Challenge YOUR body image.

[Hit]

 

 

YAAAAYY GENDER DYSPHORIA X(

 

one of the reasons im not showing a "before" picture your photos raise an interesting side note though - when does "chest" become "breast" ? i have some new "progress shots", but im topless in all of them. 2 years ago, no worries. Today? not so much.

[Bekah]

one of the reasons im not showing a "before" picture your photos raise an interesting side note though - when does "chest" become "breast" ? i have some new "progress shots", but im topless in all of them. 2 years ago, no worries. Today? not so much.

that is an interesting question, I think maybe it's a bit of a personal choice? I mean its not the same clearly, but overweight men have bigger breast tissue than normal weight men, and so then would they be considered breasts, or just fat chests? So maybe gender presentation also matters? 

hmmmm...makes me think.

I love this community, we have such diverse ideas and thoughts and views on things and we all get along mostly well and it's just awesome  

[Machete]

one of the reasons im not showing a "before" picture your photos raise an interesting side note though - when does "chest" become "breast" ? i have some new "progress shots", but im topless in all of them. 2 years ago, no worries. Today? not so much.

 

Appropriately inappropriate.

 

 

 

 

that is an interesting question, I think maybe it's a bit of a personal choice? I mean its not the same clearly, but overweight men have bigger breast tissue than normal weight men, and so then would they be considered breasts, or just fat chests? So maybe gender presentation also matters? 

hmmmm...makes me think.

I love this community, we have such diverse ideas and thoughts and views on things and we all get along mostly well and it's just awesome

 

Saw this totally NSFW video with a topless chick going for a run. I imagine that could hurt for some people, (but then again, running hurts for the most part anyway).

[Jakkals]

 a topless chick going for a run. I imagine that could hurt for some people, (but then again, running hurts for the most part anyway).

 

I am not going to watch your video, but you should google Naked Skydiving.

[Bekah]

FYI....the video has a message that has nothing to do with the chick being topless except that she is imitating a man

[Machete]

FYI....the video has a message that has nothing to do with the chick being topless except that she is imitating a man

 

Yeah, it goes beyond the whole topless woman, but that would steer the thread off-topic, so I better re-direct.

[Steppinon D'Arrows]

Being a cosplayer, I have seen online and read stories of the way some of us are treated. When I really started to get fully into the hobby, I wished to avoid that. No matter how I looked in costume, I was always a little worried someone would come over to me and say something like that. Thankfully, no one has so far. I think I would have quit and/or starved myself if someone had done so when I was first starting out but there was this amazing-looking Tenth Doctor cosplayer at my first event who was super nice as well as this Fem!Eleven who took a picture with me as I was a female cosplaying Ten. The attitude of those two towards me made me love cosplay all the more.

When I look back on my pictures from that day, I kind of cringe because I feel now that I looked horrible. I'm much healthier and better looking now, and I feel better both physically and emotionally. I still like cosplaying men, though, and prefer costumes that cover completely. (My Fem!Vislor Turlough is the closest I've gotten to actually cosplaying a girl.)

Also, I'm not sure right now that I'll ever not be worried that someone will say something mean about me in costume but I am mentally stronger than I was and I would probably neither starve myself nor quit.

[kaelvan]

Being a cosplayer, I have seen online and read stories of the way some of us are treated. When I really started to get fully into the hobby, I wished to avoid that. No matter how I looked in costume, I was always a little worried someone would come over to me and say something like that. Thankfully, no one has so far. I think I would have quit and/or starved myself if someone had done so when I was first starting out but there was this amazing-looking Tenth Doctor cosplayer at my first event who was super nice as well as this Fem!Eleven who took a picture with me as I was a female cosplaying Ten. The attitude of those two towards me made me love cosplay all the more.

When I look back on my pictures from that day, I kind of cringe because I feel now that I looked horrible. I'm much healthier and better looking now, and I feel better both physically and emotionally. I still like cosplaying men, though, and prefer costumes that cover completely. (My Fem!Vislor Turlough is the closest I've gotten to actually cosplaying a girl.)

Also, I'm not sure right now that I'll ever not be worried that someone will say something mean about me in costume but I am mentally stronger than I was and I would probably neither starve myself nor quit.

Always was afraid to cosplay as male characters.

[Ahyar Dreamspark]

one of the reasons im not showing a "before" picture your photos raise an interesting side note though - when does "chest" become "breast" ? i have some new "progress shots", but im topless in all of them. 2 years ago, no worries. Today? not so much.

 

I've always wondered the same thing :| And how it's perfectly fine for a guy with massive moobs to bare his chest in public, whereas a relatively flat-chested girl doing the same thing would get no end of grief and "OMGWTF" stares.

 

I guess the answer is that "chest" becomes "breast" when society starts to get offended, which is kinda' BS.

 

 

Also, body image and cosplay?

 

On the left: me, on the right: the body type I think I have

 

 

Getting there! NOW IF I COULD ONLY GROW TO 6'2" SOMEHOW

 

 

EDIT: put the pics under a cut.

[Dleffe]

that is an interesting question, I think maybe it's a bit of a personal choice? I mean its not the same clearly, but overweight men have bigger breast tissue than normal weight men, and so then would they be considered breasts, or just fat chests? So maybe gender presentation also matters? 

hmmmm...makes me think.

I love this community, we have such diverse ideas and thoughts and views on things and we all get along mostly well and it's just awesome

 

For society gender presentation is all that seems to matter on the show or no show in public front. Also on overweight guys the term generally used is man-boobs (or moobs for short).

 

Friends still joke about my moobs and how I got more cleavage to show than my gf (even though said moobs are now all muscle). GF is a real champ about it and just goes "good thing he's an assman"

[Lalie Fanyarendil]

On the left: me, on the right: the body type I think I have

 

 

Where's an emoticon with hearts for eyes when I need it??? If we've got one I couldn't find it, so please insert one here. You look amazing.

[Hit]

 

 

Where's an emoticon with hearts for eyes when I need it??? If we've got one I couldn't find it, so please insert one here. You look amazing.

 

seconding this pretty hard. that is a fantastic costume! did you make it yourself?

 

okay so i took some photos in the gym yesterday (with a top on), this is my body -

 

 

and full length

 

 

im working on the parts i dont like so much, but these days i generally feel good about my body in isolation. put me next to other people though, and ughhh not so much:

being tall is fun :|

[SpecialSundae]

Your abs!

Love you but hate you, hit!

[Guzzi]

Your abs!

Love you but hate you, hit!

And arms! And shoulders! Damn you woman!!!!

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Companion]

Sorry to burst the low self esteem bubble, folks, but I see a whole lotta sexy in this thread.

[insanity]

Sorry to burst the low self esteem bubble, folks, but I see a whole lotta sexy in this thread.

I'm lovin the distinct increase in woman abs in here... :-)

[alienjenn]

speaking of mental  challenges... 

 

 

cross posted

 

 

I totally just made myself cry. .... pulled my pants out of my closet and was CERTAIN they were girl child's. ... she was like no mom not mine... I was like they CAN'T be mine they're TINY! I remembered getting them though after she fussed at me.... so I compared them to my "biggest skirt" from when I started (the one I broke the zipper on because it was too small *blush*)

But nope they're mine I still don't believe it because I don't FEEL that tiny. ....

 

 

[alienjenn]

and I had to come look at all this sexay on the big screen

[Hit]

Caution! Too much babe for one mirror!

[shaeon]

seconding this pretty hard. that is a fantastic costume! did you make it yourself?

 

okay so i took some photos in the gym yesterday (with a top on), this is my body -

 

 

and full length

 

 

im working on the parts i dont like so much, but these days i generally feel good about my body in isolation. put me next to other people though, and ughhh not so much:

being tall is fun :|

Hit... I may have made kind of a whimper noise (feel free to smack me if that's not appropriate - no disrespect, just appreciation). There's a lot there for you to feel good about. 

[BeamofTheTurtle]

Hitlionsoul challenged me to do this.
 
So here goes. I'm not the camera type. I don't do well in front of it, and when I'm taking a pic of myself- I don't do well behind it (hence the shaking of the camera).

 

The full body is from November, right before Thanksgiving- and right when I started the journey.

The 3/4 turn is from last week.

 

I'm not sure who I compare to. I have a really hard time looking at photos of myself and being objective. But, I promised Hit I'd put up my pics- and so I'm doing it.

 

I know they're not me in my underwear, but close enough

 

 

[alienjenn]

Eh. ... I don't do underwear photos either

I think you're lovely. ... and getting some gunz there

[Guzzi]

Hitlionsoul challenged me to do this.

So here goes. I'm not the camera type. I don't do well in front of it, and when I'm taking a pic of myself- I don't do well behind it (hence the shaking of the camera).

The full body is from November, right before Thanksgiving- and right when I started the journey.

The 3/4 turn is from last week.

I'm not sure who I compare to. I have a really hard time looking at photos of myself and being objective. But, I promised Hit I'd put up my pics- and so I'm doing it.

I know they're not me in my underwear, but close enough

First off, I want to apologise if I've made anyone feel uncomfortable or pressured by doing the photos in my original post in my underwear/bikini. I don't want anyone to feel that they should have to do that.

It was just that when I did my comparison shots, that was what I wore, because I've got to a point where I'm comfortable with my body and how it looks with little/no clothes on. But nobody else should feel bad about not wanting to do that. Sorry guys! :shamefaced:

Secondly, I had a really hard time trying to find a good comparison shot for you. All the ladies I found online, if they were as busty as you then they were too heavy on the hips. You're much slimmer than most of the girls I could find that had big boobies.

In the end I settled for this....

Although she's not a dead ringer for you, I think she has the same body shape. She has slim legs (like you), impressive lady-lumps (like you) and her arms look strong, not squishy (and kudos on those biceps btw!).

What do you think?

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Lalie Fanyarendil]

Wow. I have been so stunned by everybody's responses to me that it has taken me this long to figure out how to reply to them. (Haven't come up with anything more eloquent than my original reactions, so I'll just go with those...also, THANK YOU Nerd Fitness for auto-saving content, I almost lost all of this when my computer misbehaved.

 

Lalie, you have fucking awesome quads!   (Nice ass too, but dem quads!)

O.O Thank you!

 

Meh, Im sorry your mom acted that way, and that the saleslady did as well. It's sad that we have a specific image of how bodies are supposed to be, and not just accepting bodies for what they are. I think you look just fine though 

Thank you!

 

 

Actually.......Look at them side by side. I think they're remarkably similar. Yeah, she appears to be smoother over the hip/butt line, but I think that's because she's standing slightly turned with one hand strategically hiding that area on the other side. NOBODY gets away with not having that "bump"where the bum and leg meet unless they've got very little fat whatsoever.

PS. You look totally rockin in those leggings!

Thank you! And hooray for more-or-less accurate perception of what I look like. I consider that a big win for me.

 

 

Sexy: Sexy is in the eye of the beholder? Honestly, it was a huge transition for me to be able to think of myself as sexy, and I'm still not 100% there, but what I keep reminding myself is that I have to be confident in my own skin, but not necessarily convinced of my sexiness - the only person(s) who needs to find me sexy is the one(s) with whom there's a mutual desire to have sex!...Love and appreciate your body (yay for loving your chest already!) and the things that it can do, and work with it!

 

Getting fitted: I'll bet she was a fairly new employee - I can't imagine someone experienced in customer service saying that! The fact that she seemed embarrassed reinforces that - it's an awkward fact to state when you haven't figured out how to phrase it correctly. That being said, I'm totally not suprised she said that, because almost nobody is a perfect fit to any size. The problem with standard sizes is that there's no standard people! Used to be, when people made their own clothes they could fit it to their body because they knew their body! Now, having ready-to-wear clothes means trying to fit a bell curve, which means a lot of ill-fitting clothes out there. That's part of the reason for so much knitted fabrics and spandex blends - they are more forgiving to a wider range of body shapes! Bridesmaids dresses, however, are still constructed on the standard sizes, but with unforgiving fabrics such as satin and taffeta, so that's why so many people will get bridesmaid and bridal dresses altered. Don't take it personally, lovie, it's not about you at that point!

 

Comparison: Ahem. You don't look lumpy, you look amazing! You have definition, muscles, shape and all sorts of gorgeousness! She's pretty and soft, you're pretty and strong! In fact, your body shape is much what I hope for, and what I envision I will look like eventually too! Stomach, ass, thighs, calves, all of it looks attractive, shapely, strong and badass. Looking good!

I think that is the highest compliment that anyone could possibly give me. Thank you!! Also, many good points. Maybe I have a hard time imagining myself as being sexy because I don't have anybody to try to be sexy for and have stopped looking. (There may be a self-fulfilling prophecy in there somewhere, but I think I'm okay with that.)

 

I agree that I don't think the employee was TRYING to be mean or negative, even though that was the perceived end result. I'm pretty sure that a lot of my negative self-images originate with my mother. Once I hit puberty, if I didn't pop my acne and pluck my eyebrows she'd do it for me. She had me using tooth-whitening products for years, and when I complained that they hurt she said it didn't make sense and I had to use them anyway. (My adult teeth came in without enamel on them due to me getting really sick as a baby.) And then the last time we took a nice family portrait together she used Photoshop to make my teeth whiter before she'd order prints. She's always said that I'd be so pretty if I'd just wear some makeup. I think I understand where all this is coming from for her. She sees the person in her mirror with the acne scars and other physical imperfections as not the real her--the real her is the person who results after she has "fixed" all those things. I have the opposite opinion. The person in the mirror with the acne and the less-than-snowy-white teeth and the big scar across the chest--that's the real me. The real me is not ideal, but that's who I am, so I should learn to be happy with her. The altered-with-cosmetics-and-stuff version is the front I have to put on for family and work and stuff to make society accept me. The unrealistically-altered-with-black-lipstick-and-elf-ear-prosthetics version is me enjoying my appearance and dressing in a way that makes me happy, not in a way that is physically realistic or socially acceptable.

 

Do remember that girl has been Photoshopped...No dress ever fits anyone perfectly, unless you get it tailored made...most women doesn't wear clothes that completely fit them correct.

 

So don't worry dear. You look great. You really do.

That is a very good point. I forgot that she IS still a model and has probably been Photoshopped. Also a good reminder that I'm happy I enjoy sewing as a hobby. I need to get back to making more of my own clothes--sometimes that's easier than to alter what I've found in stores, and there's less and less in stores that I actually like.

 

And thank you!

 

 

You may see little reason, but let me just say, I think you look sexy... to paraphrase Sundae... Dem abs, ya... I like me a nice stomach.

 

I wouldn't say it like that, I would say your figure is unique. Most women today, at least where I am, seem to be soft and weak or skinny and frail, and their form follows their function. Yours follows your function in that, as tomato said, it's strong and badass. You don't look like you'd break if I gave you a hug...

 

To second what Guzzi said, a photo is a story and the person who writes the story is the photographer, and believe me, we can make the story say whatever we want. Especially if we have complete control over the variables involved like the person had with that picture. Also, we are our own worst critic, the fact that you think she's pretty and she's close to your shape would suggest that you think you're pretty, but because we pick ourselves apart we don't see things like that, I'm reminded of this video.

Thank you! I also have a hard time thinking of myself as badass...I used to be when I trained martial arts, maybe I can be again someday...but I am definitely pretty sturdy. And I enjoy doing surprising things in a skirt and heels, like moving office furniture, just to say that I can.

 

 

Lalie, I am going to third the admiration of your quads. Yours are the shape that I would see on another woman at the gym and then think "wow, I hope I can get there one day." I really love what Insanity wrote about you looking strong and badass because I completely agree with it and I feel like it's such a great goal. I saw my SIL in August for the first time since I had lost a lot of my weight and she gave me what I consider one of my best compliments todate--"Wow, Em, you look really strong! When you were thin in the past you...well I don't know how to say it without it sounding wrong but I mean that you really look good and strong!" And it's true, I was at a healthy weight when I was younger but definitely not fit/strong so that was a huge compliment to me.

I kind of get you on the pretty/sexy thing too. Once in a while I look in the mirror and think that I look good that day but, overall, I don't really feel like that. My older sister had guys tripping over themselves to be around her when we lived at home. I can remember her getting flowers from multiple guys on Valentine's Day and it was oddly common for a couple to show up and hang out with my parents until she got home...I also think that normal dating helps develop your self esteem a bit (of course it could crush it too so it may be a wash.)

Thank you!

 

I know what you mean about sisters and dating too. My twin sister (we're not identical, but people can't tell us apart until they get to know us) would always have multiple guys after her at the same time and I'd have nobody interested in me. Now I realize that she is a lot more outgoing and confident than me and that is a big factor. My limited experiences with normal dating have all been lousy, so I've given up on that.

 

 

I'll just throw my 2 cents in, even photoshopped her figure does not look as nice as yours.

Thank you!!

[StillWaters]

 

 

being tall is fun :|

 

 

At least you're easy to find in a crowd.