Jul 04 2023 42 mins 24
“How do we know this is about gender and not body image? Doesn’t everyone feel uncomfortable in their body at that age?”
I get these questions from parents all the time. And my answer is this: body image is about being dissatisfied with how we look along with unobtainable beauty standards. Body dysphoria is about the cues their body sends to the world about how to interact with and treat them, how that doesn’t align with how they feel, and how it can make them feel invisible.
It’s similar, but also very, very different.
Struggles with body image and with body dysphoria can lead cis and trans kids to patterns of disordered eating and disconnection from their bodies. Eating disorders are prevalent in the trans community because they are often a coping mechanism for the stress and stigma of being trans.
Which is why I wanted to talk to today’s guests, who are experts in eating disorders and whose treatment model, centered on trusting and coming home to the body, is so different from standard treatment modalities.
Dana Sturtevant helps people let go of chronic patterns of dieting and disordered eating and move into a more authentic, sustainable way to occupy and nurture their bodies. She advocates for food and body sovereignty as a nutrition therapist, educator, speaker, writer, and activist.
Hilary Kinavey works with people to reckon with the vicious cycles of disordered eating and dieting, body shame and weight bias, and the fragmentation, oppression, and trauma that often sits at the center. As a licensed professional counselor, facilitator, educator, and coach, she sees that we have been separated from our embodied knowing of our value and wholeness.
Together they founded the Center for Body Trust and co-authored the book Reclaiming Body Trust: a Path to Healing and Liberation.
Check out the full episode to hear about:
- Why parents need to do their own work around rebuilding body trust
- How to bring awareness and choice to body checking and comparison behaviors
- How our cultural beauty standards–for cis and trans people–are tied to white supremacy
- Suggestions for supporting kids and framing the conversation when they’re exposed to toxic body image messages
- Three phases of repairing body trust
- Why gender affirmation has to be the first step in building body trust
Find out more about Dana Sturtevant and Hilary Kinavey:
Find out more about Mackenzie Dunham:
- Wildheartsociety.org
- wildheartsociety.org/downloads
- Wild Heart Society on Facebook
- Wild Heart Society on Instagram
Resources:
