Dutch Treats for Love Your Body Day & Breast Cancer Awareness Month
Posted on October 09, 2014 by Dr. Deah
Each year I take great pleasure in helping to spread the word about the National Organization for Women’s (NOW) Love Your Body Day campaign. (This year it is on October 14). Of course in “Dr. Deah’s Hollywood” every day is Love Your Body Day ! Women and men, girls and boys can live their lives in harmony with their bodies and appreciate them for all of the marvels they accomplish for us each and every day! In "Dr. Deah's Hollywood" the norm is accepting that variety in our bodies is as magical as the variety we find in the natural shapes and sizes of other creations of Mother Earth. But sadly, that is not yet the reality for most people for a variety of reasons. One of NOW's primary reason for the toxic body hate that infects so many of us is the media and the visual images they use that dictate not only the importance of physical beauty but a narrow definition for what is considered beautiful. This definition typically does not include people who are “too fat” with the criteria for “too fat” being an impossible standard to attain without engaging in dangerous and unhealthy lifestyle choices regarding food and exercise. And lest we think this is just an American obsession, we don’t have to look very far to find that this mandate of thinness has crossed the borders into other continents as well. But along with the oppression comes the rebellion and in my opinion there appears to be a wonderful trend of size acceptance activism also crossing into other parts of the world. In my recent post, Oceans Aweigh, for the Fierce Freethinking Fatties website I wrote about the Fat Acceptance Movement in Europe and had the pleasure of introducing the readers to Gisela Enders, founder of the fat acceptance group Dicke e.V. in Germany. Gisela reminded me that although Europe is a single continent each country within Europe is a unique, separate entity and she couldn’t speak for all European organizations that are challenging the cultural pressure on women to be thin. And so, with that in mind I began a project to seek out and interview people throughout the world (starting with Europe) who are involved in promoting a diverse representation of body types as positive whether it be through their artistic expression or political activism. Needless to say what started off as a summer trip to Europe and a speck of curiosity has now snowballed into a treasure hunt for me as I find more and more people who are working at changing paradigms and helping people feel better about themselves. So over the course of the next few weeks, in honor of Love Your Body Day, I will be introducing you to some inspirational women doing wonderful work in the UK and in Holland. Today I would like you to meet Susan Ruiter, an artist in Holland.Susan Ruiter with one of her Big Beautiful Women
A4a: No, I absolutely do not see myself as a radical, but I think that a more realistic picture of society should be displayed. Whether you're big, small, slim or full.
Q5: Do you think that Holland has a more accepting attitude towards diversity of body size for women than The United States?
A5: I can not really give my opinion on that. I think that it is becoming more accepted in Holland. There is more attention for it, even in the clothing industry. There is a difference between beautiful shapes and obesity. It is very important to pay attention to your health.
Q6: There is some research that shows that sometimes an obese person can be healthier than a thin person. Have you heard of anything that supports that theory at all?
A6: Of course, heavier persons are not necessarily unhealthy and there are many unhealthy thin people. Think about smoking, alcohol, etc.. For all these risk groups, special attention is important. It is important that in every person, any size whatsoever, there is something beautiful and does not need to be distracted by the image that the media (often) displays. Self-confidence is one of the best things someone can have.
Q7: Where can people find out more about your work?
A7: People can find information about me, my work and exhibitions on my website www.susanruiter.nl or my Facebook Page ***OTHER NEWS!!! ON OCTOBER 25TH IN OAKLAND CALIFORNIA*** PLEASE JOIN US FOR THIS ONE DAY EVENT:
NEW TOOLS OLD OPPRESSION
I will be presenting along with: Sonya Renee Taylor, Performance Poet - Keynote on Weight Stigma by Dr. Deb Burgard - Diverse Experiences of Weight Stigma: A Panel moderated by Jessica Wilson - Expressive Arts Activities led by Dr. Deah Schwartz - Embodiment Explorations facilitated by Fall Ferguson - A Fat Flash Mob Experience with Juicy D. Light Location: James C. Irvine Foundation Conference Center, 353 Frank H. Ogawa Plaza, Oakland, CA 94612 *Registration deadline: Monday, Oct. 20, 2014*




Hello Dr. Deah:
I love that you are closing the boundaries across the continents for your work and that of others such as Susan Ruiter, I loved the interview. It was open and honest and her voice sounds very much like yours, a wonderfully positive view of self love and body acceptance. Her art is wonderful and her love of a woman’s curves is exemplified in her art in the most colorful and cheerful manner, it is so uplifting. I am looking forward to many more of these reaches across the oceans to see that we can be truly united in positivity, it makes me feel so much less alone in this ever and always present battle for acceptance. Thank you once again, Dr. Deah for your illumination on this subject that has had so much shame around it for so long, has been in the shadows, underground, I look forward with great enthusiasm to your next interview and to your fantastic voice in this arena. I really do smile broadly every time I read anything you write, there may be a few tears along the way as well but this is because you go deep; I appreciate how brave you are, you all are!!! Thank you very much, Amy
Thank YOU Amy! She really has such a wonderful feel to her paintings and I appreciate your comment!!!
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