The unapologetic, unabashed you
Acceptance. What does this word mean to us?
The internet describes the word ACCEPTANCE as the act of being received as adequate. When we think about this word “adequate”, how many times do we think about this in the context of our own selves? How many times do we consider ourselves to be ‘adequate’? And even if we do, how many times do we feel safe or secure enough to be able to stand by this feeling in the public eye? When we think about the reasons why it is so difficult for us to accept ourselves just the way we are, we will find that it is our society that has programmed our brains to accept and live by some unrealistic and unreasonable standards.
Since the time we were young, impressionable children; biassed, absurd, and toxic hogwash has been fed to us. They made us believe that only a certain skin colour is acceptable, a certain eye colour is attractive, a certain body size appealing, etc etc. Have you ever paused to think about the fact that out of the 7.9 billion people on Earth, not one more person looks EXACTLY like you? Nope! Because here we are, desperately trying to morph into that supermodel on that magazine cover who is also photoshopped to the extent of looking like another person. How are we expected to accept ourselves, let alone embrace ourselves, if this was what and is drilled in our heads!
Now for the fun part.
For those who are brave enough to challenge these unnecessary societal norms, who embark on the journey of self-acceptance, those who dare to feel secure in their own skin, are the ones that are easily labelled as ‘misfits’, merely for questioning and challenging this toxic framework of the society.
Take for example the Indian societal setup. The idea of having a body that is not the size of mannequins and wanting to wear/ not wear clothes that the Indian aunties deem inappropriate has become a rebellious act. The simple act of working out in the clothes meant to make it easy for you to move in, ie. Fitting sportswear clothes are instantly welcomed by looks and criticism of the outfit being “too” tight. These clothes are meant to aid your movement in class and not for any other purpose. You become the rebel that chose to disregard societal norms for your own comfort. A revolutionary even! When all you are trying to do is go about your life in a way that is agreeable to YOU and no one else. Rightly said by the charming Rytasha Rathore, “Aesthetics are one thing, but they’re not the MAIN THING. Health, flexibility, balance, comfort, and the strength my body has/ needs to carry me through this life are the things that actually matter!” And truer words could not have been said.
Long story short, we grow up feeling inadequate, when we start to work on ourselves to find this adequacy or self-security, we welcome instant criticism. Basically, the world that we live in makes it impossible for us to learn to be ourselves, to feel secure, and be our truest forms. We live in a hypocritical vicious circle.
This cannot be explained better than talking about the global body positivity movement. No doubt it has helped bring awareness of acceptance to some extent. Acceptance of coloured bodies, acceptance of bodies of different sizes, acceptance of bodies that decided to wear clothes of the opposite gender, and genderless bodies. It also positively made changes in the most influential parts of our society, ie. fashion and entertainment with the abolishment of the “fat-tax”, but how many of us as individuals, brands, entities are supporting this movement for the right reasons or are doing it to be politically correct.
People are jumping on the never-ending body positivity narrative because it’s trending. Their platforms talk about wanting to provide a sense of security and identity to people of all sizes, but because it's a trend, sadly most of the time it's just a phoney act of wanting to check the box of being politically correct and “woke”. Would it actually be adopted so vastly, if it were never a trend? Like we said, HYPOCRISY
It's 2022, we have gone through a lot to let society continue to dictate our happiness and sense of security or identity anymore. We shouldn't be afraid to be that person who is unapologetic about those stretch marks on their arms, that person who wears a bikini despite being a size 10. It is your body, as long as you accept it, love it (on most days), and own it on the rest, no one rains on your parade. Break that cycle of societal programming and self-shame and flaunt those back rolls or DON’T! Just remember to be kind to this ever-evolving work of art that is looking back at you in the mirror.
Concept, Art direction and Story telling : Two Odd, Akshita Garud
On: Rytasha Rathore
MUA and Hair: : Tarsha Kohli
Styling: Namrata Harisinghani
Photography: Siddhant Vaidya
Words : Ashna Rawat and Akshita Garud