Los estándares de belleza suelen ser muy crueles con el cuerpo femenino: le indican a la mujer cómo lucir en todas las ocasiones y cómo no hacerlo.

Colleen Werner, una bailarina profesional de Nueva York (EEUU) se sintió víctima de estos estereotipos por mucho tiempo, afectando su percepción de ella misma.

Sin embargo, la joven de 20 años que es bailarina de ballet, se armó de valor y dejó esos prejuicios atrás, publicando un potente mensaje en Instagram para criticar la falta de diversidad corporal en el mundo de la danza.

The dance world is FAR from body positive, and I want to help change that. • I've danced practically all of my life, and from a young age, I was socialized through the dance world to believe that my body had to look a certain way in order to succeed and be a "real dancer." As I got older, I was convinced that my body was wrong for dance. I saw photos of dancers in magazines and dancers in performances that all didn't look like me. • I started to buy into the ideal of the "ballerina body." I lost weight by disordered means, and I started to get more attention and praise in my dance classes and more featured parts. My body wasn't "wrong" when I started. There's no wrong way to have a body. I had a body that was completely capable of dancing. I had no reason to change my body other than to fit the BS aesthetic that the dance world has perpetuated. This so-called aesthetic has helped fuel many of my mental health struggles. • Yesterday during a live chat, one of my followers told me that her 10 year old niece wants to be a dancer but is on the chubbier side, so she's heard some discouraging comments. She said that she's shown her niece my account and that she loves it. It makes me so sad that a 10 year old girl is already getting negative feedback on her body. 10 YEARS OLD!!! I'm so glad that my account has been able to help this little girl, and I wish that I would have seen a community like this when I was an aspiring little dancer. • I haven't seen many other dancers in the body positive community, and I think we need to push to make a change in the narrative that is currently held. There is no wrong way to have a dancers body. It's dangerous to only represent one body type in dance companies, dance brands, and dance ads. Dancers come in all shapes, sizes, ages, and ethnicities, all dancers deserve to love their bodies, and it's time that we start bringing body positivity to the dance community. I've decided to start the tag #BopoBallerina to inspire body positivity in the dance world – who's with me? 🤗 Please tag any bopo dancers you know – I don't know of many and I'd LOVE to connect with more! • #MyFlawsAreFierce (Photo by @paul_dubois_photography)

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“He bailado prácticamente toda mi vida”, expresa la joven. “A medida que fui creciendo, estaba convencida que mi cuerpo estaba mal para la danza. Veía fotos de otras bailarinas en revistas y ninguna se parecía a mí“, relata y confiesa: “no tenía un cuerpo de bailarina exitosa”.

Werner cuenta que gracias a esta presión experimentó trastornos de la alimentación y pérdida de peso, adelgazamiento que dio resultados “positivos” en sus oportunidades en el mundo del arte, pero que impactaron gravemente en su felicidad.

“Mi cuerpo no estaba mal. No hay manera incorrecta de tener un cuerpo. El mío era capaz de bailar y no tenía ninguna razón de cambiarlo que no fuese para adaptarse a la estética de las bailarinas”, escribe. “Este estereotipo fue el combustible de muchos problemas que tuve con mi salud mental”, destaca junto a su fotografía.

Es con esta fuerte publicación que la joven comenzó un hashtag llamado #BopoBallerina con esperanza de ayudar a difundir un mensaje positivo en la comunidad de la danza y entregar seguridad a todos los bailarines, de cualquier talla, para que puedan sentirse bien en su propia piel.

“Es peligroso que sólo representen un tipo de cuerpo en las compañías de danza, marcas de danza y anuncios. Hay bailarines de todas las formas, tamaños, edades y etnias, todos merecen sentirse bellos en sus cuerpos y es hora que comencemos a entregar este mensaje positivos”, asevera la bailarina.

Cabe señalar que la publicación logró más de mil ‘me gusta’ y decenas de personas se encuentran compartiendo la iniciativa iniciada por Colleen.

Smiling because being silly at photo shoots makes me happy and being able to spread my message makes me even happier 🤗 • I'm so grateful that I've found my voice and that I'm able to work to make a difference in the world. I'm grateful that I've overcome some huge struggles, and while I definitely still have struggles that I'm working through, I'm at a point where I can use my struggles to inspire others and make a change. I'm grateful that I have this platform where I can make myself heard, and where I can connect with people who share my passions for making the world a better, safer, more inclusive, more loving place. I'm so grateful to have the opportunity to have my message spread even further thanks to media outlets. I'm grateful that I've found the amazing body positive community and that I've been welcomed by so many. 💗 • I'm smiling because I'm proud of myself for making my voice heard and being so devoted to making a change in the dance community (and in the world as a whole.) Why are you smiling today? 🤗 #MyFlawsAreFierce #BopoBallerina (Photo by @cmrfx, wearing an @aerie bralette with a @capezio tutu)

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Over the past few days, I've realized how easy it is to get stuck in the "bopo bubble." Because my social media is largely based in the body positive community, and I try to carry the same message into my day-to-day life, it's very easy to forget that a huge portion of the world isn't nearly as inclusive and kind as the bopo community. • When I saw that the article Yahoo wrote about me and my comments on the lack of body positivity in the dance world, I expected to get a primarily positive response because I had received such kind comments and messages when I made the original post. I received a good amount of positive responses. However, I also received some extremely negative, hurtful comments. I think what saddens me even more than the fact that these were directed at me is the fact that this is what the younger generation is seeing. This is what the little ballerinas I teach have to be surrounded by. This is what other aspiring dancers have to see – and it's just not right. • We all need to realize how much power our words have. You can't take back something once it's been said. Many of the statements that people make are completely ignorant and false. No human is perfect, so before you start jumping to judge others and their imperfections, it's important to take a step back and reflect on who you are as a person, especially because many times when we make negative comments about other people, we project our own insecurities onto them. • This just shows us that while the bopo community is doing incredible things, there's still SO much work to be done. We need to keep spreading our messages so that one day there doesn't need to be a "bopo bubble" and we can have a body positive world. • #MyFlawsAreFierce #BopoBallerina (Photo by @alexi_pix)

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So glad that I spent my afternoon having quality time with my boyfriend instead of worrying about school and whatever else like I typically do on a Monday night 😌 It's so easy to get caught up in the hectic mess of life and forget to enjoy each moment as it comes. Being mindful is so important for happiness and for leading an effective life. I'm really working on trying to embrace every moment for what it is – good, bad, or somewhere in between. There's something valuable to be gained from each moment of our existence, and when we choose to anchor ourselves to the present moment, life is so much more enjoyable. 🙌🏻 What's something you did mindfully today? ✨ • (Photography by @steve_sanchez_photography)

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I'm actually in awe of how much support I got on my last post! "Silly" selfies are something I've struggled with for a long time, so getting so much positive feedback really makes the vulnerability worth it. 😌 • I'm still feeling sick from my allergies today and didn't sleep very well, however I'm determined to make it a great day anyway! As I was walking back from the subway last night I was thinking "who says just because I feel sick I have to be in a bad mood too?" so I put a smile on my face (after purchasing an insane amount of tissues) and continued on to have a great night. I'm determined to make it the same today! Just because one thing is bad doesn't have to mean everything is bad, there's plenty of room for gray areas 🤗 • (Photography by @steve_sanchez_photography, wearing a @body.wrappers skirt)

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