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Fashion + Body Image
For June 2020, we wanted to challenge the narrative of body image that fashion has notoriously bestowed on society for decades. Our writers share stories in celebration of self and others.
Body image is how you see yourself when you look in the mirror or when you picture yourself in your mind. It encompasses what you believe about your own appearance (including your memories, assumptions, and generalizations).
How we define body image is entirely subjective and highly individualistic. Is the fashion industry doing enough to be body inclusive and celebrate bodies in all shapes and sizes?
Xinqi Zhang
Aug 27, 20232 min read
Throw Off the Shackles of Beauty
What is Body Dysmorphic Disorder? There are numerous female celebrities who have undergone plastic surgery and medical procedures in...
Rahina Issifu
Aug 14, 20233 min read
How Body Neutrality Can Bring Inner Peace
Body neutrality encourages individuals to shift their focus away from appearance and towards well-being. It promotes the idea of...
Abby Higton
Aug 11, 20232 min read
Promoting Inclusivity and Body Image in Fashion
The fashion industry has been criticised for its lack of inclusivity, diversity and unrealistic expectations. However, the fashion...
Lejla Mušanović
Aug 1, 20232 min read
Don't Strive For 'Instagrammable' Body
How Do You See Yourself On Instagram It seems to me that lately, we use Instagram only to justify our own dissatisfaction and to find...
tahaminaislam
Jun 28, 20232 min read
Can Plus-Sized Women Truly Exist in Our Society?
Trigger warning: This article will talk about body image What does the term 'Plus-Sized' mean? According to Cambridge, plus-sized refers...
Julian Businge
Aug 30, 20224 min read
5 Ways to Practice Body Neutrality as You Age
Our bodies are designed to adapt as we do. Therefore, it makes sense that they would feel and appear different as we age. But frequently,...
Louise Kerr
Aug 25, 20222 min read
Is the Body Positivity Movement Coming to an End?
How the movement causes more harm than good. Becoming a viral trend The first wave of the movement originates back to the 1960s but blew...
n0878712
Aug 24, 20224 min read
The Importance Of Diversity On Body Image
Body positivity, the importance of diversity
Nazmin Begum
Aug 17, 20223 min read
Does Muslim Representation Matter?
(CW) According to the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative, only 1.1% of the characters portrayed in the 100 top-grossing U.S. films from...
naomikirkm
Aug 17, 20223 min read
How Gender Affirmation Affects Body Image and Mental Health
CW: This article discusses topics of gender and suicide which could be distressing to some readers. How gender affirmation benefits both...
Tasnia A. Naher
Aug 12, 20224 min read
Does K-Pop Promote a Positive Body Image for Women?
CW: This article discusses topics eating disorders, body hatred, cyberbullying, anxiety which could be distressing to some readers. The...
emmanuelakumefula
Aug 12, 20222 min read
Your Opinions are Mine
Your Opinions are mine.'Snapchat Dysmorphia '
Mohamed Said
Aug 12, 20223 min read
Social Media: Does it reinforce the status quo or does it promote change?
CW: This article discusses skin lightening which could be distressing to some readers. Social media's prominence Social media has become...
Emmanuel Asiedu-Kwatchey
Aug 10, 20224 min read
Influencer Culture: The Creator of Unrealistic Beauty Standards
Discussing both the positive and negative impact of influencer culture. Social media platforms have increasingly become popular...
Isla Staveley
Aug 9, 20224 min read
How Body Neutrality Can Inspire Authentic Body Positivity
CW: This article discusses topics of mental illness and eating disorders which could be distressing to some readers. What is body...
sharminahmed5
Aug 8, 20224 min read
Our Bodies
From the moment we’re born we’re thrust into a world of expectations and influences. Ideas about an unattainable self are pushed onto us....
Sophie Gugi
Aug 8, 20224 min read
The Art of being Unfeminine: Taking back our body image
Do women really owe you pretty? CW: This article discusses eating disorders and self-harm which may be distressing to some readers. It is...
Katie Mortimer
Aug 1, 20224 min read
Calorie Transparency and Body Image
It has been four months since the introduction of government-mandated calories on chain restaurant menus, but how have those with eating...
Linda Monney
Aug 1, 20223 min read
Body Image: The Hidden Truth Behind Male Self-Image.
CW: This article discusses topics of mental illness and suicide which could be distressing to some readers. In the media, men are often...
b1502215
Aug 1, 20224 min read
Decrease Intake Of Unrealistic Body Types
In this article I’ll be suggesting healthier alternatives on how to best spend your time to feel more confident. In a world where we...
Sharon O
Aug 1, 20223 min read
SENSE OF WORTH
CW: This article discusses topics of body shapes and sizes and effects which could be distressing to some readers. Body image is how we...
Iqra Malik
Jun 13, 20224 min read
The Popularity of OnlyFans
So, what is OnlyFans? OnlyFans was created in 2016 in which the online platform allows customers to purchase content (videos, photos, or...
Jay Hume
Jan 12, 20223 min read
Breathing New Life into the Plus-Size Fashion Revolution
Why do we need a revolution anyway? It’s no secret that plus size fashion leaves a lot to be desired when it comes to allowing people...
n0999989
Jan 1, 20224 min read
' To Walk Freely at Night '
a discussion about body image via the patriarchy and heteronormativity “Yes, my consuming desire is to mingle with road crews, sailors...
Madalena Juma
Jun 30, 20206 min read
A Hairy Situation: The History and Modern Tropes of the Hairy Woman
It’s lockdown. Naturally, you might have let things go. You’re eating whatever the heck you want. Maybe not exercising as much. You don’t...
Lauren Quinlan
Jun 29, 20204 min read
Fashion Marketing and Negative Body Image: From Love Island to Photoshop…
Marketing is one of the most important aspects of fashion – without it, the products wouldn’t sell! The fashion market is extremely...
Megan Pilling
Jun 27, 20204 min read
Does Clothing Size Impact Our Self-Esteem?
Does size matter? Every item of clothing has its own label with the sizing of the garment, there are a number of standard sizing systems...
Lauren Pinder-Ambrose
Jun 26, 20205 min read
Body Neutrality: the Freeing Mindset?
Our toxic, image-based society teaches women to value themselves and others in terms of kilograms and pounds. Shouldn’t we work towards...
Laura Richardson
Jun 25, 20204 min read
Will Our Lives Ever Be Not Filtered?
Do fashion brands and magazines think about the impact of using the same size models? Do they consider the effect this has upon teenagers...
Eve Rodway
Jun 24, 20204 min read
Learn how to embrace yourself and be body positive
Through this article I want to share more about how we can use fashion to cultivate a positive body image and learn to be proud and...
Beata Wilkinson
Jun 23, 20206 min read
These 5 Body Positive Role Models are Shaking up the Fashion Industry…
The world today can often seem over-saturated with flawless faces and bodies. Each time we log onto our social media we are bombarded...
Liam Griffin
Jun 22, 20204 min read
How Fashion Pressures Our Body Image and Sense of Self
Docile bodies The social theorist, Michel Foucault, wrote about ‘docile bodies’ – where the body is a passive object being acted upon by...
Chengxi Ye
Jun 20, 20204 min read
How do we define the perfect body?
As we all know, Victoria’s Secret is a women’s brand famous for its sexy beauty products and perfect body models. However, it seems this...
Alysha Hayward
Jun 20, 20206 min read
Seeing yourself for the first time
The good, the bad and the self love “and I said to my body. softly. ‘I want to be your friend.’ It took a long breath. and replied, ‘I...
Ellie Cooper
Jun 19, 20204 min read
Plastic fantastic? Plastic fantastic? How fashion is leading more women to cosmetic surgery
Over hundreds of years our fashion trends, culture and spending habits have all changed along with the way we view ourselves. With...
Naszin Nasiru-Carew
Jun 18, 20204 min read
Why is the Human Figure Redesigned accordingly to Society?
Learning to appreciate ourselves based on body image is a slow incremental process that we all do have to experience, well at least most...
Lydia Heywood
Jun 18, 20204 min read
The impact makeup may be having on our self-image
With filtered images of flawless skin and sculptured advertised everywhere we go, it’s understandable why someone without the “perfect”...
Megan Taylor
Jun 17, 20204 min read
Fashion and body image: vanity sizing or insanity sizing
In recent years the fashion industry has been slowly inching towards greater inclusivity and representation. Stores are finally providing...
Luke Scanlon
Jun 16, 20205 min read
The level of body image diversity in fashion
Naivety is a prominent mentality in modern society and media when it comes to the impact of body image. As the media bombard the public...
Loren Hall
Jun 15, 20205 min read
Underrepresented: diversity in fashion
I never considered myself to be “model material,” and up until my mid-teens, I never questioned that. The people I saw in magazines and...
Holly McCormack
Jun 13, 20204 min read
Fashion & Body Image
Over the years the fashion industry has come under increasing pressure surrounding its expectations of models’ physiques. A number of...
Harriet Banfield
Jun 12, 20205 min read
How Body Image Shapes Our Self-Worth
In March 2019, the Mental Health Foundation together with YouGov asked 4,505 UK adults and 1,118 GB teenagers how they felt about their...
Alice Burns
Jun 6, 20205 min read
The Beautiful and The Ordinary: Are We Filtering Out Reality?
Reality, or at least our perception of it, has come under pressure over recent years. To live up to the expectations that our filtered...
Whitney Jones
Jun 4, 20205 min read
A Letter of Kindness To My Younger Self
With my 21st birthday around the corner, I’m looking back on the darkest periods of my life that left my body image in total carnage. I...
Kinga Petryowska
Jun 2, 20206 min read
Need a quick diet and I’m starting tomorrow, my friend Kate is in
When the Capitalism arrived and I didn’t notice. Poland had released itself from the Soviet occupation in 1989. I was only 7 back then...
Allison Duncil
Jun 1, 20204 min read
Size Is Just A Number
What’s your personal definition of beauty? I hope everyone just answered, “me!” In my book, beauty is all about believing in yourself,...
Molly Denton
Mar 23, 20203 min read
Maria Grazia Chiuri, the first female Creative Director at Dior
Feminism, fascination and frivolity. Maria Grazia Chiuri is the first female artistic director in the history of Dior, succeeding seven...
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