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Wednesday October 21st is National Love your body day Wednesday October 21st is National Love your body day Watch

Women and Gender Studies students and friends gather together on Wednesday afternoon in the Physical Science center in honor of Love Your Body Day. A movie entitles "Fifty Women" was shown which focused on real body image. Lauren Harned/ The Daily

Some students say media have impacted the way they see themselves and their bodies, and a group of OU students Wednesday shared their stories of how they were able to look past these media images bombarding them every day.

“I was never satisfied,” said Sheena Marie, University College freshman. “I always felt overweight, but I was always where I needed to be.”

Marie said it was mostly the name-calling and rude compliments she kept receiving throughout school that made her feel insecure about herself.

“Also, reading Cosmo and other magazines always made me feel insecure,” Marie said. “I felt like I was never skinny enough for the public and I felt if the public didn’t feel satisfied looking at me, then I didn’t feel satisfied looking at myself.”

Marie said she developed an eating disorder that lasted for six months and the disorder was kept hidden from her family for quite a while.

“I worked out a lot and my diet was a slice of toast, a stick of gum and two chips in the evening, because you can’t eat only one,” Marie said.

She said her parents began noticing her poor eating habits and they started to take action.

“My family and one of my friends noticed I wasn’t eating enough and started to make sure I ate,” Marie said. “They held me down and forced food down my throat because they cared.”

She said after being forced to eat, she just got hungry one day and started to grow an appetite for food again.

“Your body would literally eat itself to get its nutrients,” Marie said.

She said she never went to the doctor but was classified as anorexic because of her behavior and the degree to which she had deprived her body of food.

“Don’t ever let anyone make you feel less than what you are,” Marie said. “You are beautiful no matter what because you are God’s creation.”

The Women’s Outreach Center and the Women’s and Gender Studies department put together events on OU’s campus Wednesday called “Love Your Body Day,” in honor of the national initiative to change the perceptions people have of their bodies.

Caitlyn Wright, women’s and gender studies senior and undergraduate research assistant for the department, said the day is about embracing one’s body and realness.

“We want to make our community aware of unhealthy body images and affirm that you don’t have to look like a supermodel to love your body and yourself,” Wright said.

The film “Fifty Nude Women” was shown as part of the day’s events. Wright said the film is about embracing differences and realizing all women are beautiful, not just women portrayed by the media.

“Almost every woman I know has some body dismorphia because we are bombarded by these images,” Wright said. “It’s something I struggle with every day, embracing my differences.”

Yaisa Mann instructs a body image class at OU and said she was hesitant to come to the film based on its name.

“Surprisingly, I felt at ease watching it even though it was just nakedness,” Mann said. “I loved the event and the group of people who attended.”

This film featured 50 nude women of different ethnicities and ages ranging from 18 to 95 years old, portraying the realness of women and countering the false images shown in the media.

Jennifer Cox, women’s and gender studies senior, said it was nice to see actual bodies in this film.

“I think the conversation is a continuous process, believing that I am beautiful and to love a natural body that deserves to be embraced and celebrated,” Cox said.

Females aren’t the only ones who have body image misconceptions.

“I have experienced this a little too,” said Taylor Foltyn, University College freshman.

Foltyn said he was a husky child and it really started bothering him in middle school.

“When you start getting into girls you start caring about the way you look,” Foltyn said.

Foltyn said he changed his eating habits and that was about it, he said he never went about this in an unhealthy way.

“My dad and my sister both struggled with this, but I tried to not let it rub off on me,” Foltyn said.

He said he experienced bullying to a small degree, but it was never the media that influenced him to lose weight or work out.

“Don’t do anything rash,” Foltyn said. “Don’t starve yourself because it does more harm than good.”

Allison Bott, art history senior and undergraduate intern at the Women’s Outreach Center, said everyone has probably known someone who has dealt with body image issues and she said she thinks this is an important topic to address on a college campus.

“The media probably does impact the way you feel about yourself and not really having a positive role model to look up to does too,” Bott said. “I think having a good positive body image is good and healthy.”