-- ps, about those thighs

I just wanted to mention a nice comment from a male reader (thanks, GeekHiker!) who said "It never ceases to amaze me what people put themselves through when it comes to self-image. The funny thing is that the opposite sex is usually so much more forgiving!"

And this also reminds me of a great post by Sornie on women's bodies: Happiness is a size 14. Very refreshing.

It's true, peeps. We don't have to be so hard on ourselves. We should definitely take care of ourselves but we notice our own flaws more than most; people aren't waiting to pounce on our every imperfect detail with a full critique of why we suck. (Well at least MOST people aren't... if you know someone who is, cut them out!)

You know, I say this but it's still a challenge not to be self-conscious. I walked into work today thinking about how awful my hair must look, its thin, wet, wind-blown frizzy strands standing on end but I was so wrapped up in this that I sure wasn't noticing anyone else's "bad" hair. Maybe we're so busy criticizing ourselves that we don't even notice others' flaws. At least not like they might think.

Did you know research shows that not only do women feel bad looking at gorgeous magazine covergirls, but men do too? See Steamy Magazines Make Men Feel as Bad as Women from LiveScience ("...Men who looked at the photo spreads of women reported more body self-consciousness... "). I wonder how Americans fare with body self-image compared to other peoples. Is self-criticism universal? Hmmm...

*image from zablogged's fat cats