I'm a sucker for a feel-good movie with a happy ending - especially one that promotes positive body image and learning to love yourself for who you are. I recently heard about Dumplin as a movie and decided to give it a watch.
As for the movie itself, there are a lot of great messages spread throughout the movie. Here's a general review on the movie:
"To be sure, the strength of Dumplin' is very much in its true-to-life depiction of a plus-size teenage girl and how her self-image is both reflected in the way she views the world and her presumptions of how others see her. Willowdean is at the center of a complicated web crafted by society's expectations for how young women should look - expectations constantly upheld by her mother Rosie, who spends much of her own life focused on staying thin - and the empowerment and self-love her Aunt Lucy tried to instill in her from a young age. Willowdean struggles to not be defined by her weight in a world where she feels constantly defined by her weight, and the insecurities that arise from that struggle inform much of her story and the actions she takes. As a result, Dumplin' is one of the best coming-of-age films (if not the best) about a plus-size girl... though, frankly, very few such stories actually exist in Hollywood."
The movie has a very strong message of self-acceptance. I would encourage parents to watch this move with your child/teenager, as instilling self-acceptance at a young age is extremely important.
After watching this movie, I wanted to share my thoughts relating to the message behind the movie. The media puts a lot of focus on thin/lean/skinny - leading society to believe that this "ideal" image is worth striving for because if you reach it, you'll be happy and successful. This movie is challenging and removing the stigma around the "perfect" body image - sending the message that you can be successful and happy at any size. Seeing that this ideal image is an unrealistic and unhealthy ideal, often causing feelings of shame, guilt and low self-confidence, I appreciate that there is a movie encouraging body acceptance.
As a Sport Dietitian, I never tell my athletes that they need to lose weight. When an athlete wants to work with me on nutrition, I never put the attention on weight or use weight as a barometer of progress/success. Instead, I strive to teach athletes about behavior modifications and and principles of proper fueling. I help athletes overcome psychological and lifestyle barriers that may be keeping the athlete from reaching personal health, body composition and performance goals. I focus on long-lasting changes, not quick fixes. Ultimately, I want athletes to focus on their health and physical and mental well-being and to have a desire to live a healthier lifestyle, instead of trying to achieve a "look."
In reference to the Dumplin movie, here are a few tips to help you with self-acceptance if you are struggling with your body image:
- Have compassion for everyone. When you treat other people with respect, you'll have more respect for yourself.
- Be kind to yourself. Often, the voice in your head loves to beat yourself up. Instead, be more compassionate to yourself.
- Take the focus off your weight. Celebrate your strengths and abilities, regardless of how you look. You are worthy, no matter what.
- Accept and like yourself the way you look right now. Don't try to change your body to fit the way you think you should look. You are more than a weight/image.
- Respect yourself emotionally and physically. Focus on your whole self, not just your body.
- Surround yourself with people who recognize your qualities and like you just the way you are.
- Feeling overwhelmed, stressed, depressed or anxious in life? Don't take your feelings out on your body.