25 Responses to "I Love My Body, And I'm Not Perfect"

1. Wandering Coyote, on April 23rd, 2008 at 10:50 am Said:

   Hi there,

   I’ve been lurking here for quite a while but was inspired by this video to actually comment for once.

   I thought this video was amazing. I’m actually going to browse around You Tube to see what else I can find by this girl. Thanks for posting it.

   I’m a big, girl, size 16 – 18. I’ve always struggled with weight and body image issues. I’m 33.

   As women, I think our biggest challenge is how we’re socialized from the crib pretty much to covet something we’re never going to have. Like the girl in the video said, “this is what I’ve been given.” We’ve all been dealt a certain hand, yet we are constantly told it’s not good enough. Even if you’re “thin enough”, there is still that drive to have more because we are taught that even thin is not perfect. Perfection is an illusion. We could all be size 2 and then society would find something else to pressure us in to changing.

   I’m not 100% happy with my body, but I’m gradually finding myself more and more satisfied that as long as I take care of my body and treat it like the temple it is, that is enough. That’s all it needs. After reading The Beauty Myth, I became much more disgusted with mass media and the manipulation women endure at its hands. That book was a turning point in my life; I no longer covet that ideal because it doesn’t exist, and if I ever have children – boy or girl – I’m going to be so conscious of socialization and role modeling so I can do my small part in making this insanity stop.

   Thanks for this site, and thanks for letting me vent a bit here!
2. Julia, on April 23rd, 2008 at 11:42 am Said:

   That was f***ing amazing! It almost made me tear up. :)
3. Pattie, on April 23rd, 2008 at 12:33 pm Said:

   She is HOT… and I’m a straight girl. Thank you for sharing this.
4. jm, on April 23rd, 2008 at 12:36 pm Said:

   That you for posting. Totally tearing up.
5. April D, on April 23rd, 2008 at 1:15 pm Said:

   Beautiful. Big crying awesomely beautiful. ^^
6. lisbet, on April 23rd, 2008 at 1:19 pm Said:

   Hmmmm I do wish more people remember that real girl does not equal any particular size. That’s the whole point! Being bigger doesn’t make you a real woman any more than being skinny does.

   Regardless, she has a lovely body and SHOULD be loving it!

   (However, I do wish she’d scripted a bit more as I found it a bit rambly.)
7. libbyblue, on April 23rd, 2008 at 2:21 pm Said:

   am i the only person who’s being told the video is no longer available?
8. sizzle, on April 23rd, 2008 at 3:08 pm Said:

   Thanks for linking this. I’m so happy someone did this! Makes me want to do my own video.
9. Avery, on April 23rd, 2008 at 4:47 pm Said:

   She has the most beautiful accent. Besides that she has a beautiful spirit, mind and body. This was an inspirational video.
10. Tiffabee, on April 23rd, 2008 at 4:51 pm Said:

    AMAZING video! It actually brought tears to my house. I was so happy to see someone embrace her body and encourage other women to do the same. This is a constant battle and it’s one that we will win if we encourage one another to love ourselves the way this girl did. We here at EAT A CHEESEBURGER applaud Maddox for her bravery.

    tiffabee.wordpress.com
11. kapgar, on April 23rd, 2008 at 6:31 pm Said:

    Okay, I feel a little intimidated that, from what I can tell, all the commenters are female. But I’m going to go ahead and say that your video took a lot of guts and, as an overweight person myself, I’m incredibly proud of you for doing this.

    Oh, and anybody that calls you fat is out of their mind.

    In case you’re wondering, found your site because this post was shared through Sizzle’s Google Reader feed.
12. k, on April 23rd, 2008 at 7:25 pm Said:

    That was one of the sweetest things that I think I have ever seen. Thank you for sharing it with us. What an amazing woman. Wow.
13. Chrissy, on April 23rd, 2008 at 10:18 pm Said:

    I love these videos. There’s so many people out there putting inspiring things out on the internet about their body. I actually just finished (yesterday) a documentary about my struggle with my fat for my documentary class. I’m probably posting it tomorrow on my blog, and will probably come back here to post a link.

    I think that this woman is absolutely beautiful. And I think it takes a lot of bravery to do something like that. And I want to thank her for posting it, and Mo for bringing it here. I love this stuff. Let’s spread the POSITIVITY!

    : )
14. shine, on April 24th, 2008 at 3:00 am Said:

    I recommend the BBC3 documentary ‘Dawn Goes Naked’ too :)
15. Cyn, on April 24th, 2008 at 9:28 am Said:

    Even if that girl is not as big as many of us here, we know people like Lily Allen would kill herself if she was “that fat”. She is not like those made-up bodies from the magazines, yet she loves herself as she is. That takes a lot of courage and that is awesome. Those people commenting “lol stfu ur not fat ur hot” are completely missing the point. You can be gorgeous AND fat, gorgeous AND the average Brit girl, gorgeous AND the average USA girl, gorgeous AND the average Kenyan girl, gorgeous AND skinny, gorgeous and however you were born like and grew up to be like. You can be gorgeous and need a crane to leave the house, you can be gorgeous and be force-fed at an eating disorder clinic. We are all gorgeous, as we are. I mean, the name of her video is “We are Beautiful” and by beautiful she means everyone. The only ones who are not gorgeous are those Photoshop disasters from the magazines, because they don’t even exist. As long as you have flesh and bones and muscles and tissues and spirit and soul, you are gorgeous.

    @ shine: is that “Dawn Goes Naked” Dawn French? I love her!
16. Cyn, on April 24th, 2008 at 9:55 am Said:

    Ah, no. It’s Dawn Porter. Shall look for it anyway.
17. Tiffabee, on April 24th, 2008 at 5:08 pm Said:

    PS. I meant to say it brought tears to my eyes not house! lol. It’s tough being a blogger…hard work and sometimes we get sleepy. You know what I mean. Much love to you all!

    Tiffabee
18. MizFit, on April 25th, 2008 at 5:22 am Said:

    wow.

    as always you women find the best stuff.

    linked to you today.
19. E. Black, on April 28th, 2008 at 6:18 pm Said:

    I just finally watched this and I have to say Thanks. I needed this. I need to thank Maddox also. I was having a rare moment today in which I actually said I was tired of being fat. It was stupid comment I realize now because I have always been happy with my body. I know there are things I can work on but I’ve always loved my body. That bit of self-loathing that snuck in made me sick to my stomach but seeing this has fixed the mess in my head. I wish more women felt this way about their bodies. Even men. I wish more of us could look at ourselves and say “I love my body.” That video is an inspiration, indeed.
20. Maddox, on June 8th, 2008 at 9:02 pm Said:

    Thank you so much for finding me and posting this!
    I’ve really enjoyed reading the feedback and comments and i’ve even had some great messages through youtube. I will continue to try to be body positive and whenever I am having a terrible day I read the stories and opinions of strong women from all over the world and I feel fantastic.
    If anyone has any questions or would like to get in touch please feel free to contact me

    tmaddoxmedia@gmail.com

    Much love to you gorgeous women.
    x
21. nokiawadd, on March 3rd, 2009 at 11:56 pm Said:

    mobile phone noikia

    nokiawad9981
22. megan, on September 21st, 2009 at 10:22 pm Said:

    i was one of them girls that went to major lengths to be “perfect”! im 23 and iv had 2 kids i weigh 140 pounds and im not happy at all with my body, i do have strech marks, and i was asamed of them but after seeing your video it really helped me out! thank you for being brave.
23. Laurie, on November 28th, 2009 at 11:40 am Said:

    I’m sitting here in my dressing gown and turban crying after just having watched this video. I’m 14, I’ve always been teased about having big boobs and feel self conscious so much of the time and the combination of finally getting the guy I’ve fancied for ages and this video has made me feel so fantastic about myself. Thank you soooo much!! Love xx
24. tyna, on March 4th, 2010 at 8:27 pm Said:

    Im 5’3 and ive weighed from 120-150 all of which i thought was fat. i have a boyfriend of two years and still cover myself during sex and want to make sure the lights are completely out.. i hate my body and i dont think ill ever be happy :( but im happy for you it was inspiring!
25. Darrah, on March 6th, 2010 at 4:35 pm Said:

    Thanks for this! After the years and years of abuse towards my body, i’m fighting to reach back into my natural self. the way i am supposed to be, which is not a delicate snowflake. I thought i was over these self image issues, but last night when i went dancing with my friends, looking at myself in the mirror afterwards was really painful. Im grateful for these reminders to keep my body in perspective with me because every now and then i believe we should celebrate ourselves. Simply celebrate ourselves just for being us.
    I promise to work WITH my body, to treat it like the temple it is, and adore the me dwelling inside of it

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