I find it incredibly painful to look at old photographs of myself from when I was unwell, specifically between the ages of 16 to 21. In each photograph I can tell you exactly what I weighed on that day. It makes me feel so incredibly sad that throughout my late teens my strongest memories are related to my body and I can’t help but think of what a terrible waste all that time was.
I used to weigh myself everyday, uneducated about the simple science explaining that the human body fluctuates throughout each day naturally, or that putting on half a stone over night due to an epic binge was not “real body weight”, and that the numbers on the scales would readily settle down had I allowed myself leniency.
I’m happy to report now that I no longer weigh myself, but I completely understand how the scales can become triggering and an obsession for those with disordered eating.
I was so completely delighted to discover the My Body Gallery project, which is an online archive of people sharing photographs of themselves in their underwear and logging their weight and height. It showcases how different each body can be even though they might weigh exactly the same, proving that weighing yourself is a null point. I spoke to Anna Friedman, who is Creative and Marketing Director of My Body Gallery, to find out more.
Could you explain a bit about the My Body Gallery project? What is it exactly?
MyBodyGallery is a crowdsourced gallery of images of “real” people that aims to promote positive body image. Some visitors to the site use it for inspiration, to get a sense of the wide variety of body shapes and types that are out there. The gallery can also be productively used by people with psychological conditions such as body dysmorphia to get a visual double-check about what particular weights might look like. Other users find the gallery images can help them set weight-loss or weight-gain goals or track personal progress with respect to fighting an eating disorder or tracking a fitness program.
How did it begin? Why was it started?
The site was founded by photographer Odessa Cozzolino in 2010. She had noticed, when on photo shoots, that women had been demoralised by the influence of advertising and the media — they suffered from poor body image from a mandate for only one particular model of woman — the standard tall and thin and white model-type. Enhancement tools like Photoshop only made things worse. Cozzolino wanted to create a hub where women could see pictures of everyday “real” women. So she took a leap of faith and created the site. Later she added a men’s version.
What have you learned since the launch?
Well, I’ve been working for the project for slightly more than two years. What I’ve personally learned is that people are incredibly giving with their time and their representations — we have over 30,000 photos that people have uploaded to the site. We have had some incredibly brave people post their pictures to help others — pictures with scars, people clearly struggling with eating disorders or other health problems, pictures of bodies that fall very far outside our media-dictated norm on both ends of the spectrum. We allow people to anonymise their photos, but so many of our community members don’t and most look so happy in their pictures to be contributing to the greater good. My own body-image issues have also been helped considerably!
Is the project just aimed at women?
We do have a companion men’s site, but it just has not yet taken off the way the women’s site did. We welcome much more participation on the men’s side of things!
To what degree to women’s bodies differ? Can their be huge differences in appearance with two women with the same weight?
There can be enormous differences. Body shape and muscle mass can vary significantly from one person to the next.
How has the project been able to help people? Why is it important?
We get emails on a regular basis from visitors to the site telling us that they had been depressed about their bodies (sometimes to the point of suicidal thoughts), and then they found My Body Gallery and it gave them strength, it made them realise that they were not deviant or somehow lacking or imperfect. It made them realise that they were just one of many variations of normal. It gives people a sense of community as well—that they are part of something bigger.
Has the response to the My Body Gallery been positive?
It has been incredibly positive. We’ve been lucky to have had steady visitorship for 6 years. We have had visitors from every single country in the world. An average of 250,000 (a quarter million!) unique visitors come to the site each month.
What does the future look like for My Body Gallery?
We’d like to see if we can build participation in the men’s companion site. We hope to set up a YouTube Channel and start creating body-positive video content featuring some of our amazing community members. We’d like to find some regular media partners or sponsors so we can do more outreach.
Any advice for people struggling with their own body image?
Absolutely: Whenever you are struggling, remember that you are not alone, many people have the same sense of conflict that you do. Be kind to yourself, no one is perfect. All we can do is our best. And last of all, if anyone is judging you for what your body looks like, that’s their problem, not yours!