It’s Time to Stop Talking Bad About Your Body

Katie Sturino’s new book Body Talk might be mistaken for a hilarious, charming, and adorably illustrated book that is for women who are 12+. It’s actually a hilarious, brilliant, and adorably illustrated book BUT it will appeal to just about anyone who has a body. “I don’t think people realize how often we are bombarded with negative messaging about our bodies,” says Megababe founder and Instagram star. “Recognize junkfoodmessaging as what it is: crap.”

The book, much like Megababe–Sturino’s chic, wildly effective, obsessed-over-at clean beauty line–flips the bird squarely at shame. Megababe offers solutions to bodily issues that we used find embarrassing, such as thigh chafing. “I wanted to extend my body acceptance message in a tangible way to remove shame from things we don’t have to be ashamed of. These were my problems, and others could have them too. Regardless of your body type, weight, or shape, if you have something that rubs against skin you are likely to be aware of chafing. These realizations have changed my life. I learned to let go of my shame and build my self-esteem.”

Yes, the products can be used to remove shame from being in your body. But this book explains how to get rid of that shame. Although it’s difficult to pinpoint our favorite Sturino-isms, the third part of the book’s title, “You’ve got your brain space back!” is a good choice. It focuses on the immense benefits that can be found in accepting ourselves and loving who we are. Here’s more Sturino wisdom, along with a beauty tip. Body Talk remains on our nightstands even after we have finished it. It’s one those books you can open and find something new every time you turn it.

NO NEGATIVE THOUGHTS

“Your negative thoughts will be less aggressive, but they will still come up. Sometimes, new thoughts appear out of nowhere. This is normal. You can just yell “NOPE!” at them in your brain.”

TIP: TRY VITAMIN C

Jean Godfrey June told that the vitamin-C serum would make her skin appear brighter.

SPEAK ABOUT THE SHAME

“The comfortable thing is that I became with talking about my body shame, I found it easier to overcome it. It was not something to be ashamed about that I had ever felt body-shameful. I began to realize that the perfect body was not real.” Sturino writes that it was a socially constructed illusion. “Every post that I posted highlighted my self-perceived faults, I felt my power rise up within me. It felt like heartburn, but it was good.”

THERE IS NO BRAVE

“Firefighters can be brave. People who catch and release spiders ….are brave” Sturino writes, “But when I wear a 2-piece swimsuit to the hot-AF beaches and/or post a photo of myself wearing that 2-piece on the Internet, I’m not being brave.” It’s almost as if people are saying, “Your body is embarrassing,” when they use the word brave in this context. It’s something you should be ashamed of. However, you shouldn’t be ashamed of it.

DO YOU HAVE BOUNDARIES?

Sturino quotes a friend as saying that the window of her corner office faces directly onto a billboard advertising the removal of “unsightly” acne scars. “This is an ad that promotes the removal of these scars with the promotion, ‘Put Your Best Face Forward and Get the Job of Your Dreams.’ I then remembered that my acne-scarred skin and I both have a fancy corner office and a parking space with our names on it.”

DO NOT HIDE ANYTHING ABOUT YOUR BODY

Sturino, now married, went through divorce and relationships in New York City after realizing the power of body acceptance. She writes, “On my dating profile, I showed my body! I let people know what I was up. Either they were going be attracted to my or not. It wasn’t my problem. It was clear that I had everything to say, which allowed me to cut through the bullshit.”

FLAWS CAN DISAPPEAR

Sturino writes, “The ultimate goal of not falling madly in love your every self-determined flaw” “The goal is not to equate your VALUE and these flaws with your VALUE.”

FIGHT FOR TRUE INCLUSION

Sturino writes that “narrow beauty standards” are very common in the world of body positivity. There is still one type of ‘aspirational’ fat that exists, which is a single type of woman who is featured, photographed, uplifted and celebrated in the media. But she is almost always white, cisgender, able-bodied and a size 14. … We all would love to have a drive-thru window that allowed us to order any product we want. Fight for your inclusion.