Positive New Years Revolutions

Happy New Year My Lovelies!!!

I realise I am quite a few days late on this sentiment but as I have been on holidays from work and in some cases the world I have taken some much needed time for myself. However it is no less sincere! 

Another reason this post has taken so long to write is because it has taken a great deal of bravery on my part to put some of these thoughts and notions into words and watch them flash on a screen in front of me. It's one thing knowing something. It's quite another being able to read it over and over again and share it with the whole wide world. 

I have decided for myself that 2014 is going to be a revolutionary year for me. This has started by not making any negative resolutions for myself. The most common of my negative resolutions in the past has been to lose weight. After much soul searching and thinking deeply about the subject my reasons for wanting to lose weight were rarely about becoming thinner. Instead I wanted to be more confident, successful and social. I held onto a belief which was perpetuated by many women that to be enough or to be brilliant and attractive you must be skinny.  

Last year as part of my resolution I decided that I would begin to accept myself for the person that I was and the way that I looked. It worked! Last year was the first year I was able to look in a mirror and not cringe- I assure you this did not happen over night but it has happened. Arguably I am now queen of the selfie and take the opportunity to take pictures of my makeup, clothes and random items at regular intervals. It is a process but I can honestly say in my 27 years I have never been happier. This year I intend to share my message of radical self love with the world. 

Yes I cringe when I hear self love too it sounds very touchy feely or like you're having a wank. What I am referring to falling in love with myself. Loving my body, my fat body which I have been told is ugly and awful and unhealthy by the world and its mother (and sometimes my mother). Here is how I am gonna do it. 

I will surround myself with positive things and  positive people: 

It'll be pretty hard to stay positive and happy if I am surrounded by things and people that make me miserable. This may seem pretty ruthless. I'm certainly not suggesting you stop talking to everybody because on occasion they have a whinge but if you have a mate who doesn't support you or make you feel better about yourself... give them the road. For far too long I've tolerated people posing as friends judging my choices and not being supported. No more my lovelies, life is too short for negative Ned n Nancy's. So this year I will fill my life with the things and people that make me happiest- cupcakes, coffee, chocolate, pin ups, beautiful people, animals, my fish, flowers, perfume, books, comedy, comics.... I could go on but you get the picture. 

Perfect for brightening up a desk.
Take your positivity to work!

I will take note of the positive experiences and comments and keep them in a jar:

This sounds a lil ominous but I read about it on The Militant Baker's Blog and it just sounded like such a wonderful idea. I intend on keeping a personal jar at home for myself and what I am going to term an LOL jar at work. When you are having a bit of a crap day, crack open the jar and instant happiness. A jar of sweeties would also provide happiness but not quite the same soul happiness.... unless they were very good sweeties. I found these little beauties in TKMaxx but I intend on recycling and customising one of my many many Yankee Candle Jars. 

Take control over the messages I receive: 

I spend far too much time seeing pictures of Kim Kardashian in a bikini and feeling shit about myself. How do I stop feeling bad? Stop looking at pics of Kimmy K. I refuse to spend money on magazines who's aim is to make me feel bad. I could be using that money for eyeliner!! All those thinspiration and fat shaming pages on face book... no thanks. I have muted and blocked pages that annoy me and are offensive so why would I allow in the nonsense that makes me feel bad. More pictures of beautiful curvy women, naturally athletic skinny women, fat women, women who have hips, love handles, stretchmarks and cellulite. Real unairbrushed people with real bodies. 

Take control of the messages I give out:

This year I am taking an active step towards being a body positive activist. This will mean challenging traditional standards of beauty and what is considered traditionally attractive or beautiful. I will use this page to promote self love and body positivity and question the messages that are being put out about bodies and how we "should" be. My opinions will be controversial and I'm sure I will take some stick for it but I am ok with that because:

I will be upping the modelling work I do and making the pictures more public. I frequently complain there aren't pictures of women like me in the media. So instead of moaning about it I intend to do something about it.
I am also in talks for a much bigger nationwide project which will further challenge beauty standards this year but its still in it's fledgling stages. As soon as it begins to take shape you will know so much more, pinkie promise.
Finally part of my activist year will involve me being brave. My very first act of being brave was to post this picture on my Facebook and post it publicly on many pages.

What is the point of being part of a body positive and self love revolution if you can't put your money where your mouth is!! If you would like to find out more about the smash the scale project you can find all the info you need here. 

What are your positive revolutions?? I can't wait to hear them all. 

Don't forget we're also on Facebook

xoxo

This post is not about Miley Cyrus...ok maybe it is.

Before you start, yes I'm fully aware the Miley thing has been done to death.
Don't worry I'm not going to give yet another opinion or slant on "That" performance. There are people out there with far greater intelligence than I who will outline all the intellectual interpretations of "That" performance.

For those of you who were living under a stone/ trekking around India finding yourself or maybe you were taking a break from the internet. Welcome back, here is what you missed. Miley Cyrus, daughter of Achey, Breaky Heart, Billy Ray Cyrus - remember him- performed with Robin Thicke at the V.M.A's. Quite a lot of people had opinions about it. There were lot's of questions asked: Was it racist? Was it sexist? Are we racist, slut shamers for even discussing it? What's the story with the tongue?.

Personally I'm still not quite sure how I feel about the whole thing and I have taken a near vow of silence on the matter until all the compartments of my brain declare a ceasefire and come to a rational conclusion.
I do have one observation to make however and that is that there appear to be a significant number of Irish parents giving Hannah Montanna a pretty important role in the lives of their daughters.
The cry of the Irish mammy lately has been a Helen Lovejoy inspired "Won't somebody think of the children!!!" "Hannah Montanna is hooring and touring in very skimpy clothing and shaking her arse all over the place." "It's practically feckin porn" and so on...

Can I point out one teeny tiny bit of information which may be relevant to this little story?
Brace yourselves people now because this is breaking news!

Hannah Montanna is not now or has she ever been a real person!
I know it is quite the shock!
This little fact means that you cannot get pissed off at the things the person who once played her is now doing. This is because ...once more with feeling ... she is not real.
Well you can get as narky as you like, it's a free country and if it makes you feel better then why not.
However consider this: Why not channel this wasted anger into something more productive. Like showing your daughter some real female icons to idolize. While your're at it show your sons too! Teach all children that there is so much more to the world than the sputum they are force fed by corporations that is passed off under the guise of entertainment.

Lets take a little personal responsibility for what is happening here. Last time I checked Hannah Montanna or Miley Cyrus doesn't have a vested interest in any child's personal and social development. That there would be the vested interest of their doting parents!

While we are at it lets have an actual conversation with young people about what is going on. It goes without saying that you should keep it appropriate for you and the child. I'm not suggesting that after little Jimmy or Gemma's 5th birthday party you bust out the karma sutra and suggest they take notes.  It's a very Irish thing to tut expressions of sexuality or pass it off as filth. This can lead to homes where sex and sexual health education is not discussed and children are left to find out the facts for themselves. Generally this information comes from some other misinformed class mate or infinitely more damaging, from porn.

Why wouldn't children want to emulate the celebrities they've seen near naked and behaving like strippers? They are adored, they are what's cool and nobody is contradicting them or showing them anything different!

The bottom line is you can be pissed with Miley, but let's be honest behind Miley there is a corporation making lots o money on the back of her nudity and Twerking.

Alternatively you could show children and teenagers all the other wonderful creative people that exist on this planet. Broaden their horizons! Show them that there is so much more out there for them to experience than Disney strippers and limited views on what it means to be female in this world. Cause what we need now more than ever is a new generation of kick ass women who won't tolerate nonsense such as this!