Alexis Welter (left), Jazmynn Rosenbrock (middle) and Madison Hites (front) pose to promote positive body image on Friday, Jan. 10 in Bay City. (Photo courtesy of Raegyn Jesyka) 
Empowering words such as “strong,” “beautiful” and “unique” mark Alexis Welter’s and Jazmynn Rosenburg’s bodies during the shoot on Friday,Jan. 10 in Bay City. (Photo courtesy of Raegyn Jesyka) 
Jazmynn Rosenburg writes “extraordinary” on Alexis Welter’s arm in Welter’s Bay City home on Friday, Jan. 10. (Photo by Jordan Green) 
Madison Hites poses as Raegyn Jesyka takes photos of the young woman on Friday, Jan. 10 in Bay City. (Photo courtesy of Raegyn Jesyka )
By Jordan Green
BAY CITY — Monday, January 13 wasn’t the typical girl’s night for Alexis Welter, Madison Hites and Jazmynn Rosenbrock.
The night began with applying make-up to one another but not the typical lipstick, mascara or blush. These four Delta College students were rallying behind the body positivity movement.
Welter, a second year student studying music, was fed up with the societal beliefs that one body type is more acceptable than another. So, she decided to paint empowering words on her body — covered by a simple black bra and underwear — using liquid eyeliner.
Recruiting her friends Hites and Rosenbrock, the girls duplicated the words onto their bodies.
“Not only [is it] getting us to do something out of our comfort zone to help us feel more comfortable about our bodies, but to stress the importance that we all have different body types,” says Welter. “We’re all beautiful. We shouldn’t have to feel society’s pressure to be a certain size.”
Body image is comprised of how we view ourselves and how we feel others perceive us. Social media’s omnipresence drives our temptation to compare ourselves to others, and our self-esteem begins to unravel with every unrealistic post, tweet and photo.
A review study published in the Indian Journal of Psychiatry linked social media use to depression, self-harm and suicidality. The rate of deaths by suicide increased by 56% from 2000 to 2017, according to PBS. Young adults also have the highest self-harm rates, with 17% of college students and 15% of adolescents, according to the American Psychological Association.
Jeffrey Dykhuizen, a psychology professor at Delta College, weighs in.
“If society generally is saying ‘unless you fit this body type, you aren’t up to par’ and those messages are consistent, which they are now, […] your self-esteem for your body image is going to be negative,” says Dykhuizen.
Like many others, Welter has struggled with body image issues her whole life. Looking to inspire others, she took to Facebook and asked her friends and family to comment empowering words to show how much social support there is for positive body image. The post received 38 comments.
“I figured, why not have all these different body types with the same words [used] to describe them,” explains Welter.
Rosenbrock, a friend of Welter, says she was excited to participate.
“I thought it was a great idea,” Rosenbrock adds. “We see similar shoots all the time on Facebook and Instagram with people we don’t know who are trying to spread a similar message. I think if we saw someone we personally know doing something like this, then it might get through to us that self love and being comfortable in our own skin is possible.”
Chris Curtis, a psychology professor at Delta College, challenges students to answer this question to boost their self-esteem.
“What are the things that I find important in myself and in other people?” Curtis asks. “The first thing we all need to do is stop relying on what [this] person thinks of me and really focus on the things that I think are important. [Tell yourself], ‘These are things in myself that I like’ and be realistic.”
