Valentine’s Day. It often puts pressure on people for gain of profit through consumerism and can make those without a significant someone feel less important than others – not to mention the normalization of two person, monogamous relationships. Trent University celebrates it differently though. From February 7 to 14 2015, Self Love Week is taking the entire week back to focus on what really matters: each and every one of you!
In celebration of Self Love Week (fostered by The Centre for Gender and Social Justice), Trent Fashion Show and OPIRG Peterborough are collaborating to host a Self Love Workshop on Tuesday February 10 at Sadlier House’s Hobbs Library. The Trent University student group ‘Trent Fashion Show’ is a modern fashion group with an aim for deconstructing the harmful ideals of beauty in the fashion industry, while OPIRG Peterborough is an active student group which addresses social and environmental justice issues, aiming to challenge oppression in all its forms, among other things.
This workshop will be progressive in a unique way: to fill the gaps other workshops of this kind often leave. While it is often the subject of progressive beauty workshops to shed light on the misconduct of the fashion industry and the destruction it leads to, this Self Love Workshop will act as the second part and focus on the art of loving oneself. Talking about what we dislike and like about our body and personality, how to change our negative thoughts into positive ones, and other related activities, puts the personal back into the issue of beauty.
If you wish to participate in the Self Love Workshop, please email trentfashionshow@gmail.com(subject: Self Love Workshop) to receive links to two helpful TEDTalks to watch before arriving. There will be cupcakes, hugs, and the event will end with a fun photo shoot! No entry fee.
[An edited version of this article appeared in Issue 17. The article was edited into the past tense as the issue was set to come out after the workshop took place.]
