're a size 0 or a size 10 doesn't matter. If that's where your body, mind, and spirit are healthy and you feel pride in yourself then so be it. By all means, cut your food intake or exercise a little more or join Jenny Craig if that's what you think will make you happier and healthier and more confident. I still want to lose a few pounds because I think that will make me healthier and more confident. It's all unique to the individual.
I hadn't heard of this before I started this post, but a current issue with Ambercrombie & Fitch is pretty popular. Take a look.
"Open letter to Abercrombie & Fitch CEO, Mike Jeffries:
Dear Mr. Jeffries,
If you believe the adage “all press is good press,” then the last 10 days have been great to you. You and your brand have been mentioned in unflattering terms on virtually every television news network, in many newspapers, websites and from one end of the blogosphere to the other.
You've taken quite a beating. If this were a heavyweight fight, your trainer would have already thrown in the towel and ordered your new teeth.
Why so many punches? A book by author Robin Lewis, “The New Rules of Retail,” has breathed new life into an interview you gave to Salon in 2006. Hidden among your quotes we find this golden nugget: “In every school there are the cool and popular kids, and then there are the not-so-cool kids. Candidly, we go after the cool kids. We go after the attractive all-American kid with a great attitude and a lot of friends. A lot of people don’t belong (in our clothes), and they can’t belong. Are we exclusionary? Absolutely.”
Yes, I’d say that definitely qualifies as candid.
Let’s be clear: I’m a capitalist and a free-market guy. I support your right to run your business however you’d like and to exercise your freedom of speech, whether I agree with it or not.
I also enjoy that same freedom. Mind if I share?
You have the right to keep the lights low at Abercrombie & Fitch. I have the right to say your stores are so dark, shoppers should get a Maglite with every purchase. You have the right to pipe fragrances into the air conditioning and heating systems. I have the right to tell you the scents are so strong, shoppers smell like they’ve been waterboarded with perfume.
How about the unrelenting, heavy-beat tunes? You’re welcome to crank up the volume, by all means. But I’m free to tell you it’s loud enough you should probably be sister companies with Beltone.
You’re free to hire tan cool-kid models that also double as sales associates. I'm free to point out they’re all so thin they don’t need your clothes, they need a Pop-Tart. Most of them look like their legs could fit into the paper sleeve of a Pixy Stix.
Yes, you have the freedom in this country to run your business this way. You can reject plus-size clothing and the customers who buy them. What you cannot do, Mr. Jeffries, is tell us what’s beautiful. Corporate America doesn’t define beauty, the soul does.
I am the father of two teenage daughters and I think they’re stunningly beautiful, no matter what size they wear. They’re far from perfect, but they're lovely because of who they are and what they stand for, not for how they look. I hope most parents would say the same about their own kids.
Beauty isn’t about waist size or what label we wear. Beauty is how we see people, serve people and love people. Beauty is demonstrated in the way we treat others, especially when we disagree with them or when they look different from us.
Mr. Jeffries, I’m sure you’re a good man and you’ve achieved a great deal of success. I applaud you for that. But please don’t tell America’s young adults that beauty is in the brand.
Fads fade, but beauty is eternal.
I also forget that. So often our eyes are slammed with gorgeous and extremely thin women. The word "fat" is uttered from so many people's mouths and captured in so many head lines, mostly with cruel tones. Diets, diet pills, diet foods, diet drinks, diet, diet, diet. Commercials, billboards, movies. All filled with the same message. Skinny is beautiful. We need to remember that is not true. Sure, it can be. But HEALTHY is better.
It's true. I sometimes have a hard time accepting my image... I feel like that will be a lifelong battle--- do I accept myself the way I am or strive to improve the way I look? I want to change that battle a little. I want to always accept myself, WHILE improving myself and remaining healthy (making sure I keep a check on what improving myself means.)
Sure, I won't ever be a size 0, but I can carry all the groceries in with one trip.
Yeah, I'm always gonna have that little pouch, but I can belt out laughs straight from that same source.
True, it sometimes looks like I have two chins, but the second one is usually from smiling.
Yes, my thighs touch, but I can run 4 or more miles without stopping.
Now hear me out. I am not trying to say we should strive to be bigger, or that being heavier is better. I'm only trying to say being your most healthy self is better. Whether that means you're a size 0 or a size 10 doesn't matter. If that's where your body, mind, and spirit are healthy and you feel pride in yourself then so be it. By all means, cut your food intake or exercise a little more or join Jenny Craig if that's what you think will make you happier and healthier and more confident. I still want to lose a few pounds because I think that will make me healthier and more confident. It's all unique to the individual.
I hadn't heard of this before I started this post, but a current issue with Ambercrombie & Fitch is pretty popular. Take a look.
I usually love to hear what Ellen has to say; and in this case I did:
This is a link to a beautiful, witty letter from a father to Ambercrombie & Fitch CEO:
This is the content of the page:
Dear Mr. Jeffries,
If you believe the adage “all press is good press,” then the last 10 days have been great to you. You and your brand have been mentioned in unflattering terms on virtually every television news network, in many newspapers, websites and from one end of the blogosphere to the other.
You've taken quite a beating. If this were a heavyweight fight, your trainer would have already thrown in the towel and ordered your new teeth.
Why so many punches? A book by author Robin Lewis, “The New Rules of Retail,” has breathed new life into an interview you gave to Salon in 2006. Hidden among your quotes we find this golden nugget: “In every school there are the cool and popular kids, and then there are the not-so-cool kids. Candidly, we go after the cool kids. We go after the attractive all-American kid with a great attitude and a lot of friends. A lot of people don’t belong (in our clothes), and they can’t belong. Are we exclusionary? Absolutely.”
Yes, I’d say that definitely qualifies as candid.
Let’s be clear: I’m a capitalist and a free-market guy. I support your right to run your business however you’d like and to exercise your freedom of speech, whether I agree with it or not.
I also enjoy that same freedom. Mind if I share?
You have the right to keep the lights low at Abercrombie & Fitch. I have the right to say your stores are so dark, shoppers should get a Maglite with every purchase. You have the right to pipe fragrances into the air conditioning and heating systems. I have the right to tell you the scents are so strong, shoppers smell like they’ve been waterboarded with perfume.
How about the unrelenting, heavy-beat tunes? You’re welcome to crank up the volume, by all means. But I’m free to tell you it’s loud enough you should probably be sister companies with Beltone.
You’re free to hire tan cool-kid models that also double as sales associates. I'm free to point out they’re all so thin they don’t need your clothes, they need a Pop-Tart. Most of them look like their legs could fit into the paper sleeve of a Pixy Stix.
Yes, you have the freedom in this country to run your business this way. You can reject plus-size clothing and the customers who buy them. What you cannot do, Mr. Jeffries, is tell us what’s beautiful. Corporate America doesn’t define beauty, the soul does.
I am the father of two teenage daughters and I think they’re stunningly beautiful, no matter what size they wear. They’re far from perfect, but they're lovely because of who they are and what they stand for, not for how they look. I hope most parents would say the same about their own kids.
Beauty isn’t about waist size or what label we wear. Beauty is how we see people, serve people and love people. Beauty is demonstrated in the way we treat others, especially when we disagree with them or when they look different from us.
Mr. Jeffries, I’m sure you’re a good man and you’ve achieved a great deal of success. I applaud you for that. But please don’t tell America’s young adults that beauty is in the brand.
Fads fade, but beauty is eternal.
Sincerely,
Jason Wright, father of teenage girls"
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