As a freshman at MU, junior Clarissa Hughes consistently heard warnings and stories about the threat of gaining the infamous “Mizzou 22,” a reference to gaining 22 pounds.

“The first thing I learned was that you were going to be insecure about your body,” Hughes said. “I had to gain my own sense of self-esteem, and it was kind of one of those things that I had to learn to accept who I was as a curvy girl.”

Hughes said living in Johnston, the all-girls residential hall, and attending Vagina Monologues helped her establish her own self-esteem. She found that being around people who were accepting of their own bodies helped her work toward acceptance herself. She has even started her own organization, “Fluffy Girls,” to promote body positivity on campus.

With the same goal in mind, the Multicultural Center is hosting Body Monologues to celebrate body positivity during Eating Disorder Awareness Week.

The event will be held in the Multicultural Center from 6–7:30 p.m. Feb. 24.
According to the flier, the purpose of the monologues is to reclaim and explore body identity through various forms of artistic expression.

“The reason we are doing it again this year is because it was a huge success,” said Kerri Schafer, licensed psychologist at the MU Counseling Center. “It was the best event we’ve done in collaboration with the Multicultural Center and it was just a very powerful event last year.”

The MU Counseling Center will be hosting [more events](https://www.themaneater.com/stories/2016/2/22/mu-honors-national-eating-disorders-awareness-week/) this week to bring consciousness to a lack of body positivity with Eating Disorders Awareness Week.

“Eating disorders used to be thought of as this thing that young, white and middle class women suffered with, but now we know that’s not the case and that they affect everyone,” Schafer said. “College can be a time when disordered eating can develop.”

The goals of the event aim to reduce the stigma surrounding eating disorders, improve access to treatment and work toward preventing eating disorders and body image issues.

“A lot of people on campus are taught inadvertently not to love their bodies so [events] like Body Monologues give us a chance to accept and celebrate who we are and our own figures,” Hughes said.

_Edited by Waverly Colville | wcolville@themaneater.com_