The Self-Loathing Project
A fifteen-year project. Hundreds of women. Varying ages, backgrounds and cultures. One set of questions. The mission: To expose self-loathing and help women overcome the silent debilitating epidemic of self-judgment. Read their stories, think about your own and expand your view.
A fifteen-year project. Hundreds of women. Varying ages, backgrounds and cultures. One set of questions. The mission: To expose self-loathing and help women overcome the silent debilitating epidemic of self-judgment. Read their stories, think about your own and expand your view.
In 2004, I started this important project, a quest into exposing and understanding why women had so much self-loathing. I was at the gym and had begun to notice how every single woman I chatted with was lamenting something about herself. For many, it was weight-related, but also for many, a particular body part or shape, sometimes just a blessing from their DNA. And it didn’t matter whether these women had what I would consider an ideal shape or fitness level—what became clear was perception was not reality. I created a set of questions and began interviewing women.
I formatted the interviews into compelling essays—in turns honest, sad, hopeful, evolving, poignant. Women have come a long way in fifteen years, but in this arena, we’ve got a ways to go. I am heartened by so many positive movements out there promoting self-acceptance, and I hope this book and the snippets I share, along with resources and what helped me overcome my own self-loathing, will contribute to the conversation.
I formatted the interviews into compelling essays—in turns honest, sad, hopeful, evolving, poignant. Women have come a long way in fifteen years, but in this arena, we’ve got a ways to go. I am heartened by so many positive movements out there promoting self-acceptance, and I hope this book and the snippets I share, along with resources and what helped me overcome my own self-loathing, will contribute to the conversation.
The Men’s Self Loathing Project has been cancelled.
