Operation Beautiful
by Katrina

This cause of the month, Operation Beautiful, has become close to the hearts of many TeenHelpers since it became popular around the forums over the past few weeks.

Operation Beautiful began when a twenty-five year old blogger, Caitlin, became fed up with what is referred to as "Fat Talk." Fat Talk is basically when women say or think negative things about their bodies. Fat Talk, and the underlying issues behind it, can lead to skipping school or work or not going to the doctor because one may feel as though their body is not worthy of those around them. Statistically speaking, though, the majority of the women the media presents us with (models, TV stars, etc) are slimmer than ninety-eight percent of the every day woman. In fact, in mannequins were made to be real-life women, they would actually be too thin to bear children; their body size is simply unrealistic. Before we relate this back to Operation Beautiful, let's give a few quick tips on eliminating "Fat Talk." Focus on a few things: appreciating yourself, turning negative thoughts into positive ones, not saying negative things aloud in front of others, and not comparing yourself to others.

So, what does this have to do with Operation Beautiful? In the words of Caitlin: