When Connie Sobczack's older sister died after years of struggling with bulemia, Connie took action to prevent other women from meeting the same tragic fate by forming The Body Positive, which promotes body acceptance at all sizes.
Connie Sobczack and her sister, Stephanie, were just like most sisters growing up. They shared embarrassing stories, secret crushes, clothes, makeup, and jewelry. But for many years, the two young women also shared a disease – bulimia.
Both girls struggled with severe body hatred, wincing every time they caught a glimpse of their reflections in the mirror. For Connie, a former straight-A student, the eating disorder took such a powerful hold over her life that she was forced to drop out of college to deal with her problem. With time and counseling, she learned to accept and love her body for what it was.
Stephanie, however, wasn’t so lucky.
“I fought my way through it,” says Connie, “but she did not.”
Connie’s beautiful older sister spent decades struggling with her weight, trying to whittle her body down to the size of the supermodels she saw on magazine covers. At the age of 36, her body weak from years of abuse, Stephanie passed away, leaving her two children motherless.
In the wake of her sister’s death, Connie knew she wanted to do something to prevent other women from succumbing to the same pressures that she and Stephanie had struggled with. But her true inspiration for taking action was her young daughter, Carmen.
“I decided there was no way I would let this beautiful baby girl grow up hating herself,” she says. “I wanted to change the world for Carmen.”
So, to ensure that her daughter and countless other young women wouldn’t face Stephanie’s tragic fate, Connie and a social worker, Elizabeth Scott, joined together to form The Body Positive, a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting body acceptance for all women.
The Body Positive is built around the “Health at Every Size” philosophy, which “honors that people naturally come in different shapes and sizes,” says Connie.
The group is taking a stand against magazines and media images that tell women they’ve got to turn themselves into skeletons in order to fit an unnatural beauty ideal. “When someone eats a good diet and exercises moderately, why are they told to lose weight?” asks Connie.
For the past twelve years, The Body Positive has worked to promote a healthy lifestyle and positive body image to the people in most need of support – teenage girls. They have worked with hundreds of youth leaders, who’ve spread their message in schools and community groups; in the state of Illinois, more than two-thirds of all public schools have launched a body image awareness program based on The Body Positive’s philosophies. The organization’s videos on body acceptance have been viewed by more than 1 million people.
These days, The Body Positive is working hard to spread their message even further. They’ve launched support groups for women on college campuses and in workplaces, and have collaborated with hospitals and health care providers across the United States. Their life-affirming, inspiring message has reached millions of women around the world, helping them to see beyond the mirror’s distorted reflection.
Though Connie’s work with The Body Positive has reached and helped millions of women, there’s one particular success story that she is most proud of: Her daughter, Carmen, who is now 16 years old.
“Being around us and knowing what we do,” says Connie, “she’s never had to hate her body.”
Connie believes that, by teaching her daughter and other women to love their bodies just the way they are, the organization offers “a big burst of light – a different way of looking at themselves in the world,” she says. “It’s a gift of freedom.”
To learn more about the organization and their inspiring message, visit their website, thebodypositive.org.