In Morgan Jenkins’ latest book, This Will Be My Undoing, there were 2 lines that I can’t stop thinking about:

"That white beauty was the ideal was never formally taught to me. I learned it through warnings and observations".

We all have our fair share of unlearning to do...especially when it comes to the way we've been taught to value (and de-value) our fellow humans based on their bodies.

I've spent the last few years doing a lot of uncomfortable, rage-inducing work to discover that almost everything I've learned is a lie.

These lies are told (and sold) almost everywhere in our culture, especially in health and wellness spaces.

Have you noticed how we're taught to value bodies? 

I have. And It's taken years for me to wake up and see that almost everything I've learned is a lie.

It's obvious to me now that there's a clear body hierarchy, where White, straight, cis gender, able-bodied men sit at the top. 

I can see that if you're not already at the top of the body hierarchy, then you're convinced to do anything to get as close to the top as possible.

The short answer to that question is: Yes, of course we should.

It's no secret that I believe the health and wellness community doesn't really care about health and wellness. It's common practice in the community to reinforce harmful messages about bodies and perpetuate limited and privliged definitions of "health".

If you take a look around, you'll see that what's currently being offered in many spaces dedicated to 'healing' and 'health' are actually unhelpful at best... and harmful at worst.