Fashion

If you've ever looked in the mirror and felt c**p, you seriously need to see this powerful documentary



A kickass documentary about female body image is making waves in the film world for all the right reasons.

Straight/Curve: Redefining Body Image, serves as the perfect antidote to the much-loathed body shaming adverts that start to creep out in summertime and we are so here for it.

The film powerfully touches on body image, fat acceptance, eating disorders, self-love and female empowerment and stars the likes of Iskra Lawrence, GLAMOUR columnist, Charli Howard, Nicola Griffin and Tess Holliday.

Here, the film’s director, Jen McQuaile, shares her powerful manifesto about why she made the film, why it’s so important right now and why you really ought to see it for yourself.

This film is for anybody who has ever looked in the mirror and felt like they are not good enough. Five years ago, I started to develop Straight/Curve: Redefining Body Image as I was sick of seeing thin, white women being presented as the ‘perfect woman’. The toxic beauty standards society has set for us are damaging and they are particularly affecting our next generation – and that is something I wanted to change.

Body image, fat acceptance, eating disorders, photoshopping, health and size, creating clothes for larger bodies and issues of race are all touched on in my film and we need to all be having these conversations. Straight/Curve is personal, but it’s also for any person out there who feels crap about themselves because they aren’t a size zero! We showcase women and girls of all shapes, sizes, ages and races in the documentary in an effort to help viewers feel less alone in their bodies and their struggles with body image and self love.

We should be seeing EVERY type of woman – across the entire spectrum – in media, on TV, on runways and in fashion. If women and girls don’t see themselves reflected in the images we are consuming everyday then we start to believe we are not good enough. We think the way we look isn’t ok or acceptable for society. We are being told we don’t deserve to be loved or respected because of how we look. Women and girls everywhere are internalising this and the statistics are shocking. 70 per cent of girls believe the media sets an unrealistic standard of beauty; 36 per cent of seven-to-ten-year-olds believe the most important thing about them is the way they look; and 79 per cent of girls opt out of important life activities because of how they feel about their bodies. We have to change this and fight back. Straight/Curve: Redefining Body Image is a call to arms for the fashion industry and media to start being more diverse and inclusive and to start using women of different sizes, colours and ages.

I think people are hungry and desperate for body positive imagery and conversations. We provide an alternative reality with our film. We show what the fashion industry and media should look like, with women and girls of all different shapes, sizes, ages and races.

The biggest barrier to inclusion is the ridiculous idea that plus size models are promoting obesity. We cannot judge a person’s health by simply looking at their body. Also – why is it any of our business? Our fake concern over fat peoples’ health is just implicit bias in its ripest form. The shame and stigma attached to having a larger body is intense and drives a multi billion dollar diet industry. But we are not paying attention to the dangers of this. Millions of girls, and boys, across the world are being driven to eating disorders, body dysmorphia and even death because they think they have to be thin to be accepted – THAT is a public health crisis.

The reaction to Straight/Curve has been incredible. We had two giant billboards in Times Square in the heart of New York for the release over here. Seeing that was a moment I’ll never forget. I’ve done interviews on TV shows like Good Morning America and the Today Show and spreads in Vogue, People Magazine and Women and Hollywood. But for me, the best reception has come from teenagers. I’ve traveled around the US to schools and colleges over the last two years and showing the film to the people who need to see it the most has been inspiring. I hope we can have the same impact in the UK.

Straight/Curve: Redefining Body Image is out TODAY in the UK on Amazon, iTunes and Google Play.





READ SOURCE

Leave a Reply

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this site, you accept our use of cookies.