Jesus Christ Superstar and Eating disorders

When looking to find the time of the Jesus Christ Superstar performance, I stumbled on something that stuck with me.  It was an article in People magazine sharing how John Legend started juicing in the past few days before the performance.   In it, John's wife shares how "John's eating really healthy now.  He has a shirtless scene he's really excited about, but he's actually starting to fast, like juice fast, starting today."

Eating healthy and juice fast?

As I sat and played with my beautiful daughter this afternoon and she was playing some sort of "animal adoption" game with her multitudes of stuffed animals, she set aside one with the comment of "this one is too fat to be adopted."  Moments later she repeats the scene.  When I interrupt her to ask her why she thinks the heavier animals won't be adopted, she just shrugged and said that her sister was saying that.

I was perplexed.  Diet has never really been a "thing" in our household.  Unless you count the diabetes diet, which thanks to gestational diabetes x2 was a thing.  But never the fad diets.

And it struck me tonight.  It is pervasive in our lives anymore, these messages of you are too heavy.  You need a diet.  Here's the perfect diet for you.  Things like the People article and the inference that a performer felt they needed to go on a crash diet to "look good for a shirtless scene" just leaves you in dismay.  Especially when you are working with a child with an eating disorder.

Even though her disorder is not linked with a body image issue but rather anxiety, her frequent statements like that sets off so many warning bells in my head.  How am I supposed to teach this child that beauty lies within when society is teaching that it lies on the surface?

I am reminded in this of the song by Zach Williams, Fear is a Liar.

"Fear, he is a liar
He will take your breath
Stop you in your steps
Fear he is a liar
He will rob your rest
Steal your happiness
Cast your fear in the fire
'Cause fear he is a liar"

 

Fear.  He is a liar.  Those voices, they are a liar.  You are beautiful as you are.  In your skin.

 

 

Believe it.  Own it.  Don't starve yourself so you feel that you "look" the part.