Today’s Heroes

Have you seen this?

Watch it.  Seriously.

This advertisement floored me when I saw it a couple days ago for the first time.

More than a number?  It may seem like simple advertising techniques to a marketing excecutive.

“Oh women are always concerned with weight and sizes.  What if we just made sizes flattering names instead?”

What I don’t think they realized is the impact it would have on someone who struggles with ED.

The whispers of my ED were stunned into silence after seeing this commercial.  It was terrified of a world where it couldn’t dictate to me to get down to that size.  To the winning size.

How could the whispers possibly hiss and bully without the elusive 00 goal?

In this beautiful boutique the commercial paints; all sizes are merely empowering descriptors.

It’s a deep, dark struggle to tell friends or partners “…now I’m a size 7.”

But wouldn’t it be beautiful to tell a friend “Now my size is fabulous!  What about you?”

The hissing and bubbling and bullying would be forced to cower and grumble in disappointment.  It’s hard to make words like Stunning, Confident, Courageous, or Charismatic a punishment.

I like radiant myself

I think Special K has made a surprisingly strong (and perhaps unintentional) message to not only the general self image we are obsessed, but the size focus a lot of eating disorders and other mental-health diagnoses struggle with.

I’m ready to re-label all our sizes!  Let’s do away with numbers!  It’s time for some positive change!

The Goddess Ana and Mia can only crumble before these heroes.  I imagine these modern heroes fighting just as bravely as the famous Greek ones of mythic lore.

Meet Radiant: A fiery redhead who in the past would rather sleep than do anything.  Now she uses her two powerful short swords to slash at the black curtains of depression and self-harm that these hateful goddesses erect daily.

Meet Charismatic: A smiling blond whose song can stop a truck.  She used to sing the blues but now she rocks out with all the energy of hope.  She loves it even more when she can get others to sing with her.  Her friends and family comment how much her smile lifts their spirits and how glad they are to see it again.

Meet Fabulous: This brunette used to stay in the bathroom, bogged down by the whispers and tormented by what she thought was her own desire for death.  But now she stands strong and using a mirror shield, reflects the goddesses own images and nasty words back at themselves.

These are today’s heroes.  They want nothing more than to drive away the black hole that only sucks and sucks.  To replace it with the shining light of hope, healing, strength, love.  To show you that you are a beautiful person.

And you can be a hero too.

What new size do you like the sound of?

Disclaimer:  I don’t work for or with Kellogg’s in any way.  I haven’t received any compensation.  I did this post merely because their ad struck me on a personal level.  I actually don’t even eat cereal.