My cultural awakening: an ancient statue made me fall in love with my fat body

I spent decades being ashamed of the way I look. Then a visit to the Natural History Museum changed everythingI still remember the moment my body image issues began as if it were yesterday. The shaming came before the bingeing: I was 18 and my mum told me I needed to start being careful with my eating, because I was “getting fat”.She would say: “You’d be so pretty if you’d just lose weight!” I wasn’t overweight at the time, and I felt so angry. But young women aren’t allowed to be angry – so, with nowhere to put those feelings, I channelled them into food, spiralling into binge-eating as an act of revenge. Then came remorse and shame: a cycle of bingeing and restriction. Continue reading...

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Strictly Come Dancing 2025 start date confirmed

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