Hello,

My name is Hannah Friedman, I am a Senior Women’s and Gender Studies major, with a minor in English and I help to facilitate The Body Positive group at Saint Mary’s.  I have been an active member in The Body Positive program in the Women’s Resource Center for the past 3 years. As a freshman I was looking to find an open and accepting group of young women to help me feel like a part of a bigger community, luckily enough, I was able to find this in The Body Positive group. Since Joining The Body Positive program, I have made very unique and intimate friendships with the other members in Saint Mary’s own group, as well as the larger organization (www.thebodypositive.org), and I have made monumental strides in my own personal development as a young woman of size on the Saint Mary’s College campus. The group has been a key component in my growth towards loving my body, and leaving behind negative body image issues that have been infused in me from the media and other institutions.

The Body Positive meets every Thursday in the Women’s Resource Center at 5:30pm and the meetings generally go until 7:00pm. Along with myself, the group is facilitated by two other young women, Meghan Toomey and Becca Matlon, and the group’s staff advisor is Gillian Cutshaw. Every meeting without a doubt is full of wonderful food, company, and lively discussion from a variety of students. We discuss topics centered on body image, identity, weight, ect. The group is a safe space to share without judgment or resentment, the members and facilitators serve as a positive support network for each other.  We are constantly spreading the messages and themes of The Body Positive seeing as they become a sort of lifestyle for the members to take a part in.

If you have any questions or want more info, contact Gillian at x4193 or gec1@stmarys-ca.edu. Hope to see you at a meeting!

Love, Hannah

P.S. Check out this video to hear stories of college students who've been involved with The Body Positive.