Recently, I observed plus size manikins at a store that got me thinking of body positivity, which I find both encouraging and depressing at the same time. On one hand, I appreciate the realism in recognizing that bodies come in all shapes and sizes and now society seems to be more comfortable with allowing people to be comfortable in their skin. Yet, I am bummed in that it sends mixed messages. We are saying it's OK to have different shapes and body types, but we still affirm gender reassignment, a huge weight loss/fitness industry, breast augmentation, cosmetic surgery of other types, and we still have bullying of people unlike us. Is the body positivity movement really making a dent?
I remember early attempts at bolstering society's self-esteem quandary. When I was in junior high school in the 1980s, I had to take a class on self-esteem. And when I was little, I learned the Sunday School song Jesus Loves the Little Children, which included these lyrics:
Jesus loves the little children
All the children of the world
Red and yellow, black and white
They are precious in His sight
Jesus loves the little children of the world
All people, whatever their background or appearance, were recognized as equal and of worth on paper, but it never truly solved the esteem issue in society. I have struggled with my weight all my life and have never been comfortable. I wear a t-shirt swimming, I don't wear shorts, when I work I have to wear a uniform with my shirt tucked in, and because I have rolls I wear a jacket -- even during warmer months. I hide beneath the layers. I have had people close to me choose weight loss surgery, which is valid as a health issue, but size likely drives the decision for most people. We are still stuck on image -- the temporal. We buy make up, we continue to comb our hair, we diet and wear body shaping undergarments, we alter our bodies, we layer our clothing, we spend massive amounts of money on fashion and fitness, etc. I suspect that the body positivity thing is a blip on the radar and won't accomplish much. Its aims are as self-affirming as the the drivers of fitness and fashion. Both streams -- promoting the self as is and changing the self to be what society says we ought to be -- are narcissistic. Both streams are potentially toxic. I am guilty of buying into this image and probably will continue, because nobody wants to be an outlier or feel scrutinized.
Then I look at Eastern Orthodox priests. When I first began to explore Eastern Orthodox Christianity, I was surprised by how many priests (most, but not all) had beards and long hair. And most of the beards were not neatly trimmed. This appealed to my sense of masculinity, but I still had to ask the question as to why. My answer came in the response of "humility."
Humility?
It seems that the traditional reason that Eastern Orthodox priests look like the hairy baseball star Charlie Blackmon is that grooming can be narcissistic and full of hubris. It's a focus on the temporal and material, which could potentially misapply focus away from spiritual matters and truly being OK with how things are. This isn't to say that general hygiene is also disregarded, because many things we do are truly health related and we also do things for the sake of others. But generally speaking, we often place undue attention on life's superficialities, while claiming we don't. We could learn something from the priests. Food for thought.
Comments
Post a Comment