There’s no doubt about it, even after decades in the entertainment business Janet Jackson is still one of the hottest in the game…with an amazing body to match! Recently Janet, who is also the new spokesperson for NutriSystem, stopped by Good Morning America to chat and revealed most of her insecurities with her body stemmed from things she went through as a young child. Janet said her brother Michael would poke fun at her “big butt” and during her first season acting on Good Times, which she began when she was only 10 years old, wardrobe stylists felt her body was developing too soon and flattened her chest by binding it, the next season, they told her to lose weight. Here she is, a 10-year-old girl being told that there is something wrong with her body and now as an adult, she is still having to fight to realize that there isn’t.

Many of us did not grow up in the spotlight with the pressures that come from celebrity as Janet Jackson did, but the pressure to look good and fit society’s ideal standard of beauty still torments many of us everyday. If it’s not the media telling us we should weigh this much, look this way and feel shame for not owning the latest ‘it’ item, then it’s our friends and family critiquing everything we put in our mouths or pinching our sides when they notice the pesky 5lbs we gained over the holidays. With the pressures of beauty coming from all sides it’s no wonder that many young girls grow up to be women who hate themselves.

Health and fitness should always be a priority in our lives and with obesity becoming a fast growing epidemic, the sooner we teach our children about it the better. However making someone feel as if they aren’t beautiful and accepted as they are is never okay. Binding chests, poking fun, picking at someone’s weight, all of these words and actions do more harm than good and leave scars much deeper than the booty they can’t seem to lose. Words and influence are powerful tools that can make or break not only someone’s life, but their spirit. As outsiders we watched as the affects of Janet’s childhood experiences caused her to go up and down in weight constantly, why would we want to inflict that rollercoaster lifestyle on someone we love, or ourselves. It’s easier said than done to ignore the messages being shouted around us, but instead of absorbing these messages that have us turning on our own bodies, we need to start looking in the mirror and creating our own messages of beauty and acceptance for ourselves as we are.

No one is perfect. We all would like to change a thing or two about our appearance whether we vocalize them or not. But don’t let the minor issues you have or the words of others take away from the bigger picture, that as you are, ‘flaws’ and all, you are a beautiful reflection of something greater in this world and that fact is nothing to feel insecure about.

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6 Comments

  1. I have always felt shy and sometimes weird about my height. I’ve always been taller than most guys that I grew up with. I was always tall for my age and people use to make fun of me because of my height. I don’t have a sister booty and I have been slinder all of my life. Because of my relationshiop with God. I have learned to love me the way that He(God) created me to be.

  2. I was a fat child, then a fat adolescent. Lost 30 pounds at 13, gained it all back, plus some. I hated myself and constantly called myself “fat” and “ugly.” Was a binge eater, then bulimic, then in freshman year of college, had anorexia and spiraled out of control and looked like a walking skeleton. That continued for 2 years until I “discovered” weight training, proper nutrition, & running. I really got tired of the self-loathing. Almost 13 years and 2 kids later, I am still lifting heavy weights and running long distances. Food became fuel and not something to torture myself with. I can honestly say that I have never been happier with my body. Sure, I get snickers and looks from some because I am pretty muscular but I know I am strong and healthy and am really just enjoying my body for how it was designed.

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