Sunny June means the start of summer, the freedom of a break from school, and the bright celebrations of Pride Month. For people in the LGBTQIA+ community, June is a time to come together, remember the origins of this important month, and be unapologetically queer. However, during Pride Month and year-round, queer folks can experience increased body dissatisfaction due to heteronormative beauty standards.

By: Korie Born

These standards do not value the experiences of queer and gender-expansive people, making it challenging to feel embodied and joyful. In light of these difficulties and in reflecting on my queerness and recovery from my eating disorder, I want to suggest a (non-exhaustive) list of ways to show your body love during Pride and beyond.

Create Your Own Non-Physical Beauty Standards.

Society’s beauty standards can feel so limiting if you are a part of the LGBTQIA+ Community. Instead of feeling boxed in, create a list of traits you find beautiful in others that have nothing to do with their appearance.

Curate a List of Proud Affirmations.

When experiencing a bad body image day, it can help to refer to a self-written list of affirmations or mantras that connect to something other than your body. Try writing statements that empower you, such as “My queerness is beautiful and unique” or “I am more than my body when I show up for my community.”

Diversify Your Feed.

Following people that are differently abled, have different body sizes, are gender expansive, and are representative of different races and ethnicities can help you both develop empathy and feel represented for the myriad ways you show up in your body. Check your feed - are you following one type of person? Change it up! Seek out creators that look different than you by looking through hashtags and posts from organizations you love.

Build Queer Community.

It may seem intimidating to build community with other LGBTQIA+ folks, especially if you do not feel safe coming out. For teens, try Q Chat Space for safe, moderated queer discussion groups. For adults, consider researching queer or ally events in your area to meet new people and build community.

Don’t Be Afraid to Ask for Help.

Sometimes, feelings of loneliness can be trademarks of queerness before (and sometimes after) coming out, and this isolation is only intensified if you are also experiencing an eating disorder. Reach out to a loved one or to your treatment team if you need support to build confidence in your body, in your recovery, and in your pride as a member of the queer community.

Remember that pride means love, and you can extend this love to yourself during the month of June and all year long!

Join us on Friday, June 30th, at 12:00 pm EST for a FREE Body Image and the Queer Community: The Ways Gender and Sexuality Shape Self-Image Webinar. During this webinar, we delve into meaningful discussions, share insights, and explore strategies for fostering a positive body image in a supportive and inclusive environment. Register here to secure your spot for this free webinar and connect with a community committed to fostering authentic body acceptance, self-empowerment, and sustainable recovery

This post was written by BALANCE Intuitive Eating | HAES Content Creator, Korie Born (she/her).

Korie Born is an educator turned Intuitive Eating Counselor with passion for eating disorder treatment and recovery. She earned an undergraduate degree in French at Sonoma State University, then after several years teaching middle school French and English, pursued a Master’s Degree in Education specializing in the overlap between eating disorders and education. Korie has worked to ensure that students and her Intuitive Eating Counseling clients feel supported in making diet culture and disordered eating a thing of the past. As an educator, she honed her content creation skills to share about Intuitive Eating with students in different settings, and through curriculum development for multiple anti-diet and self-esteem boosting curricula for nonprofits in the field. Korie is thrilled to be a part of the BALANCE team to continue to put her content creation, passion, and belief in true healing into action.

References

“Self-Esteem.” Oxford Languages, https://languages.oup.com/.

“What Is Self-Esteem, and How Can I Improve Mine?” Therapist.com, 15 Dec. 2022, https://therapist.com/self-development/what-is-self-esteem/.

Pride Means Love - And That Goes For My Body, Too