WRC’s Love Your Body Week to Kick Off This Week

You hear it all around campus: "I can't believe I just ate that," Or, "I need to get to the Plex today," or, "I look so out of place." Love Your Body week, which takes place this week, strives to stop those negative thoughts and focus on promoting a positive body image that will echo throughout one's entire Boston College experience.

For this week, the Women's Resource Center (WRC) hosts a variety of programs with the goal of educating students about what an eating disorder looks like, eating and exercise habits, and body image issues. Regardless of race, gender, or class, Love Your Body Week offers programs that offer students the tools to recognize healthy relationships with their bodies.

The week starts off tonight at 5 p.m. on the first floor of O'Neill Library with an exhibition titled "Maskulinity." A unique viewpoint of the male experience of Love Your Body week is portrayed through photography, paint, charcoal, and mixed media. The student exhibition focuses on men's bodies and addresses such issues as male self-image, social expectations of men, and what is considered ‘masculine.' Featured speakers include Richard Hoyt, A&S '12, and Troy Talkington, College Road resident director.

Tricia Rose, a professor of African Studies at Brown University, will speak in McGuinn 121 on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. to discuss her book Hip Hop Wars and what it takes for women to love their bodies in the age of mass culture and hip hop, which tends to create troubling cultural images that influence one's understanding of race, culture, body image, and sexuality. She will be available after the lecture for a book sale and signing.

The documentary Miss Representation will be shown on Wednesday at 7 p.m. in Higgins 300. The film exposes and challenges the limited and often disapproving image the media portrays of females, which makes it difficult for females to feel powerful and capable of achieving leadership positions. Professor Elizabeth Rhodes will lead a discussion from the department of romance languages and literature following the screening.

On Thursday at 4:30 p.m. in the Ignacio basement study lounge, Zine Magubane, a professor in the sociology department will address the cause of such sentiments, their source of promotion, and their psychological effects in an interactive discussion following features from the documentary Rise, Dark Girl, which explores the deep-seated biases associated with skin color. There will be a screening of the documentary HAZE and panel discussion about alcohol-related emergencies on campus on Thursday at 6 p.m. in Higgins 300. The program will focus on how to love your body and stay safe if you or a friend chooses to drink.

There are several lunch programs throughout the week that offer a conversational opportunity for students to open up and hear from others about striving to live a happy and healthy life on campus. On Tuesday at 12 p.m. in the WRC an "Eat This Not That: BC Edition" will be hosted. Shelia Tucker, executive dietician, will host a workshop that shows the best options in our dining halls. On Wednesday at 12 p.m. in Lyons 316, "Loving Your Body after Trauma" will discuss the differences between eating disorders unrelated to trauma, and those developed in response to a traumatic experience, the challenges associated with identifying eating disorders, and how issues should be addressed. CEO of the Multiservice Eating Disorders Association, Beth Mayer will host the interactive workshop. On Thursday at 12 p.m. in the WRC, "Disordered Eating: How to Help A Friend" will host speakers including: a BC senior who is recovering from anorexia, Christine Merkle, assistand director of University Counseling Services, Tucker, and Katie Dalton, director of the WRC, will discuss the signs and symptoms of eating disorders, how to reach out to a friend, and available resources on campus.

The week concludes on Friday at 7 p.m. in Cushing 001, with a production of Eve Ensler's play The Good Body, which features student performances and directors on monologues about women and their bodies.

All of these programs of Love Your Body Week offer students the opportunity to forget about the dark body images the media and society create, and turn to a bright future on how to live a flourishing life mentally, physically, and emotionally. For more details about Love Your Body Week or the support services at the WRC, stop by their office in McElroy 141.