Body Image Quotes

Your body is yours. My body is mine. No one's body is up for comment. No matter how small, how large, how curvy, how flat. If you love you, then I love you. ~ Shonda Rhimes

Don't change your body to get respect from society. Instead let's change society to respect our bodies. ~ Golda Poretsky

How we diminished her and in turn ourselves. Turned parts of her body into heavy burdens to carry. Watching. Tittering (we no longer laughed, from then on it was tittering). Commenting. Losing our composure. Falling in love, developing obsessions, and growing resentful when our shallow affections were ignored. ~ Rion Amilcar Scott

The more I like me, the less I want to pretend to be other people. ~ Jamie Lee Curtis

I've had a lot of girls reach out to me about struggling with body image. I've only been able to write back to a few of them, but I've been able to write and have correspondence with a few of them and really talk about what I think they should do or if I think they should ask for help. ~ Troian Bellisario

I personally battled with my own body image for years. I used to tell myself, You can't wear anything sleeveless or strapless. And all of a sudden I was like, What if I just didn't send such negative messages to my brain and said, wear it and enjoy it? And now I'm more comfortable in clothes than ever. ~ Drew Barrymore

My smile is my favorite part of my body. I think a smile can make your whole body. ~ Serena Williams

Many young girls are constantly consumed by controlling and managing their body image to the extent that they are much more involved in the production of the self than in living. ~ Susie Orbach

Let's take the focus off "fat" and put it on health. Let's take the focus off "skinny" and put it on good common sense. Let's take the focus off body image and put it on education, women's rights, human rights, the economy, baseball cards, anything. ~ Wendy Shanker

Our first experience of life is primarily felt in the *body.* ... We know ourselves in the security of those who hold us and gaze upon us. It's not heard or seen or thought it's felt. That's the original knowing. ~ Richard Rohr

In the 20 long, hungry years between my late teens and late 30s I bought in to virtually every new diet and/or exercise regime that hoved into view, particularly at this most vulnerable time for those of us prone to poor body image - a new year. ~ Arabella Weir

You look beautiful," Alodia says.
I startle at the compliment. Then I smile. "I'm beautiful to the one person who matters."
She nods. "Hector's mouth is going to drop open when he sees you."
"I hope so. But I meant me. I'm beautiful to me. ~ Rae Carson

In a superficial world, body image is everything. But in a world filled with substance, a beautiful mind, heart and soul are everything. The second world does not exist because the ego overpowers the heart. And the first world will continue to exist until the heart overpowers the ego. ~ Suzy Kassem

She wore her body like a mistake she hoped to one day be forgiven for. ~ Naomi Jackson

You are a beloved child of God. But please remember this, too: You are human. You cannot expect to eat perfectly, look perfect, or be perfect. When you stumble, pick yourself up, even if you have to do it again and again. ~ Kate Wicker

Appearing nude on film was not easy when I was twenty-six in Body Heat; it was even harder when I was forty-six in The Graduate, on the stage, which is more up close and personal than film. After my middle-age nude scene, though, I unexpectedly got letters from women saying, "I have not undressed in front of my husband in ten years and I'm going to tonight." Or, "I have not looked in the mirror at my body and you gave me permission."
These affirmations from other women were especially touching to me because when I began The Graduate I'd just come through a period when I felt a great loss of confidence, when my rheumatoid arthritis hit me hard and I literally couldn't walk or do any of the things that I was so used to doing. It used to be that if I said to my body, "Leap across the room now," it would leap instantly. I don't know how I did it, but I did it. I hadn't realized how much my confidence was based on my physicality. On my ability to make my body do whatever I wanted it to do.
I was so consumed, not just by thinking about what I could and couldn't do, but also by handling the pain, the continual, chronic pain. I didn't realize how pain colored my whole world and how depressive it was. Before I was finally able to control my RA with proper medications, I truly had thought that my attractiveness and my ability to be attractive to men was gone, was lost. So for me to come back and do The Graduate was an affirmation to myself. I had my body back. I was back. ~ Kathleen Turner

Weight (too much or too little) is a by-product. Weight is what happens when you use food to flatten your life. Even with aching joints, it's not about food. Even with arthritis, diabetes, high blood pressure. It's about your desire to flatten your life. It's about the fact that you've given up without saying so. It's about your belief that it's not possible to live any other way
and you're using food to act that out without ever having to admit it. (p. 53) ~ Geneen Roth

I think the body image thing, everybody can identify with that. In our culture there's just so much pressure and so much attention placed on the way we look. You just turn on the TV or flip open a magazine and there's people who don't look like any of us. I think this movie is like, finally, a celebration of reality and of our imperfections. We're not all a size 2 and we're not all a size 0, and you know what? That's OK, because some of us like to eat! ~ America Ferrera

The body is innocent. Deeply, beautifully, fundamentally innocent. ~ Rachel Hartman

Maggie, when will you believe me when I say you're beautiful?"

"I'm not twenty-five," she replied. "I need to lose ten pounds--"

"Hush."

Angel placed a hand over her mouth. "Don't talk about the woman I'm crazy about like that. It pisses me off, because she's perfect as is. ~ Nancee Cain

Simply being born female in our society is to grow up being told your worth as a person is tied to how slim and attractive you are. Even for those of us lucky enough to have evolved parents, the message is still driven home by the world at large. ~ Padma Lakshmi

I used to criticize my body for everything I felt it wasn't. Now, I praise my body for what it has carried me through. ~ Bethanee Epifani J. Bryant

There are a few things as heartbreaking to me as seeing a person swimming in a T-shirt. And I can speak with the authority of someone who did it for years. It is conspicuous. It bogs you down. When you get out of the water, you take half the lake with you. It takes the fun out of swimming and puts a visual metaphor to the burdens of a negative body image. ~ Liz Prince

All Beyoncé and JLo have done is add to the laundry list of attributes women must have to qualify as beautiful. ~ Tina Fey

I get so worried about girls with body image stuff And I feel like I have been able to have a fun career and be an on-camera talent and be someone who has boyfriends and love interests and wears nice clothes and those kinds of things without having to be an emaciated stick. And it is possible to do it. In life, you don't have to be that way and you can have a great life, a fun life, and a fulfilling love life. ~ Mindy Kaling

I remember everyone asking, 'What did you do to get so thin? You looked great.' I looked emaciated. ~ Rosario Dawson

My parents never recognized the things that for me were achievements. I was praised for the things that came naturally to me, like my intelligence, but when I really put all my effort into looking nice (trying to), it went unrecognised. No-one ever told me I looked pretty or nice, or that I was a beautiful person (to them) and I needed them to... ~ Carol Lee

Those were the girls she'd been most jealous of, growing up - not just the thin, fashionable ones, but the types who surfed or rock climbed, who lived in such obvious peace with their bodies. Took joy in using their bodies. Mastered them. Merry's had always felt like a bully. A great, heavy oaf pinning her to the ground, taunting. ~ Cara McKenna

I was on a path, and I became determined to give it everything I had - no matter what. ~ Eleanor Brownn

She was aware that in love even the most passionate idealism will not rid the body's surface of its terrible, basic importance. ~ Milan Kundera

I don't go to the gym because I don't have time, but I do Pilates workout DVDs for 20 minutes or more every day at home. ~ Kate Winslet

Staring at herself in the mirror, she found that she'd lost the ability to see herself through her own eyes. She was only what humans would see. Not a girl or a woman or someone in between. They wouldn't see her loneliness or fear or courage, let alone her humanity. They would see only obscenity. Calamity. ~ Laini Taylor

You should totally get implants," she said admiringly in the mirror. I shake my head. "I don't yet know what I'm going to do with my life, Diane. But I'm hoping being shaped like a barbell could only be a hindrance. ~ Emma McLaughlin

I've been on both sides: the victim and the villain. I was the victimised model, and everything from my weight to my fertility was held up for discussion. And then I was the person that could garner some kind of positive outcome, by taking on the role of vice chairman of the British Fashion Council and becoming an activist of body image. ~ Erin O'Connor

I absolutely get more comfortable in my body and my skin as I get older, more than when I was in my 20s ~ Jennifer Aniston

Only on a few occasions had I ever been comfortable showing my body off, and now here I was, taking a job where Asian boobs and ass ran free. ~ Teresa Lo

Sometimes I look in the mirror and think I'm really good looking. Then other times I think my body's all wrong. ~ Alex Sanchez

As a society, we need to get lots more flexible about what constitutes beauty. It isn't a particular hair color or a particular body type; it's the woman who grew the hair and lives in the body. Keeping this in mind can only make things better. (341) ~ Victoria Moran

This body needs me to say yes to it, just as it is right now. No more singing that same old jingle of body-shame and dieter's promised lands. ~ Kimber Simpkins

The best way to reach your destination is to just keep going until you get there. ~ Eleanor Brownn

Boys and boys' body image and clothes have become just as important an issue for boys as for girls. ~ Rosalind Wiseman

Growing into your future ... requires a dedication to caring for yourself as if you were rare and precious, which you are, and regarding all life around you as equally so, which it is. ~ Victoria Moran

We've been told prettiness will somehow make us better - and more loved. Do we really want to bear the mark of physical beauty? Or do we just want to be loved? ~ Kate Wicker

The skinnier and more toned I got, the fatter I felt.
The more in shape I got, the more out of shape I felt like I was.
And the more I made myself look good to the masses, the less attractive I felt like I was. ~ Dan Pearce

How stupid that all I have to do
is grow two squishy lumps and suddenly
I'm man's best friend ~ Christine Heppermann

My body is like breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I don't think about it, I just have it. ~ Arnold Schwarzenegger

Most of us know that the media tell us our bodies are imperfect - too fat, to smelly, too wrinkled, or too soft. And, even though we may know it's horseshit, these messages still seep into our brains and mess with our self-esteem. In a media-saturated country where most images of women and men have been photoshopped to perfection, it's hard to find a living supermodel (much less a computer programmer), who doesn't wish she had sexier earlobes or a tighter ass. So, buck up, even the prettiest bombshell has body insecurities. You can spend your life thinking your butt's too big (or your cock's too small) or feeling sexy as hell. Make the choice to appreciate your body as it is. ~ Victoria Vantoch

Even two of humanity's most intimate possessions - a sense of self and a body image - are fluid, highly modifiable creations of the brain's mischievous deployment of electricity and a handful of chemicals. They both can change or be changed on less than a second's notice. ~ Miguel Nicolelis

So get up, pretty woman!
And from your beautifully shaped body don't be ashamed
For we are meant to be different,
Rounded shapes and squared
We come in a small, medium and a large size
And to each there is still a wide range
This is to create a beautiful portrait for the eyes
And we are not supposed to please the "media-thinking" and change!
So woman up!
Whether your size is infinity-X large or infinity-X Small
In love with "you" you should fall
Don't let them and their meaningless words or shallow looks
Make you lose it all
As to this nature you belong,
The beach, the mountains, the oceans
And the colorful life this mother earth has to give
So embrace this with your body and soul
No matter how they evolve…
For as long as you live! ~ Abeer Allan

I took a breath and watched as he leaned down over my exposed, lumpy belly. Very lightly, he kissed it. He kissed the spot beneath my ribs and all the way down to my navel. He kissed across my lower stomach, that wretched expanse where the stretch marks raked across my skin, then up and down my sides. Harry kissed every inch of my horrible flesh with a tenderness so great and loving, and all the while, my eyes stayed clenched tight. 'I am loved,' a voice inside me declared. ~ Kelsey Miller

Telling yourself you like the way you look is easy. Believing it is an entirely different kettle of whales. ~ Andrew Biss

In New York, if you weigh under 200 pounds and decline so much as a cookie at a co-worker's party, women will flock to your side, assuring you of your appealing physique. This is how skittish we are about the dangers of anorexia and the pressures of body image. ~ Sloane Crosley

The patriarchal/kyriarchal/hegemonic culture seeks to regulate and control the body – especially women's bodies, and especially black women's bodies – because women, especially black women, are constructed as the Other, the site of resistance to the kyriarchy. Because our existence provokes fear of the Other, fear of wildness, fear of sexuality, fear of letting go – our bodies and our hair (traditionally hair is a source of magical power) must be controlled, groomed, reduced, covered, suppressed. ~ Yvonne Aburrow

I deny myself certain trappings of femininity as if i do not have the right to such expression when my body does not follow society's dictates for what a woman's body should look like. ~ Roxane Gay

Body acceptance means, as much as possible, approving of and loving your body, despite its "imperfections", real or perceived. That means accepting that your body is fatter than some others, or thinner than some others, that your eyes are a little crooked, that you have a disability that makes walking difficult, that you have health concerns that you have to deal with - but that all of that doesn't mean that you need to be ashamed of your body or try to change it. Body acceptance allows for the fact that there is a diversity of bodies in the world, and that there's no wrong way to have one. ~ Golda Poretsky

What is this food in my head, anyway? Let's see...it's green and good for you and so delicious. It's prepared by angels with love. The minute you bite into it, it's savory, chewy, nourishing, and whole- some. You feel instantly revitalized. A small, tiny amount, just a few bites, rejuvenates every cell, deepens your breath, clears your mind, heals your wounds, and mends your heart. It's made from joyous plants that voluntarily separate themselves from their stalks, laying themselves at the feet of the approaching gardener who gathers them. They eagerly offer their vital energies to nourish living spirits. The angels in their chef hats, singing mantras, cook it tenderly to retain all the benefits of the generous plants. It's barely sweet, barely salty, and contains all the freshness of spring herbs, summer fruit, spreading leaves, and burgeoning seeds. It comes premade in bags or boxes...you just open it up, sit down, and enjoy. It's a full meal, enough maybe for a whole day, maybe for a week, maybe for your family, maybe for your friends and neighbors. It multiplies like loaves and fishes, in little biodegradable containers that vaporize instantly the moment you finish them, without any greenhouse emissions. Nothing to clean up! ~ Kimber Simpkins

The body image took a real battering. I had really not taken on board how I would feel dressed in a flimsy dress in front of millions of people. ~ Lynda Bellingham

The earliest issue I can remember going through was body image issues. I was a chubby little kid and I got made fun of for it. I dealt with horrible, horrible self esteem issues, and I still struggle with that. I think it's what taught me a lot of empathy and compassion, though, but there are those days where I look in the mirror and I still see twelve year old fat Sara. ~ Sara Bareilles

My weight and my pant size are the absolute last thing I'm concerned about. People who talk and judge pregnant women's weight need to get a life! ~ Ashlee Simpson

I do think moms should be given a break, all across the board. And I think that the most important thing is that you're healthy. After I had my little girl, I wanted to be healthy for her and have a healthy body image so that she hopefully grows up to see that her self worth isn't defined by how thin she is. ~ Busy Philipps

How frequently do you look in the mirror? Does your face please you? Are you disgusted to detect familial features? Do you worship or hate your ancestors? Do you consider your image erotic? Do you pretend that you are a star's child? If you squint, does your reflection become abstract? Is abstraction a transcendental escape from identity or a psychotic spasm of depersonalization? ~ Wayne Koestenbaum

My thoughts on body image are simple: if you are being kind to yourself mentally and physically you never have anything to be ashamed for, ever. ~ Lena Dunham

As our body journeys through life, and life journeys on our body….life will leave marks on us too. From the creases of our wrinkles to the birthmarks on our bodies to the tattoos we decide to place. ~ Lauren Klarfeld

It seemed to me that boys had a lot more fun. It was a relief. I didn't look at myself from the outside. I just lived inside my skin, looking out. ~ Nancy Horan

The trouble is that so many people, most of them women, think they have to have a perfect body to be loved. But all it has to do is be capable of loving---and being loved. ~ Nina George

Cortical maps are dynamic, and can change as circumstances alter. Many of us have experienced this, getting a new pair of glasses or a new hearing aid. At first the new glasses or hearing aids seem intolerable, distorting - but within days or hours, our brain adapts to them, and we can make full use of our new new optically or acoustically improved senses. It is similar with the brain's mapping of the body image, which adapts quite rapidly if there are changes in the sensory input or the use of the body. ~ Oliver Sacks

Who cares if there are lumps on my thighs? I'm guilty of having human legs made up of fat, muscle, and skin, and sometimes when you sit, they get bumpy! ~ Kristen Bell

If I can help and influence girls who are going through body-image issues then I think that's amazing. ~ Kate Upton

You are a human being, not a human body. ~ Kate Wicker

Self esteem and a healthy body image for people with disabilities are so often hard-fought. ~ Stella Young

Hold still we're going to do your portrait, so that you can begin looking like it right away. ~ Helene Cixous

The part of acting business is the struggle to do what you love and to maintain body image and to maintain this sort of false stature of who you're supposed to be as a role model and also who you are supposed to be to yourself personally and privately. ~ Amber Tamblyn

I longed to love this frame that was projected towards me. I continued staring. This was me, my body, and it was mine. ~ Malebo Sephodi

, and they could name a handful. ~ Taylor Swift

She had decided that because she couldn't love her body, she would try to love what she put on it. ~ Kate Scelsa

Thin, thick, tall, small, slender, curvy, curly, straight, dark, light, that body, with every detail is YOURS alone, look at it with compassion. ~ Fatima Mohammed

Black women don't have the same body image problems as white women. They are proud of their bodies. ~ Tyra Banks

Fattening!" said Troy, looking at Tabitha's round face and plump arms.

"If I don't mind being fat, I don't see why other people should feel they've got to mind for me," Tabitha replied cheerfully. "And pies have got some food value – they've got vitamins or something, haven't they, Claire? ~ Margaret Mahy

The female body is something that's so beautiful. I wish women would be proud of their bodies and not diss other women for being proud of theirs. ~ Christina Aguilera

That said, pointing out inaccurate or unrealistic portrayals of women to younger grade school children-ages five to eight-does seem to be effective, when done judiciously:taking to little girls about body image and dieting, for example, can actually introduce them to disordered behavior rather than inoculating them against it. I may be taking a bit of a leap here, but to me all this indicated that if you are creeped out about the characters fromMonster High, it is fine to keep them out of your house. ~ Peggy Orenstein

Our work is not to change what you do, but to witness what you do with enough awareness, enough curiosity, enough tenderness that the lies and old decisions upon which the compulsion is based become apparent and fall away. When you no longer believe that eating will save your life when you feel exhausted or overwhelmed or lonely, you will stop. When you believe in yourself more than you believe in food, you will stop using food as if it were your only chance at not falling apart. When the shape of your body no longer matches the shape of your beliefs, the weight disappears. (p. 80-81) ~ Geneen Roth

In the United States, workouts tend to focus on body image and how you look. For me, it's really all about the brain. ~ Chris Cornell

The plus size movement is not just about fashion; it's about body image, and if we're doing a shoot, they won't retouch us at all. That's the cool thing: there's no retouching at all because we want to give girls the truth, not a fabrication. ~ Hayley Hasselhoff

The Drama Years is filled with heart-stirring stories, just-been-there advice from recent teens and practical, actionable tips for parents. It's full of real girls talking about everything from stress and body image to love and materialism. Reading this book, I cringed in recognition of my own drama years, just wishing this book had been around back then and so grateful I'll have it as a guide for my own daughter. ~ Melissa Walker

Looks are worth nothing, she thought, dismissing the butterflies in her stomach. ~ Jamie Le Fay

We are beautiful because we are sons and daughters of God, not because we look a certain way. ~ Kate Wicker

If my self was my dwelling, then my body resembled an orchard that surrounded it. I could either cultivate that orchard to its capacity or leave it for the weeds to run riot in.
There are some truths in this world that one cannot see unless one unbends one's posture. ~ Yukio Mishima

There's a pressure to conform to particular images, and it feels a pretty exclusive pool of body image or facial image that is considered appealing. And in a way, that feels like pre-judging what an audience might actually want. ~ Hattie Morahan

Aim high and don't sell yourself short. Know that you're capable. Understand that a lot of people battle with a lot of things - depression, body image or whatever else - so know that it's not just you. You're not alone. ~ Holly Holm

According to Ramachandran, pain, like the body image, is created by the brain and projected onto the body. This assertion is contrary to common sense and the traditional neurological view of pain that says that when we are hurt, our pain receptors send a one-way signal to the brain's pain center and that the intensity of pain perceived is proportional to the seriousness of the injury. ~ Norman Doidge

I'm not going to let my insecurities keep me from having a good time. I think that if you don't loose your self-consciousness, you can't really be present in a situation. For example, if you're at The Louvre, but you're thinking about how much you hate your jeans, you're not really at The Louvre. So in your memory, when you look back, you're always going to be like, "I was wearing those jeans I hated". And you're not going to remember anything else. ~ Christina Ricci

Chubby chasers don't prove that fat is beautiful. Chubby chasers show us that ugliness is optional. ~ Dan Oliverio

Rubenesque: the word for masterpiece curves. Screw you, unsalted rice cakes. ~ Christine Heppermann

Body image - what we're supposed to look like - is made so unattainable that all girls are put in this position of feeling inferior. That's a horrible thing. ~ Amy Heckerling

To set the record straight, I'm not upset for me, but for all the girls out there that are struggling with their body image. ~ Jennifer Love Hewitt

Choosing to accept yourself is a political act. An act of liberation. ~ Francesca Martinez

There was this one model in French Elle. I can't imagine what it must be like to be her. She was brunette with big lips and was wearing this tight navy dress by Azzedine someone. She was so beautiful; and the choices she must have. and ... Oh, I would give it all up just to have been born that way because her life will be so easy. She won't have to think, and men will fall into her lap and ... It's all unfair and I don't want to even write it.
It will never change, and no one wants to admit it but being thin and pretty is the best thing a woman can be. ~ Rae Earl

Never underestimate the Power of Working-out!"-Serena Jade ~ Serena Jade

Newsflash she already has body image issues.
It's an intrinsic part of being a woman. Every woman in the world has some part of herself that she absolutely hates.
Her hands are too small, her feet are too big, her hair is too straight, too curly, her ears stick out, her bums too flat, her nose is too big and, you know, nothing you can say will change how we feel.
What men don't understand is, the right clothes, the right shoes, the right makeup it just ... It, it hides the flaws we think we have.
They make us look beautiful to ourselves.
That's what makes us look beautiful to others.
Used to be all she needed to feel beautiful was a pink tutu and a plastic tiara.
And we spend our whole lives trying to feel that way again. ~ Richard Castle

Healthy emotions come in all sizes. Healthy minds come in all sizes. And healthy bodies come in all sizes. ~ Cheri K. Erdman