The African American Body Image Episode: When We Look in the Mirror, What Do We See?

Summary: Do me a favor, please. Go to the mirror and take a good long look at yourself. What do you see? Take a good look at your facial features, your hair, your body type, the lines in your face, the various scars, and tell me what you see. Are you pleased at what you see? How does this affect you interaction with others? How does this influence your attitude and outlook on life? I know that my questions are a lot to hit you with this morning, but my questioning does serve a purpose. Theory posits the human body as a historical narrative, a broad palimpsest—a scroll written on and over innumerable times—that invariably proceeds us. Even before we open our mouths, even before we have the chance to speak for ourselves, to allow others to get to know us, our body and its various adornments are always already presenting its own biography. The question then becomes just how much this body narrative affects us in our day to day lives. Just how much does this narrative coincide with our own self-image? Just how much does this narrative dictate our actions? The African American Body Image is the theme of our discussion tonight over at Freedom thru Speech Radio on BlogTalkRadio. Please join me and my co-hosts RiPPa of The Intersection of Madness and Reality and The Janitor of The Urban Politico. Also sitting in on the panel tonight will be @MelzieC of The Curvy Girl Chronicles, Tondalaya from Club Cushions, and our old friend Nic McClean of My Fabulous Boobies.