2010 Nourishing Body Image Award Winners

What an exciting day in Nourishing the Soul land! Today I have the honor of announcing the winner’s of the very first Nourishing Body Image Awards. (As I type this I’m imagining standing up at a podium speaking on a microphone to all of the readers… it’s fun in my head!)

Thank you to all of you who nominated those individuals, groups, and initiatives that help promote a body-loving world. We are inundated daily with messages about the need to change our bodies or feel shame for them, and those nominated are doing the immensely hard work of challenging those messages. I so appreciate each of you who took the time to acknowledge these people for that work through a nomination.

Thank you also to all of those who were nominated. While I’m not able to list every nomination for each category in this post, I personally acknowledge each of you for your time, effort, and passion.

So how did this work? After receiving all of the nominations via email, blog comments, twitter, and facebook, I tallied nominations and reviewed each one to determine a winner.

Below you will find the winner for each category, along with several runners up for each (more in the case of blogger because there were so many wonderful nominations!). I hope that you will take a few moments now (or bookmark for later) and check out each of the runners-up and winners. They are all doing fantastic work!

Best Body Image Blogger

Runners Up:

Elizabeth Patch of EliabethPatch.com

Katie McLaughlin of Health for the Whole Self

Caitlin Boyle of Healthy Tipping Point

Margarita Tartakovsky of Weightless

Kate Fridkis of Eat the Damn Cake

Winner:

Elizabeth Jarrard & Stephanie Horton at Guiltless

Elizabeth and Stephanie work tirelessly as dietetics students, advocates for sustainable local food systems, body image advocates, and authors of multiple blogs (the others being Don’t White Sugar Coat It and Food for Real Life). Stephanie and Elizabeth have created Guiltless as a forum for fostering self-love with thoughtful posts and helpful advice. Check it out!

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Best Body Image Website

Runners Up:

Adios Barbie

Healthy Girl

Operation Beautiful

Winner:

We Are the Real Deal

WeAretheRealDeal is the brainchild of mamaV (aka Heather Blessington), who says the site evolved out of frustration at the body-hating messages proliferating the web. WATRD was her answer. What is so phenomenal about this site is that it pulls together body image activists from all over the blogosphere to create a firestorm of amazing pieces on everything from photoshop sagas the sexualization of children. Seriously, check it out NOW.

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Most Body Positive Television Show, Movie, or Documentary

Runner Up:

America the Beautiful

FAT: A New Feature Documentary

Winner:

Killing Us Softly 4: Advertising Image of Women

I personally can remember the first time I saw Killing Us Softly many years ago. I was stunned as Jean Kilbourne, the series creator, deconstructed the images that we see in the media thousands of times per day. In the latest version, Jean takes a fresh look at how advertising traffics in distorted and destructive ideals of femininity.

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Most Body Positive Magazine or Book

Runners Up:

The Beauty of Different by Karen Walrond

MAEVE Magazine

Winner:

Beautiful You by Rosie Molinary

Rosie Molinary did not write a philosophy book. Instead, Beautiful You is a practical, how-to guide to developing a healthier sense of self and regaining confidence. It offers readers a 365-day action to empower them to reframe and break habits of self-criticism and be the champions of their own well-being. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Most Body Positive Advertising Campaign

Runners Up:

Dove Campaign for Real Beauty

Fruit of the Loom “Flawless” Ad

Winner:

Victorian Government’s Office for Youth Body Image Campaign

How amazing for the Victorian Government to create such a relevant ad campaign to promote body image initiatives through its website, youthcentral. The aim of the ad is to create awareness of the unrealistic nature of media ideals. To this I say, Bravo!_ _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Best Body Image Post or Article

Runners Up:

Raising Zoey Jane :: Happy Birthday to Me in My Birthday Suit (NSFW)

Body and Brood :: My Very Own Dakota Fanning

Winner:

Medicinal Marzipan :: Thoughts on Being a “Pretty Fat Girl”

Mara’s brilliance and ability to just “get it” never ceases to amaze me. Her writing is beautiful and provocative and this post is no exception. Here’s an excerpt I love:

Sometimes, you have to dig down deep to scratch away at the layers and layers of hurt that you have accumulated throughout your life. And sometimes, even when you think you are entirely done eradicating all of the built up layers of shame and trauma, something will trigger you and you will realize just how much work is left to do.

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Best Body Image Boosting Organization

Runners Up:

Scarlateen

Boulder Youth Body Alliance

Winner:

i am that girl

i am that girl is a movement with the ambitious but important mission of redefining society’s narrow definition of beauty and bringing women together on the same team. With a reach that spans across the globe and around the block, i am that girl is spreading awareness, education, and empowerment.

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Most Body Loving Company

Runners Up:

Sacred Self

Ben Barry Agency

Winner:

FLOW Training

If you think fitness training is about being yelled into submission, you don’t know FLOW. Caroline Correll Gebhardt, the company’s owner and founder, is not only a certified personal trainer, but a yoga instructor and eating disorder advocate. She created FLOW with the motto of “Love Yourself, Move Your Body, Live Free,” which speaks to her holistic approach to helping clients listen to, not punish, their bodies. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________

Best Body Positive Photo or Image

Runners Up:

Blogger Body Calander

Operation Beautiful

Winner:

Exposed Movement

One of my personal favorite things to have ever discovered on the internet (right after facebook stalking and Snood), , Mish’s Exposed Movement was also born out of frustration. She was tired of hating her body and decided instead to celebrate it in all it’s glory – and she inspired over a hundred other bloggers to do the same. Wow. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Most Body Positive Celebrity

Runners Up:

Kate Winslet

Jessica Simpson

Jennifer Jonaseen

Winner:

Katherine Schwarzenegger

The 20-year-old daughter of famous rents Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver has faced her own share of body image woes, some of which she describes in her self-esteem manual, Rock What You’ve Got: Secrets to Loving Your Inner and Outer Beauty. In the book, Katherine shares tips on being proud of who you are. She said in a recent interview, “I want girls to read this and feel that it’s OK to be themselves.”

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Thanks again to all of those nominated and to those who work hard each day to make our world a more beautiful and accepting place!