Our society generally assumes that ‘body issues’ spawn from the desire to be thinner. Ioana Spangenberg actually suffers from the opposite. This Romanian born, 30 year old model has been trying to gain weight for the past 15 years. I was skeptical of her weight gaining efforts at first, but in Romania men consider heavier women more attractive, because it is a sign of wealth. It’s no surprise, then, that Ioana found her dating situation less than favorable. I imagine being on the receiving end of gawking disapproval can’t do much for your self esteem. At the time her waist was a mere 15 inches!

Ioana blames her hourglass shape on her small stomach. Despite eating three hefty meals a day, she finds it nearly impossible to gain even a few pounds. Many people are skeptical and believe that her tiny waist is the result of corsets and an eating disorder, but she insists this isn’t true. She was incredibly self conscious about her abnormal figure until she met her husband. She says , “he was the first person to see me as beautiful.” He taught her to love her shape and be totally comfortable in her own skin. Does he have a brother?

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[Everyone’s got a vice, a bad habit, something they know they need to change. Unfortunately, everyone also has a million excuses why they just can’t do it. Not anymore. Every month we will be following a different CollegeCandy writer as she takes on a personal challenge. Last month Tiffany spent a month at Outward Bound and challenged her physical limits. This month, Ashley's going to try to stop hating on her body so much. Can she do it!? Could you?]

As everyone knows, college is the time that most of our bodies go through changes. Some of us develop our feminine curves because that puberty thing didn’t happen when they said it would (hooray for boobs and hips!), some of us gain the “freshman fifteen”,  and those special others get active and involved and get the best bods they’ve ever had. Of course there are those who remain more or less the same, but that wasn’t the case for me. I fell into all three categories — my hips widened, my boobs got bigger, I gained the sophomore sixteen, and I eventually got motivated to get to the gym and get in the best shape I’ve ever been in. Somehow I went through all of these changes and I still find myself hatin’ on my body. It recently dawned on me that all the negative comments I have to say about my body don’t reflect the way I really feel about it. I do love my body, now more than ever, I’ve just developed a really bad habit of putting myself down when it comes to my figure.

Now I’m not going to lie, I’m a fairly picky and particular person who more or less has something to say about everything (yeah, I’m that girl…but I swear I don’t ACTUALLY comment on everything), but this habit goes beyond that part of my personality. As unhealthy as it is, I put myself through some sort of mean-girl-high-school-hell  for absolutely no reason! I could blame this habit on “the media” or the socialization of girls but pointing the finger at society when I’m well aware of what I’ve been doing to myself won’t get me anywhere. I’m all for critically analyzing why we do the things we do and what influences us to be the way we are (GWS major here), but I’m more for personal responsibility. Now that I’ve noticed just how unhealthy and negative the comments I make about my body are, it is up to me to change them. I am determined to shake this awful habit!

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Thanks to the Photoshop geniuses over at our favorite high fashion magazines, we’re led to believe that all of our favorite stars are flawless beings, but that couldn’t be farther from the truth. Just like you, there are plenty of celebrities who have odd body quirks they have to deal with on a daily basis- and remember, their days, unlike yours, include lots and LOTS of cameras. The Frisky ran a horrifying gallery on celebrity outies (like the belly button, no the similarly-pronounced car), and it got us thinking.

While you might be worried about people seeing your monster of a zit or that awkward birth mark between your fingers, at least you don’t have a 3rd nipple or old lady hands…but if you do, you’re in good company! Read More »

Best friends talk about everything. There’s nothing you have to hide from your biffle. Dirty laundry and everything, your best friend will always be by your side.

…At least that’s what we always hear.

But there are some things that we just don’t want to talk about, even with our bestie. Some secrets are best kept bottled up inside, tucked away into a dark corner in our minds and never spoken of again, right? Riiiiight.

So what are these things that we never want to share, you might ask? You know what I’m talking about. Click through for some reassurance on the secrets that make you squirm just thinking about ever mentioning to your best friend.

The best thing about Glee is that despite the spontaneous song-and-dance routines, the unbelievable quirkiness of some of its characters (Brittany S. Pierce, you’re just weird), and the fact that trips to the dentist result in scene-for-scene recreations of pop music videos, it feels authentic.  Ryan Murphy stays committed to this ideal: despite the fact that the characters are all attractive (albeit in a way that is relatable) they struggle with the same things as actual teenagers do: financial woes.  Unrequited love.  Body issues.

It is for this reason that the biggest conflict of the latest episode (a tribute to the iconic Rocky Horror Picture Show) wasn’t Will and Emma’s will they/won’t they relationship, or Sue’s attempt at backstabbing, or even Finn Hudson’s principal visit: it was something far more simple and undeniably universal: one of the character’s body image issues.

Cory Monteith (YUM) expressed concern when he heard that one of the male cast members would be donning an extremely revealing costume that the episode demanded; he put himself on a crash diet immediately, without even knowing if he would be the man to step into these….um, panties.   If I know Ryan Murphy at all (and I think I do; we’ve chatted about our shared love of boundary-pushing show tunes many times in my imagination), I believe that he wrote this storyline into the script because he knew it would speak to today’s youth.  Because issues with body image and the inevitable slew of problems that come with isn’t just an issue that affects women.

But I have to wonder: why is it considered cute when a male star like Cory Monteith changes his dietary habits and attempts to drop a few sizes?  When his tiny costar Lea Michele lost weight, critics were quick to point fingers.   What people need to realize is that men are susceptible to the unhealthy consequences of body image issues too.

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I want to begin this post by clarifying something.

I love my boobs. Seriously.  They are fabulous and I wouldn’t do anything in this world to replace them with anything else.  I’m happy to have them by my side whenever I‘m laying down need a handful of jiggly happiness to cry on.  I believe they are superb. I don’t want this post to seem like a giant complain-fest.  It’s simply the honest truth about having big boobs.

Because mine are ginormous.

I’m being honest.  You could probably see them from where you’re sitting right now.  I can barely fit half of one in my hand when I grab on to them (yes, I’ve tried) and when I look down, I can’t see my feet.  For a large handful (pun intended) of my life, they have been large.  When I was in seventh grade, all of the kids in choir made fun of me because I refused to wear a bra until my mother tackled me down and force-fed me a training bra (I thought it was uncomfortable).  Kids in my high school nicknamed me BLT.  And it had nothing to do with my devotion to bacon, lettuce, and tomato. The acronym was for ‘Big-Lucious-Tits.”

For a long time, I believed that there was nothing positive about having big tatas.  Firstly, you can never wear skimpy clothing without looking like a slut (or risking a nipple slip).  Second, I understand men love boobs but during insecure moments I wondered if they just wanted to talk to me because they were so obnoxiously huge. And third, I was convinced come 40, I would have to tuck them in my socks or tie them over my head.

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• Guys are no longer allowed to tell me women are the only ones with body issues. (Hindustantimes.com)

• Ugh, if I see Brit’s vag one more time I think I’m going to have to call her my girlfriend. (Co Ed Magazine)

• Informal Poll: What’s worse? Setting your penis on fire or getting boiling water poured all over it by a vengeful, angry woman? (NBC Jacksonville)

• This is why you ALWAYS save your reciept. (BBSpot.com)

• There are all sorts of jokes I could make about the words sex, wet, abstinence, Catholicism, and even just the irony of this entire article…but I’m still confused about why there are still girls in their 20′s who are waiting for marriage. Did Engaged and Underage teach us nothing? (Pennlive.com)