The Women’s Center kicked off Celebrate Every Body Week Monday. The week-long event includes a film screening, a jeans exchange and a free Zumba class.
Ashley Morefield, a third-year Curry student and president of Hoos Open to Preventing Eating Disorders, said the week’s events are meant to boost positive body image and healthy living.
“It’s basically a way to encourage people and to inspire people to embrace their natural body type and a healthy, well-balanced mindset,” Morefield said.
An ongoing event throughout the week is the Great Jeans Exchange, where students can donate their old, ill-fitting jeans for a free t-shirt or fruit.
“We’re really excited,” Morefield said. “We have a lot of volunteers tabling at the jeans exchange at Newcomb and at the AFC.”
Fourth-year College student Samantha Karp, an intern in the Women’s Center’s Body Positive Program, said the Women’s Center is contributing to every aspect of the week’s events.
“We’re helping with every part of Celebrate Every Body Week, from tabling to Great Jeans Exchange, Zumba class and just getting marketing materials,” she said.
Karp said the partnerships between the different groups came together due to connections and shared interests in the message of Celebrate Every Body Week.
“One of the other interns [at the Women’s Center] is part of Hoos Open to Preventing Eating Disorders, so that partnership came really easily,” Karp said. “The other partnerships we found reached out to us, because this is something we do every year.”
HOPE, Feminism Is For Everyone and Lambda Upsilon Lambda Fraternity co-sponsored a screening of Miss Representation — a documentary about how the media portrays women — on Monday as a part of Celebrate Every Body Week.
The Women’s Center is also sponsoring a free Zumba class and an exercise awareness board advocating for eating disorder and exercise concerns Wednesday night.
“It’s about getting a positive mindset at the gym,” Morefield said.
Karp said promoting positive body image is relevant and beneficial for University students because they can easily see their bodies as additional stressors, especially when they are already under pressure. According to the National Eating Disorder Association, between 10 percent to 20 percent of college women and between 4 percent to 10 percent of college men suffer from an eating disorder.
“We don’t usually take the time to celebrate our own bodies, and this week is kind of a reminder to do that, especially with the stress of midterms and right before spring break,” Karp said. “This week is just a reminder to really celebrate your own body and practice self-love and body positivity.”
Morefield said she hopes participants gain a more positive outlook on their own bodies and a willingness to live more healthily from the events.
“A lot of people can benefit from this just because everyone has insecurities relating to body image, its a universal concern,” Morefield said. “It would be really good for people to be reminded that when they look at themselves, they’re beautiful and really working to be the healthiest that they can be.”
Furthermore, Morefield said she hopes University students gain a greater awareness for others dealing with body image issues. Because body image is a common issue for many people, she said, it can often be overlooked.
“It’s really important to know how to intervene if someone around you is struggling with it,” Morefield said. “It promotes an open dialogue about some of these issues.”
HOPE has done other events like Celebrate Every Body Week, such as their Fat Talk Free Week in the fall, which also aimed to promote healthy body image and self-acceptance.
“We have a focus on eliminating fat talk, so any kind of communication that is damaging to body image,” Morefield said. “We encourage people to refrain from talking about their bodies in a negative way.”
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