Body Image (15 found)
Note: These stories are from Represent and its sister publication, YCteen, which is written by New York City public high school students.
The author gains weight and is bullied. She briefly tries throwing up her food, until she has a health scare and takes off the weight slowly with exercise and healthy diet. (full text)
Jessica experiences racism and internalizes it. A natural hair blog and a growing understanding of society help her see that black is beautiful. (full text)
When Antwaun balloons up to 291 pounds, he knows it’s time to change his ways. (full text)
Anita is raised to believe that being a “good Indian girl” means having long hair. Then she gets a haircut. (full text)
The writer starts throwing up her food to lose weight, but stops when a friend is hospitalized for bulimia. (full text)
A.C. writes about learning to love her body and wear clothing that make her feel proud, rather than what others think she should wear. (full text)
The writer's family consistently taunts her about her shape and eating habits. She summons the confidence to stand up to their negative talk. (full text)
Yousef defies the stereotype that only women suffer from insecurities about their bodies. “I feel like no one realizes men can feel the same way,” he writes. (full text)
As Crystal Stevens writes in this review, "Dietland will make you step back and question how women are treated in our society. (full text)
For as long as she can remember, the writer’s male relatives teased her about being chubby. She writes about internalizing this criticism and how it affects her body image as a teenager. (full text)
After the writer realizes she looks nothing like the sexualized, skinny actresses who play teens on TV, she begins to explore her own definition of beauty. (full text)
Isaura compares herself to her curvy classmates, and is intimidated by their critiques of one another's looks. (full text)
