7 Things I Did That Surprisingly Improved My Body Image

Feeling good about your body is a lifelong journey. Recovery from systemic fatphobia, ableism, etc. is like recovery from anything else: it’s not linear, and you may regress at times—but it’s exciting to notice an overall upward trend in how you feel about your body, even if it takes years or decades.

In addition to the more obvious things like reading the work of body positive thinkers, ditching the scale, and vowing never to comment on other people’s bodies, here are seven things I did about my body image that helped more than I thought… right here in case they inspire others to practice more body positivity!

Have a bunch of tattoos

I have 7 tattoos and each one has dramatically changed the way I think about my body. I’ve always appreciated the beauty of tattoos, so getting them makes me look more like the person I find sexy – and it’s hard not to love my body because it’s covered in beautiful custom artwork! (Some people will disagree, but those people are wrong, and, who cares what they think?!)

when i was young i used to fear The moment I took off my clothes while having sex with a stranger because I was afraid they would harshly judge my body. But since getting the tattoos—especially the pink “good girl” bow on the back of my thigh—I sometimes even expect Until that moment, as people are often delighted to discover my tattoos hidden under my clothes!

The guy I’m dating is obsessed with my insecure body parts

They say you have to love yourself first before you can love anyone else, and maybe that’s true – but I know I learned to love my butt in large part by dating butt lovers! I’ve never had huge boobs or any other particularly notable physical feature (at least in my mind), but apparently my ass is noticeable enough that more than one devout ass admirer wants to date me. So that’s cool. It also helps when they bury their faces in it like hungry people in a pie-eating contest…!

appreciate my body able Do

Aggressive reframing alert! I may not look like a runway model, but I can still strut down the street in cool clothes. I may not have a huge booty, but I can still dance to Mr. Mix-A-Lot. I’m not a super athletic porn star or a strapping sex doll, but I can still get fucked like a champ. Every human body is a wonder, whether it is considered traditionally hot or not.

Take an improv class/attend an improv show

About appreciating my body able do: Apparently it can make up scenes and songs on the spot, no matter what I look like, which is pretty impressive! (After all, the brain is technically part of the body…without the body, none of the ideas in my brain could be expressed on stage or anywhere else!) It’s also nice to spend time in a community where a person’s dress size doesn’t matter so much as their ability to tell a joke and take it all in stride.

Also: I barely think about my body when I’m on stage. I don’t think about my pain or my butt cellulite; I think about my physical condition. There just wasn’t enough free time or energy to do it. Improv is so fucking meditative, man. Highly recommended!

Great body lotion

Simple yet effective: Buy yourself a luscious moisturizer with a scent that comforts you (you can also opt for an unscented moisturizer if you prefer, dear chemically sensitive babes) and apply it right out of the shower. This helps lock in moisture better and also makes your daily shower feel like a self-care ritual. I’ve been digging EOS’s “Vanilla Cashmere” lotion, which makes me smell like a slutty cupcake (obviously ideal).

Invested in cuter loungewear

It’s hard to feel excited about your body when you’re wearing a faded strappy T-shirt and baggy distressed pajama pants from a decade ago. (I mean, it definitely does for me. I don’t know about your life!) Since I have a chronic illness and spend most of my waking hours in pajamas or loungewear, I’m always on the lookout for clothes that are both comfortable and cute, and wearing them makes a huge difference to my daily self-esteem.

Did you take LSD?

Now, to be fair, some people find these more anxiety-provoking than soul-healing… but for me, over the course of the six mushroom trips I’ve been on, I basically forgot that my body existed throughout the day. I mean that in the most positive sense. Sometimes I’ll put on a children’s movie from my childhood, like The life of a bug or noble catand extensively documenting life lessons that suddenly occurred to me. I would become so engrossed in the task and the self-reflection that came with it that I completely forgot to worry about my physical imperfections—all I could think about was the beautiful, vast universe, and my small but important role in it. Drugs rule, man.

Dear reader, have these strategies helped you love your body more? What else works well for you? Please feel free to let me know in the comments!

This post contains sponsored links. As always, all writing and opinions are my own.

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