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| Monday, October 20, 2008 |
| Dancing with the Stars |
When we complained as children we were usually told to ignore mean words. Grown-ups always told us “sticks and stones will break your bones but names will never hurt you”. They were wrong.
Some psychologists and self-help books agree with this old proverb. They won’t acknowledge that words can inflict hurt and pain. They say “Whoever believes this gets to feel hurt a lot and is always at the whim of some person out there. Personal power is lacking.” They urge you to remember that “The name-caller is feeling weak right now. If I get upset by someone calling me a name, then I have given away my power and I need to make a different choice.”
Cheryl Burke of Dancing with the Stars disagrees. When the “internet body bullies” called her names she said “I have gone home at night and cried about it”. But she’s still feeling powerful enough to answer back, for herself, for you, and me. That’s her choice, and I think it’s a perfect display of personal power. Don’t you?
A dancer since the age of 12, Cheryl is a “two-time Dancing with the Stars champ.” At “5’4”, and a size 4”, her weight gain over the summer was “the subject of unflattering tabloid headlines after being photographed in a bikini during her vacation.” Her reaction “to the internet body bullies, who in months past have terrorized everyone from Tyra Banks, to Mischa Barton, to Jennifer Love Hewitt for appearing in public looking less than Hollywood perfect” was no different than yours or mine would be.
“It’s hurtful to have people call me fat.” With all due respect to parents, teachers and psychologists, that is how mean words make people feel. Her response to the critics is what sets her apart. “Maybe I’m not at my thinnest right now, but it’s a little bit like, ‘Wow, do you really think I’m fat? Would you call me fat, honestly?’”
To the rest of us, Cheryl says, “I want kids or women out there to realize you don’t have to be anorexic to be beautiful. People will always have an opinion about you, whether it’s good or bad, but most important is to have a secure feeling about yourself and know that you’re beautiful regardless of what people think of you.”
- Nancy
Labels: Body Image, Mind-Body Connection, Nancy
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posted by The Sensei Team @ Monday, October 20, 2008   |
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