You are freaking allowed.
For those of us in larger bodies, it can feel like we’re hemmed in all around with barriers and gates and forms to be submitted in triplicate just to live our lives. To live in bodies this scrutizined and regulated and constantly criticized is to feel that we need permission to eat, to breathe, to step outside our homes and do anything at all.
I want to tell you that (with full consideration to the circumstances and constraints of our day-to-day lives) you have permission to:
Eat if you are hungry
Rest if you are tired
Sleep if you are sleepy
Touch if you would like to touch and have permission
Refuse to be touched if you don’t feel like it
Stop if you’re overwhelmed
Show your emotions when you have them
Be enthusiastic about things you like
Have hobbies and interests that suit you
Sing out loud
Not sing out loud
Be good at things
Be bad at things
Eat foods you like with textures that please you
Use makeup as art or refuse to wear it at all
Wear a dress
Wear pants
Speak up
Rest your voice
Protect yourself
Live in a place that feels like home
Move to a place that feels like home
Love who you love
Cook yourself a “healthy” meal
Cook yourself an “unhealthy” meal
Order takeout
Eat the damn doughnut
Sit by yourself at a restaurant
Decline a group outing
Arrange a group outing
Decline to see family
Arrange to see family
Ask for what you need
Take what is good and leave the rest
Tell your family yes
Tell your family no
Ask for help
Decline help
Buy yourself a gift
Give a gift away
Appreciate the spirit in which it was given to you and let it move on
Admit to yourself that you don’t care
Admit to yourself that you care
Forgive yourself for dropping it
for breaking it
for losing it
for messing it up
for ending it
for not beginning it
for not asking
for asking too much
for being afraid
for being overconfident
for taking it with you
for leaving it behind
for not seeing the future
for being afraid of the future
for sitting down
for not standing up
for your weakness
for your strength
for your humanity.
Warmly,
Lindley
Let’s dig deep. Every Monday, I send out my Body Liberation Guide, a thoughtful email jam-packed with resources for changing the way you see your own body and the bodies you see around you. And it’s free. Let’s change the world together.
Hi there! I'm Lindley. I create artwork that celebrates the unique beauty of bodies that fall outside conventional "beauty" standards at Body Liberation Photography. I'm also the creator of Body Liberation Stock and the Body Love Shop, a curated central resource for body-friendly artwork and products. Find all my work here at bodyliberationphotos.com.
