The Be Real Campaign has teamed up with performance poet and novelist Laura Dockrill to raise awareness of positive body image, as part of the author’s latest book Big Bones.
Launching today on International Women’s Day, Big Bones is a coming-of-age story about self-appreciation, love and gratitude that celebrates the body and Laura’s love for food.
The story focuses on Bluebelle, aka BB, aka Big Bones – a sixteen-year-old girl encouraged to tackle her weight even though she’s perfectly happy and getting on with her life and in love with food.
Joining forces to champion positive body image and to encourage young people not to feel pressured by unrealistic body ideals, Laura has come on board as a Be Real Ambassador.
Laura said:
“I love food and although I knew I’d always be that person who loves food, I put my younger self through hell trying to fit in by purging on food or starving myself.
“As I’ve grown up, I realised comparison really is the devil of this epidemic that makes us feel like we’re not good enough and I realised that everyone is unique, interesting and beautiful in their own way.
“I’ve visited hundreds of schools and I’ve been shocked to see how young people are bullying themselves, and others, to look a certain way.
“To tackle low body image we really need to get back to the basics of positive self-esteem. I know it’s not as easy as going to Tesco and buying some ‘confidence juice’, but it does start within and it’s about having a good support network.
“If we all start to understand that there isn’t just one ‘good body’ and that all bodies are ‘good bodies’ we can set the foundation for young people to develop self-esteem and feel at peace with their bodies.
“This is why I’ve teamed up with the Be Real Campaign, to raise awareness of positive body image and let young people know that their bodies are ok.”
Liam Preston, Head of the Be Real Campaign, said:
“It’s great to see someone as established as Laura tackle the issue of body image anxiety. We know that low body image can have extremely negative effects on young people’s health and wellbeing.
“Our research shows that half of young people are bullied about the way they look and that almost a third isolate themselves because of low body confidence. It’s evident that body image is a major issue for this generation and it’s important that we tackle body image anxiety early to help young people develop into confident adults.
“It’s refreshing to read a book that celebrates food and we’re excited to team up with Laura to further raise awareness of healthy body image.”
To celebrate the launch of Big Bones Laura and the Be Real Campaign will soon announce a national competition for young people to get involved. Details will be announced by Be Real soon, so watch this space.
Find out more about Big Bones on Amazon.