Body Love Anthems Playlist
For those who know me, there are roughly a handful of things I’m vehemently passionate about–this is a lie, I’m passionate about way too many things; for the sake of this post I have narrowed it down–: writing, my cat, women’s empowerment, and doughnuts.
These obviously all go hand-in-hand. In my world that means dancing in my living room in my underwear, with my windows open, not caring about what anyone thinks when it comes to my body, all while enjoying a doughnut and the snark of my cat who may or may not be embarrassed by me. I later chronicle this in a haiku or essay.
How did I become such a confident dame cherishing her lovely lady lumps?
From getting rid of my I-can-fit-into-you-again-wishful-thinking wardrobe from college, finding jeans that celebrate my “American thighs” and small waist…even after they downsize in the dryer (thank you Gap 1969 and Joe’s Jeans), and monitoring how I talk to myself daily, I have finally arrived at what some would call a delusional sense of self, given that I’m not a supermodel. I simply refer to this as a much-needed, daily dose of body love.
Remembering that beauty isn’t limited to an ideal body type that only 5% of women have is important. This is admittedly difficult when we are constantly bombarded with airbrushed, altered photos of women and men who are made to look perfect. That’s when I remind myself that not even the models look like how they are portrayed without the help of Photoshop finessing, make-up, and overall digital sculpting.
In celebration of a new era of women who’s learning how to champion her body just the way it is, here’s my “Body Love Anthems” playlist available via Spotify. DJ, crank it!
P.S. Share some of your favorite body love songs in the comments below if you feel comfortable.
Yours Truly,
Elan M. Carson
NEW BOOK, THE MILLENNIAL MENTALITY, PROVIDES INSIGHTFUL COMMENTARY ON THE MILLENNIAL GENERATION
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Los Angeles, CA (August, 2016) – Non-Millennials who want to acquire a deeper understanding of the Millennial culture are set to get broader, further insight about the Millennial generation following the launch of the new book, The Millennial Mentality: More Than Memes, Cats & Mishaps.
Written by author Elan Carson, The Millennial Mentality: More Than Memes, Cats & Mishaps explores the ups and downs, ins and outs of the Millennial culture through the eyes of a successful and entrepreneurial Millennial who has experienced her own share of struggles and disappointments. Filled with personal stories and candid commentary, Carson’s description of what makes Millennials tick and how to best deal with them provides enlightening insights for those not of the Gen-Y generation while having fellow Millennials nodding their heads in agreement.
The Millennial Mentality examines one of the world’s most dynamic and misunderstood generations, Generation-Y, also known as Gen-Y or Millennials. Millennials are today’s most fascinating generation because they are disrupting traditional standards, demanding a more culturally inclusive society, and using their hyper-connectivity to initiate worldwide social and political reform.
More than any other, Gen-Y is globally connected and using that power to effect change.
As with the many Tweets, Snaps, Facebook updates, and Instagram posts they receive and read almost every minute of every day, Millennials will enjoy reading The Millennial Mentality to share the stories of one of their own, agree or disagree (to themselves or via social media) with Carson’s comments and conclusions, and even learn a thing or two about their generation.
When asked about the motivation for her second book, Carson said: “I was inspired by Chuck Klosterman’s Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs. My book is not as light as Klosterman’s, as I focus a lot on heavy subject matters from the myth of the post-racial society to the deeper connection this generation is establishing with the feminism movement. The goal is to change the way people think about Millennials by presenting a cultural study that integrates both stats and anecdotes.”
Through the book non-Millennials will gain a better understanding of what Gen-Yers are all about, what cultural revolutions they are sparking, their need for woman’s equality and the complete inclusion of everyone’s rights, and even why Millennials take so many selfies. The enlightening book helps any non-Millennial understand Millennials much better empowering them to work together more productively, more effectively manage Millennials in the workplace, and better relate to them in any setting.
The Millennial Mentality: More Than Memes, Cats & Mishaps is available in paperback format on Amazon for a retail price of $16.99 or as an eBook for $9.99.
The Great Depression: America’s Battle With Mental Health
My book, The Willow Tree, deals with an adolescent who’s battling depression. After being sexually, physically, and emotional abused by her stepfather, my main character Emma is left with frays of her sanity. Daily, she faces an uphill struggle with depression, as well as other mental health struggles that even at the best of times in her life, seems to be her downfall.
Learn more about how this silent killer is affecting not just today’s youth, but everyone.
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Photo taken by Clarke Henry III
Slimming Down Negative Thoughts
Running downstairs with my morning cream cheese covered bagel, generously coated if I may add, in search of clothing samples, my ankles teeter in four inch heels that loudly click-clack on steel stairs. This is all too common for another bustling day at the fashion company where I work. With ample speed, women and men swish by in the most current, hip styles. Long braids swing to the right as one passerby tucks her hands into her ombre fur coat and another worker softly dallies at the front desk with silver coiffed locks, a gingham button down, and printed smoking loafers.
I, on the other hand, am on a mission to find samples and I scurry to the basement too impatient to wait for the elevator. When I hit the lower level occupied by our second samples room (the first one takes roots upstairs where my desk is located) and the underground aisle of photo studios, I deftly rally through racks and parcels of samples. Finally, I locate the garments I need, stuffed in an overlarge packing box. Finishing the last of my breakfast, I do a little shimmy forward in my heels to maneuver the box on my hip and flounce shakily towards the elevator.
As a model exits to the lower level and spots me standing nearby, my arms becoming limp from the heavy box, she grabs the opposite end and patiently we wait to catch the next lift upstairs. I profusely thank her and explain that I’m one of the copywriters and these are the samples that I need for my daily assignment. Right off the bat, she introduces herself as one of the plus size models coming in for a line that caters to specialty sizes.
I quickly do a one-over and feel as though I’ve been hoodwinked. There’s no way she could be considered plus size. When I vocalize this, she laughs and highlights that she’s no where near the all-too-petite body frames of models that walk and in out of the photo studios. Hesitantly, I nod in agreement as she goes on to explain that although she’s considered plus size, she capitalizes on the fact and has her own modeling agency, Natural Model Management and online magazine, Healthy is the New Skinny that revel in the natural, beautiful shapes of women from all walks of life.
After our brief conversation, she helps me buoy the box to my desk where I reflect. Body image is a topic that’s always been extraordinarily sensitive for me. Growing up, I was the girl who was more than thin, I practically looked emaciated. With a double 0 stature, teachers, social workers and even my parents questioned if I struggled from an eating disorder. Clothes were enormously difficult to find and peers disarmed my confidence by routinely confronting my waif frame and comparing it to their womanly, attractive figures.
After college, my curves started to kick in and I bloomed to a healthy size 4-6. However, after landing a job at a prominent fashion company, my weight insecurities had surfaced once again. This time around people were taking notice because I was too heavy. Here I was, surrounded by size 0-2 women on habitual diets, while I was just becoming comfortable in my new body. Not a good mix for my self-esteem.
On a day-to-day basis, I was being reminded that I was closer to Anne Hathaway’s character, Andy, in The Devil Wears Prada, when Nigel infamously relays that a size 6 is “now the new fourteen.” Slender, with curves fully intact, my confidence had been rapidly taking a nose dive past my four inch heels as I walked past the sauntering 90lb frames of my co-workers.
It wasn’t until a soon-to-become close friend opened up to me that she had once suffered from an eating disorder, and showed me graphic before and after photos to nudge me out of my weight fueled funk. She even revealed that her eating disorder permanently damaged the maturity rate of her body. I started to re-examine what I was letting my surroundings do to me and most importantly, why women are allowing themselves to stand under the harsh spotlight of peers-turned-critics?
Men are more than comfortable with womanly curves and oftentimes embrace them more than we do. Think the hailed pop tune “Baby Got Back” from Sir-Mix-A-Lot to the curvaceous body shapes of alluring Maxim magazine babes. Even coveted idols from Hollywood’s black-and-white era, like Marilyn Monroe, to bond girl Ursula Andress sported voluptuous figures. Current idols like Jennifer Lopez, Kim Kardashian, and the wife of rapper Ice-T, Coco, benefit from their celebrated shape.
To take it back even further in time, women of the Victorian era paired a corset and bustle duo to create an hourglass figure and by the Edwardian era, dressing to accentuate an “S” curve via more comfortable measures, sans bustle and corset, was still prevalent. Where did women get re-programmed to adopt the thinner-is-better absolute? The obsession over weight from guided fashion outlets and runway shows have left women trampling over their self-esteem to impair their naturally healthy bodies.
Though I’m uncertain at what point societal norms will shift back to cultivating healthy ideals of what a woman’s body should look like, I can say that thanks to friends who have been-there-done-that with their own body image issues and my fervent inclination to seek out confidence boosting mantras, I have ultimately slimmed down my negative thinking to commemorate my curves. Now, with my morning bagel in tow and without a moment’s thought, I take a bite and start work.
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