Social media can often get in the way of how we view ourselves and although we can sit with friends and family and admit this, sometimes we need an extra reminder. If you have not already heard of the I_Weigh movement on Instagram, then it is time to check it out. This movement hopes to show individuals the true value of themselves by allowing women to fight back and take pride in their lives beyond how much they weigh, and to think more about what they bring to the table as individuals.
Jameela Jamil, a 26-year old television-host-turned-actress, started this movement a year ago to remind women that we are so much more than what we look like. The movement, which is still prevalent to this day, aims to alter how we measure ourselves away from how many kilograms, pounds, or stones that we weigh and to focus on how we measure ourselves based on having great friends, having a positive, loving attitude, and doing what you believe in. She states on her website: “A small ode to the brilliant life that I am so lucky to live, that I built by myself from scratch, to the friends that I am so lucky to have and to my self-worth. This is how I measure myself.”
Jameela’s self-love movement has over 300,000 participants involved and is a clapback to society’s exterior-based evaluation of women’s worth. Jameela uses celebrities such as the women in the Kardashian/Jenner family and other ‘insta baddies’ as examples of our ‘body-goals’-ridden popular culture.
However, as much as images of celebrities can affect how we value our beauty, the people around us equally add to how we define and personify beauty. Encouraging women to measure self-love based on aspects of their life that they are grateful for or proud of is a great way to do this. It is important to see women empowered by who they are and what they have achieved, as well as their appearance—we are multifaceted and should be measured that same way.
What is inspiring about this movement is that sometimes as young people, male or female, it can be difficult to love our outward appearance. It does not make it any easier when we are exposed to what is considered the ‘perfect body’, but these images are simply that: an image. The ‘perfect body’ can seem to be unattainable because it does not exist. Instead of focusing on what we do not have we should look at what we have already accomplished, what we have gained, and not what we have lost. Outside of social media it is important to love the person you are, one affirmation of self-love at a time.
Marvel Kalu
Featured Image courtesy of @jameelajamilofficial via Instagram.
Main Image courtesy of @i_weigh via Instagram.
