What Will You Tell Your Daughter About Her Body

If you’re at all familiar with the blogging world I’m sure you know of Brittany Gibbons from Brittany Herself. Well she put out this set of writing prompts for August. While I think she intended for mostly women to write in response I really love her writing and the positive messages she spreads. So I took up #24 on the list “What will you tell your daughter about her body?”

Here is what I will tell her:

I will tell her that it is beautiful.

I will tell her that she should never be ashamed of it. NO MATTER WHAT ANYBODY SAYS!

I will tell her that the only person that can decide happens to her body is her. Not me, not her mother, not her significant other, not some stranger, not politicians. Her and only her. It is her body and therefore the control is hers and hers alone.

I will tell her that it is strong.

I will tell her that it is the only body she has and she should treat it like the rare treasure that it is. Nobody has a body like hers and nobody every will. It is valuable beyond measure.

I will tell her that it is perfect.

I will tell her that even the most beautiful treasures are changed by time, but that does not diminish their value in the least.

I will tell her that sometimes the body needs rest and that she doesn’t need to justify taking some, ever!

I will tell her that she doesn’t need to justify what she does with her body, EVER, TO ANYBODY!

I will tell her to be proud of her body, every single inch of it.

I will tell her that every piece of her body tells a story, her story.

I will tell her that it is precious.

I will tell her that it is beautiful on the outside and on the inside.

I will tell her to remember that the outside of her body (the skin or how it looks) only makes up 15% of her body. Which means 85% of its value is on the inside. Those who attribute more worth to the outside have a clear lack of understanding of mathematics.

I will tell her that she can dress how she wants, as long as she understands that some many people will judge her based on how she dresses. It’s not right, it’s not the way it should be, but that is reality. I will not be one of those people.

I will tell her that her body is a complicated and amazing thing and that she should learn as much detail about it as possible. She should be dedicated to a complete understanding of the anatomy, biology, chemistry, mechanics, and physics of her body if she wants to get the most out of it.

I will tell her that she should never use her body to hurt anybody, but to be ready to use it to hurt somebody if she has to.

I will tell her that if she does have to use her body to hurt somebody that she had better make sure they don’t get up.

I will tell her that her body is not any less beautiful because of somebody elses beauty. The same way that one flower is not any less beautiful because of another flower’s beauty. It’s simply a different kind of beauty and beauty is purely subjective.

I will tell her being comfortable with her naked body is just as important as being comfortable with her clothed body.

I will tell her that it’s okay to not shave her legs, or her armpits, or any other hair from her body if she doesn’t want to. She doesn’t have to trim, primp, crimp, style, curl, straighten, or do anything other than be the natural beauty that she is.

I will tell her to appreciate all the things her body can do.

I will tell her that time spent thinking negative thoughts about her body is time that could be better spent on doing something positive.

I will tell her that everyone doubts their body at some point,  even especially celebrities and models.

I will tell her that if she is really unhappy with her body she should talk to somebody about it. I will be that person if she wishes. I will pay for the person if need be.

Tags: body image, daughters, Fatherhood, girls, love, women