In what ways do you find community and healing from our consumer culture's profoundly screwed-up body images, supersized portion size, and meals in front of the TV? Sojourners wants to know!
I'm no expert; "Body Language," in this month's issue of Sojourners, grew out of conversations I've had for the last decade with dozens of women friends. These conversations made it clear that there is a hidden epidemic of eating disorders today, and that the powers and principalities of consumer society are at work in our flesh and blood -- but also that God's healing spirit is at work in women's and men's lives.
In unexpected places, through little-heralded connections, healing from and resistance to our culture's jagged brokenness is springing up. One friend found she had a more positive relationship to food when she became a vegetarian. Another found support in college for a more positive body image by strengthening her friendships within the African-American community. When I was looking for quotes for the article, I was frightened by how easy it was to find women who had struggled with eating disorders, but I was floored by the strength and resourcefulness they shared in resisting the powers of consumerism. I concluded,
Our individual choices are important
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