Thursday, January 6, 2011

I Love My Chin

Today is the 6th day of my 31 days of Revolution, in blog form.  This morning, Marilyn Wann, Flabulous Fat Activist Extraordinaire, and author of FAT!SO? sent out a challenge over facebook to think of something positive/loving about a part of our bodies we have either disliked, or have ignored.  She also offered extra credit for sharing this with someone, so I am sharing it with you!

At first, I was thinking, "What?  I love ALL the parts of my body!  I am on a Revolution high, man!"  Ha, ha. 

Actually, I thought of the usual suspects: my stomach, my thighs - things I can see easily, and catch my attention when I look in the mirror every day.  I have been practicing saying nice things about these areas of my body, so I knew I would have plenty to share with you in my blog!  My belly is curvaceous and round, my thighs are strong and powerful... See?  I can say good things now (in public!) about my body that I would never have uttered before HAES.  So, yay! Right?

Then, I got videotaped.  Well, actually, I got videotaped last week, and today I got to see some highlights.  Guess what?  I am fat.  And, I have a double chin.

Really, it was the chin that I started freaking out about.  I have worked on making friends with the other parts of me.  Stomach? Check!  Arms? Check!  Belly? Check!  Chin?  Oops, I missed that one.  What is a girl to do with a double chin?  Do other people have these?  Has anybody else noticed mine? If I had been sitting up taller, I bet I could have made it look less prominent.  Or if I had stretched my neck out.  How about doing a re-shoot, in which I drape myself backward over the chair, and speak upside down into the camera?  We could turn the camera upside down, too, so it looks like I just put in alot of hair product to get such voluminous, upstanding locks.  Ha, ha!  I just made myself laugh! :)

No, I think I have to see my double chin as just another acceptable part of this body I happen to have inherited in this particular lifetime.  I have to start thinking positively, rather than rudely, at this perfectly normal part of my anatomy.  What is good about chins, anyway?  Well, if I didn't have one, I would really look funny.  And eating, drinking, chewing, and swallowing would be difficult.  Where would my teeth go?  And, since we are talking double chin, we're talking neck here, too, folks.  What would I do without a throat? I really have to admit that, no, I do not want to lop this part of my body off.  I actually kindof like having both a neck and a chin. I like knowing that I can stick my tongue out at people only when I want to, and not just because my tongue has nowhere to go while hanging out in my head.   I like being able to talk, sing, laugh, chew, and swallow. Those things are actually pretty important, and functional to boot!  Hooray for chins!  And two cheers for double chins!

For good measure, I formally extend Marilyn's challenge to you, now.  Hey, I have put it out there with the chin thing - now it's your turn.  What's great about a body part you have been remiss about loving?  Which part of you are you willing to own again, even after it has been highlighted with videotape? Here is to loving yourself more, and hating yourself less, little by little, one day at a time!

2 comments:

Avery Ray Colter said...

Double chins are cute, for my two cents! Rock on!

Rachel said...

Thanks, Avery! I think they're cute, too, now that you mention it! Another victory for double chins! Whoot!