~Operation Beautiful~

What do you love the most about yourself?

My body	3.8%	[ 64 ]
My brain	16.3%	[ 274 ]
My personality	27.5%	[ 463 ]
Everything!	21.1%	[ 356 ]
Nothing	21.6%	[ 364 ]
Other	9.7%	[ 163 ]
Total Votes:			[ 1684 ]

[Starlurk]

Check out our new Operation Beautiful Guild!

What is Operation Beautiful?

Operation Beautiful is a project devoted to reminding yourself and other people that you/they are indeed beautiful and deserve to love yourself/themselves, one sticky note at a time. The goal of Operation Beautiful is to leave as many loving and positive sticky notes in as many places that you can: grocery stores, bathrooms, etc. The ultimate mission of Operation Beautiful is to be happy with your appearance.

One of the biggest missions of Operation Beautiful is to end Fat Talk. (more on that in a second.)

This thread is a place to:

- Be happy with your appearance.
- Spread love, one sticky note at a time.
- Improve our self-esteem.
- Discuss how the media portrays beauty and how we can rise above it.
- Post images of our own sticky notes if we want to.
- Discuss self-esteem, self-esteem related manners, and to comfort one another.

If you'd like to talk about off-topic things please go to the Operation Beautiful Hangout Thread

This thread is a welcome home to everyone, regardless of: Gender, Race, Age, Ability, Religion, Sexual Preference, Shape, and Size. No matter what! If you are attacked in this thread based on the above the offender will be removed.

Index
1. Introduction
2. Rules
3. What is Fat Talk and Beauty?
4. Resources
5. Operation Beautiful Story of the Day
6. Updates and Polls

[Starlurk]

Rules

- Follow the TOS.

- No discussing weight related issues: weight loss, dieting, exercising for the purpose of losing weight. This is one I expect we'll have a lot of problems with, so let me be clear: If you want to talk about weight, how people should lose/gain weight, how you believe people will feel better if they lose/gain weight, you can go to another thread to do so. This is not up for debate, this thread will be a safe place for people who want to talk about self-esteem and what makes them feel good without having to see prejudice related to weight.
* Talking about exercise that makes you feel good is okay.

- This thread is not a place to discuss who deserves sticky notes and who does not. By participating in this project you are agreeing that everyone deserves sticky notes.

- This thread is not a place to discuss whether or not Operation Beautiful promotes those who are unhealthy. This rule will be removed when the thread has gone on for a little bit.
* So, for now, if you'd like to discuss whether or not Operation Beautiful is good on those poor unhealthy people who just don't know better without your help, you can move it to ED or GD.

- No discussing methods on making yourself *look* better. There are other threads for this as well.
* Discussing what makes you *feel* better is okay. Feel free to rejoice at a haircut that makes you feel better! Do not feel free to comment if you think someone else would look better with a different haircut.

- This thread will be open to people of all ages so please keep this thread PG.

- Disagreeing with someone is fine, insulting someone is not.

- Negative remarks about someone's appearance will result in an automatic ban.

- Please don't use this as a place to insult yourself either. This isn't a place to talk about what you hate about yourself. This isn't a bannable offense, and you're free to talk about it, but be prepared for people to fight you with love on it. ;P This is a place where you're forced to think about what you like about yourself. And if you'd like to tell us what you like about yourself, that'll be just wonderful. whee

- Please don't go off topic in this thread. If you'd like to discuss off topic things with other people in this thread, please go to the Operation Beautiful Hangout Thread. I really really don't want to ban people over this, and really I'll only ban repeat offenders but unfortunately if you get banned in this thread you'll get banned in the other thread as well.

Any trolls or repeat offenders will be banned. You might not even receive a warning. Honestly, these aren't hard rules to follow so you shouldn't even need a warning.

[Starlurk]

What is Fat Talk?

Taken from Healthy Tipping Point

Quote:

As Jillian Michaels said,"Fat talk is transcending…. It affects your reality and damages you professionally, personally, and physically."

You know what Fat Talk is, chances are you engage in it often. Do I look fat in this? You look great, did you lose weight? Look at her size, She shouldn't be wearing that! I feel so fat.

Fat Talk happens in people of all shapes,sizes, and genders, from the shortest skinniest guy you know to the tallest heaviest girl you know.

Quote:

If only one thing about this discussion about Fat Talk resonates with you, remember this: When you feel guilty about food, you are experiencing distorted thinking.

Quote:

Guilt is internal Fat Talk.

It is shaming yourself for not meeting a perfectionist ideal that is unattainable and determined by the rigid standards our society has created! If you wouldn’t say it out loud to a friend, why would you say it to yourself?

Maybe right now you’re thinking: "But a little guilt can be a GOOD thing!" or "Guilt is a normal reaction to indulging!" But, if guilt was healthy or "normal," it would be PRODUCTIVE and it would make you HAPPY. Do you find yourself feeling guilty over food a lot? Well, then — you’re repeating the same actions over and over again, and clearly… Guilt isn’t productive, it doesn’t work, and it only serves to lower your self -esteem. Guilt is a waste of time and takes away from productive things you could be doing with your time — meditating, studying, sleeping, calling your friends on the phone, and more.

Please read the whole article: Healthy Tipping Point

What is Beauty?

Quote:

beau⋅ti⋅ful
  /ˈbyutəfəl/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [byoo-tuh-fuhl]

–adjective
1. having beauty; having qualities that give great pleasure or satisfaction to see, hear, think about, etc.; delighting the senses or mind: a beautiful dress; a beautiful speech.
2. excellent of its kind: a beautiful putt on the seventh hole; The chef served us a beautiful roast of beef.
3. wonderful; very pleasing or satisfying.

People aren't just beautiful on the outside, they're also beautiful on the inside. People that you may find completely physically unattractive can still be very beautiful on the inside. Everyone deserves to feel beautiful inside and out. It is not the job of this thread to determine who deserves to feel this way.

[Starlurk]

Awesome Resources

General
Dove Beauty Pressure
Leave Out ViolencE
Future Me Maybe you'd like to tell yourself a year from now that life's okay. 3nodding
386,170 Unhelpful Things A must read for everyone!

Skin Color
A clip from A Girl Like Me
Skin Whitener Advertisements
Fair and Lovely Ad - India

Weight Related
The BMI Project
7 Signs Your Body Image Is Bruised and How to Fix it (Honestly this one is good for anything you're unhappy about with your body, just replace some of the words with what's bothering you.)
First, Do No Harm
Thin and losing weight? You're not fat, you're anorexic or bullimic. (A girl's account of being ignored by doctors)

Two videos on Fat Talk
Fat Talk 2008
Fat Talk 2009
What 'Do I Look Fat?' Really Means

Blogs
Operation Beautiful
Gives Me Hope
A Revolution: Love Yourself
Jezebel

Online Groups
All Shapes and Sizes - Ning Group

Need help? These resources may help you
Hotlines, websites, and help locators (Taken from TWLOHA)

More to come soon!

Thread Activities

How Have I Grown This Year - 2009

[Starlurk]

Extra Stuff

Banners:

by Airmaid

[url=http://www.gaiaonline.com/forum/lifestyle-discussion/t.56046497_1/][img]http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii168/engel_wings7/reminder.png[/img][/url]

by Taerinn

[url=http://www.gaiaonline.com/forum/lifestyle-discussion/t.56046497_1/][img]http://i883.photobucket.com/albums/ac31/AdventurePop/opbeau.gif[/img][/url]

by
Z y p h e r e

[url=http://www.gaiaonline.com/forum/lifestyle-discussion/operation-beautiful/t.56046497_1/][img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v121/Starlurk/YAB.png[/img][/url]

by Delicately Handled

[url=http://www.gaiaonline.com/forum/lifestyle-discussion/t.56046497_1/][img]http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i261/SparkMark1/beautiful.jpg[/img][/url]

More Banners Here

Feel free to make your own banners! The more the merrier!


Affiliates:

Fat Acceptance and Health at Every Size
Aspergers/Autism Support Thread
SuperMoms! <A Parenting Support Thread>
We Care - Self Harming Support - We Love You <3
Skinny Girls Deserve Support Too (A Skinny Support Thread)
Single Parent Support Thread
The Official Eating Disorder Thread
Dealing with Trichotillomania and Dermatillomania
Rape Survivor's Anonymous Guild











Please tell me if you'd like to be affiliates heart

[Starlurk]

Operation Beautiful Story of the Day

Quote:

Here’s what a man thought when he found an Operation Beautiful note! Bao wrote, “I’m from Portland, Oregon. I was on my way to study for my Final exam at our university’s Branford. P Millar library. As I headed to the elevator, no one was around at the time and I entered the elevator alone. When I was about to press the floor button I saw a posted note written on a piece of torn out notebook paper. It warmed my heart and put a smile on my face, but more so than that it helped revitalized a part in me that was withering from strenuous work and stress. It’s only human to judge ourselves and wonder what other people judge of us, so to my delight it was very pleasing to see a kind message posted by a random stranger. I carried on with my studies, but the thought of the message lingered in the back of my head. I had to go back to take a picture of it to keepsake this experience that touched me. It took a whole 45 minutes or more to get the right elevator to open because the one that the posted note was on was not commonly frequent, so it was quite an effort to get back on this same elevator. I took this as a sign that the first time it opened, it was meant to be. I managed to get a picture of this message and so I went back to my studies. I did not bother to check out the website until after my final and Spring Break, and now here I am sitting writing to Operation Beautiful to say: You’re not just helping women around the world, but also college students, guys, girls alike, and everyone who has had an edgy day. So for that we thank you. I can’t directly thank the person who decided to post this message on the elevator, but I can thank the source of it and hopefully it’ll reach them somewhere.”

[Starlurk]

Updates and Polls

Updates:

04/14/10 Thread Update and New Resource!
To reduce the size of the first page, I removed some of the banners that don't get used often. No worries! You can still find them! More Banners Here

A new affiliate! Rape Survivor's Anonymous Guild

Thread Activities

How Have I Grown This Year - 2009

01/06/10 New Resource!

What 'Do I Look Fat?' Really Means a must read!

01/04/10 Group Project!

How have you grown this year?

I thought this month we could share how we've improved or grown this year. I know this has been an extremely productive year for me and I want to hear other stories. Feel free to share your stories with everyone, don't feel pressure if you don't want to. If you'd like your story to be posted on the front page as inspiration or a lesson to others or just because please say so when you post your story smile

New Resource!
Future Me Maybe you'd like to tell yourself a year from now that life's okay. 3nodding

12/27/09 New Affiliate!

Dealing with Trichotillomania and Dermatillomania


Polls:

How many sticky notes do you post in a week?
0 70.2% [ 422 ]
1-5 16.8% [ 101 ]
6-10 6.3% [ 38 ]
20+ 6.7% [ 40 ]
Total Votes: 601

[Saentific]

What's the difference between self-confidence and being full of oneself?

[Tonya636Marie]

this is an alsome thread idea i think it will help lots of people.

[Starlurk]

Kimberly The Super Lawyer

What's the difference between self-confidence and being full of oneself?

I imagine the person with confidence doesn't need to ignore others to feel good about themselves. Whereas you usually imagine the person, who is just full of themselves, as someone who wants to bring other people down.

[TAY is twisted]

-_-;

[i have no identity]

I don't get it. neutral

[Starlurk]

Tonya636Marie

this is an alsome thread idea i think it will help lots of people.

Thanks! Make yourself at home and feel free to spread the word. heart

[Forever Eccentric]

My plan on Monday is take stickies to school and write nice messages. I hope people feel better.