neutrality

Growing up, we always had magazines laying around the house. The ones that are directly targeted at women with a picture of a skinny white woman on the cover. The ones that had a bold catchy title like “Want to lose weight? We have the perfect diet” or “Get the perfect body before the summer.” The ones that we now know were mostly using photoshop to make the model look even skinnier than she was in real life.

Even in magazines targeted to teenagers with news about their favorite boyband and a poster to cover the walls of their room in it, you can always find articles about a female celebrity’s body in it. Whether it is to mock her body, to compare it or just to shame her while she was on vacation on the beach, it is always there.

Though it can seem harmless, these magazines are a big part of what we call Diet Culture, also defined as the glorification of losing weight at all costs by “encouraging external rules about what, when, and how much to eat,” according to the National Eating Disorder Association.

Most people and especially most women are concerned with diet culture, we are born and raised in it. Only in the last few years, we have seen social movements rising and demystifying diet culture. Movements like body positivity, which is “the assertion that all people deserve to have a positive body image, regardless of how society and popular culture view ideal shape, size and appearance” as explained by Verywell Mind or body neutrality, which is “ neither loving nor hating your body. It’s based on the notions of acceptance and having respect for one’s body rather than love” as described by the Cleveland Clinic.

As women, we all internalize diet culture which makes us unconsciously fatphobic. We are scared of gaining weight as we want to avoid it and we think it is bad to gain weight because we were taught that we are “letting ourselves go.”

Let’s be honest, diet culture is rooted in patriarchy and was just another way for men to control women. Society taught us that we need to be skinny and perfect without hair or cellulite, but for what? To be liked by men. Ah, what would we do without men?

Diet culture is internalized in each one of us and is portrayed through thoughts like “I’m hungry but it’s too late to eat now,” “I can’t eat dessert today because I already ate one,” “I can’t have fries and pizza,” “I need to exercise so I can eat what I want tonight” and it goes on and on. We were taught that gaining weight is bad and makes you less of a woman. I am sorry to tell you but your body is the least interesting thing about you. Every person is on their own journey with their body but there are a few important things to be reminded of.

First, it doesn’t matter if you eat more than your uncle, boyfriend or friend, focus on yourself and what you want. Second, you won’t get an award for not eating breakfast, be conscious of your own diet talk and thoughts around yourself and people. Third, your clothes are supposed to fit you, not the other way around. Changing your body is okay but do it out of love and not out of hate, otherwise, you’ll never like what you see in the mirror. Also, if it is the summer and you have a body, I am happy to tell you that you have a summer body.

Finally, try to see your body for what it is, which is just a piece of skin, muscle and fat, not that big of a deal. As corny as it is, thank your legs for walking you to places, your bloated stomach for digesting the fries dipped in ice cream and your arms for picking up the Encounter issue this month. Though it is a long journey, I wish you to find neutrality, if not positivity, in the way you see your body.

By: Frank Piegari Staff Writer

dad can look at an old picture of himself with a mustache, mullet and denim jacket and think “Wow what a time to be alive.” Sure old timer, what a time indeed.

A wise man once said that history has a habit of repeating itself and it is no different when it comes to what is popular amongst culture. Due to the rise of shows such as Stranger Things, the fashion and trends of the '80s has seen a resurgence as of late. As this current generation looks to the past and says “Let us give it a go.”

But the '80s is just one decade, so why not delve a little further and see what trends from the '90s and 2000s could make a comeback.

Starting with the '90s let’s take a look at collectables. VHS tapes have been around forever but did you know that those massive bricks actually had the power to play a movie? It was like a streaming service, except it wasn’t instant. And you had to rewind it. And sometimes the tape could get ruined and precious memories such as your parents wedding could be erased in favor of a Power Rangers marathon.

Now I’m not saying that these tapes are going to become the next big thing again for watching films but one look on ebay will show you that select VHS tapes hold a high them but simply because you want to have them. Not to mention the fact that having a VHS collection, especially an impressive one, is quite the conversation starter.

Another piece of memorabilia from the time would have to be the lava lamp. Now lava lamps have been around forever but watch any show or movie from the '90s and you will see a lava lamp in some way. These things are colorful, bright and timeless. You really can’t go wrong with them and they are sure to add an extra bit of color. Not to mention these things are just relaxing. Watching the colors bounce back and forth. Yes, I understand I am raving about a lava lamp of all things but these things are just really cool.

I refuse to write about the 2000s. This was the era that I grew up in and the fact that there are influencers looking at this era and picking trends from it to replicate now makes me sick to my stomach. I was a child here so things like capri sun, lunchables and playstation two were commonplace. But if there is one trend that I was way too young to appreciate, it would be frosted tipped hair. Can we please bring this back? Maybe just for a day? That would make me a very happy chap indeed.

Music Industry Mento ring Program for Young

This account is for you to connect and learn more about the music industry

A good account to learn