Lisa Ray Talked About Being Sexualised At 16, Eating Disorders And Body Image Issues. And It’ll Make You Want To Read Her Book

Lisa Ray Talked About Being Sexualised At 16, Eating Disorders And Body Image Issues. And It’ll Make You Want To Read Her Book

I don’t know at what point in history it became a norm to judge people based on their bodies. It’s not a new-fangled thing at all; in fact we have come a long way. Imagine it being a wide-spread phenomenon to cage yourself in uncomfortable corsets or getting your ribs surgically removed for a sleeker waist. Did you know that well-dressed women of 19th century western world wore clothes that weighed 17 kgs approx on a daily basis? So much to adhere to some stupid beauty standards. Thankfully, we aren’t living in that era. However, aren’t we all still stuck in the metaphorical corset of unrealistic beauty standards, too tightly laced? Nine years and 15 kgs ago, I was skinny AF and yet, I used to go on unhealthy crash diets and hit the gym to “lose weight”. Of course, today, I feel much more comfortable with my body. But it makes me wonder what kind of body image issues you have to deal with when you’re under the spotlight constantly and an entire country is waiting to pick on you. In her autobiography, Close To The Bone, actress and model Lisa Ray “unmasked pretty pictures to reveal what lies beneath.”

Lisa posted a throwback picture from her initial days in the industry and it looks like she is getting a final touch up done before getting on stage. She described it as “the era of polaroids and cigarettes.” The amount of smoking I have seen in Mad Men beats even the overcrowded Saturday night smoking zones filled with spilled alcohol and hazy conversations. Of course, this picture looks much more glamourous, and has a story much better than that. A picture tells a thousand stories, they say. But would you be able to guess what struggles this gorgeous, seemingly content pretty woman goes through? Would you be able to understand the demons she fights every day? Lisa Ray wrote: “Here’s an image that’s just a bit painful. An obsession with bony shoulders and collarbones morphed into a serious eating disorder that took years to heal. Shattering perceptions and unmasking pretty pictures to reveal what lies beneath informs the narrative of my writing debut.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/B1EJBUXH3C-/

It’s really great when celebrities talk about body-image issues or mental health issues openly. Because why not use your power to influence for something positive, right? Lisa Ray has often been very vocal about being body-shamed. During the promotion of her book, the actress told IANS, “I hate to be labelled and put into boxes but I had to deal with it since a young age because I was a sex symbol at the age of 16. It was completely unanticipated. To suddenly become this figure for an entire nation and on top of that, to look much older, that has haunted me my entire life up until now.” Also, in an earlier interview, she said, “…I am most comfortable in my skin now than ever before. Ironically, I think I am most attractive at 47 rather than when I was 16 years old. Of course, I had a great body but I had so distorted view of my body that I felt so ugly and insecure all the time.”

ALSO READ: Lisa Ray Talks About Body Shaming And Walking The Red Carpet. This Is A Story You Want To Hear

https://www.instagram.com/p/B1Etwc5nmBa/

Well, can we all just be like cats? Every size, shape and colour of cat is cute and none of them have even a shred of body-image issues.

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