I just finished reading some of the selected chapters in "Body Outlaws" by Ophira Edut for my Body Image vs. Reality class. Body image is how you personally see yourself. I think for the most part everyone looks at themselves with a more judgmental eye. We have a tendency to look at our imperfections before we notice our better characteristics. Some people struggle with this more than others. It is important to study our body image in order to understand what it stems from. There are many different situations and experiences that help shape our body image both beneficial and detrimental. The waves of feminism were movements which helped empower women. It began with the suffragists and continued in the 60's and 70's with the sexual revolution and is being continued today through a fight for equal status. The standards for beauty have changed greatly over the past centuries. Beauty has more recently been defined as skinny, toned, and dark. These are the characteristics displayed throughout most of the TV shows and magazines we read. According to Ophira Edut a body outlaw is someone who looks deeper within themselves past their physical imperfections and sees their true inner beauty. Someone in our current pop culture who is a body outlaw is Lance Armstrong. Lance Armstrong is a body outlaw in the sense that he sees through is physical limitations and overcomes them. He doesn't settle with the fact he can't do something, he finds a way to succeed.
