We are all goddesses.
Well, perhaps not quite goddesses, but if Constance Hall is to be believed we
are all, at least, Queens. If you
haven't yet discovered Connie, she's a blogger, author and self-love advocate
from Perth, Western Australia, whose outspoken and frank insights into the ups and downs of
parenthood have amassed her an ever-growing band of fierce female followers. As
well as her humorous, brutally honest blog-posts, Constance won't miss an
opportunity to post a motivational body-positive picture, on the beach or in
the back garden, reminding us that all female forms - especially those which
bear the markings of motherhood, have worth, value and beauty.
And good for her for
doing so, because I genuinely believe that the trickledown effect of such
confidence and courage is beginning to be felt by more and more women. And it
does take courage - no matter what the critics say. To post true and honest
pictures of your body online, when the majority of what we see is put through a
filter, or photoshopped; well, I call that courageous. Constance also addresses
these issues in some of her posts: in February of last year she wrote a piece
entitled 'Body Love' in which she talked candidly about her past struggles with
an eating disorder, and in May in a post she called simply, 'Enough', she slammed
how quick beauty magazines are to criticise minor physical imperfections in
female celebrities.
Alongside this
uplifting sincerity, I have seen too the rise on social media of videos
'exposing' the lengths magazines go to when retouching photos of celebrities
and models. Or even, as recently came to light with one major high street
outlet, doing away with the models altogether in favour of computer generated
versions of the female form! Of course, the majority of people have known about
such practices as airbrushing and photoshop for years now, and critics to this
argument would say these shots are aspirational; they are glamorous and
consumers know that would they are being presented with, is, in part a fantasy
- that's what they are buying into. Sure. Ok. I get that. But perhaps what
these exposés show us, is the extent to which these transformations go -
especially when they feel the need to slim down a celebrity who is ultra slim
to begin with: someone who has access to a personal trainer, a nutritionalist
and age-defying magic elixirs, most of us can only afford in our dreams!
It is this exposure,
and the way that social media has allowed bloggers like Constance Hall to
spread her message of female empowerment, that is partly responsible for this
positive shift in what women are willing to accept as images and ideas of what
constitutes beauty.
As well as encouraging
people to speak openly and honestly about parenting and the way in which we
view our bodies, Constance Hall's blog aims, in part, to elicit camaraderie,
compassion, and a network of women who are willing to support each other. It is
this open and candid dialogue that she fosters on her website and Facebook
page, which, I believe, helps promote good mental health and self esteem in her
followers. She's not perfect - whatever that means - and she admits that in
most of her posts. She has parenting setbacks and relationship problems, she
has self-doubt, anxiety and times where she feels like she wants to jack it all
in; or run away from it all, and it is this honesty and willingness to be
vulnerable, which makes her so Gosh Darn appealing!
Another blogger who I
think has played a role in this rise of body positivity, (perhaps not as
vocally, but as sincerely) is Kat Williams AKA The Rock 'n Roll Bride. As
the name would suggest the focus of Kat's blog and magazine is alternative
weddings and styling, but, like Constance, she uses her Facebook page to
promote body positivity by posting selfies and comments about her feelings
towards her own body and accepted beauty standards. Because her website
features real weddings, this idea is reinforced there too, because the pictures
are of real brides, not of models.
Having said all this,
please don't think I believe everything to be completely rosy in the garden for
Eve. Fundamentally, the media still assails us with images of super-toned
celebrities, (who are then trimmed down some more by the power of technology!)
but there are these little sparks of
light out there. Something that I noticed early on when reading this very magazine,
was that it didn't just use typical models for its fashion shoots. I found that
when I was flicking through the pages, I was quite surprised, and comforted, by
the fact that I was seeing a range of women represented. Vintage styling is
about creativity; it's about self-expression, enjoyment, 'having a go', trying
out something new, (or something old in fact!) and that is open to everyone. I
see this body-positivity mirrored on my Facebook feed daily, by pages like
Burlesque Baby, Pinup Fashion and Retro-Lovely - sure, the women are glamorous,
and styled and gorgeous - but they are
not always a size 0!
When I first became
interested in vintage fashion, I hadn't realised that this would be one, very
positive, outcome of my adventures.
There has been some
criticism of course about the inclusion of plus size models in fashion
campaigns; for instance that it promotes an unhealthy lifestyle, (which is perhaps
a little absurd, because I shouldn't imagine that the inclusion of models at
the other end of the scale promotes an altogether healthy one.) I wouldn't
disagree that a discussion about health and nutrition needs to be happening
alongside a promotion of body positivity - after all the two go hand in hand.
But I believe that there has been a shift in this debate too. A few years ago
the focus seemed to be on making dramatic changes to your diet for short term,
quick fix results. I am not denying that there aren't still Instagrammers and
YouTubers promoting such extremes, but I also think that more people are
considering making gradual and realistic changes to their diets and lifestyles
which can be sustained, and which are not just to do with the effect they give
on the outside, but on the inside too.
If you haven't yet
checked out Constance Hall, you can do so here: queensofconstance.com or find
her on Facebook, or to see some of Kat's real weddings (including one I was a
bridesmaid at!) go to rocknrollbride.com.
Be
body positive in 2017 Vintage Vixens!
