I think we can all agree that there are those special people who've gone before. They go by many names: hero, icon, leader, activist, champion, role model, etc... By the end of this article I hope to convince you that Vidya Balan is such a person.
She speaks four languages, has a masters degree in sociology, is married, and is a National Film Award winner as well as a Film fare best actress winner five times over. An actress well awarded and renowned in her home country of India, Balan has a steely expectation of women being universally beautiful in any weight class and an unrelenting expectation to be treated equitably and respectably.
All of this despite early in her career she walked off of two movie sets as she "wasn't comfortable."
Unlike some notorious actors like Marylin Monroe's costly lateness, or Julia Roberts' temper tantrums, Balan's departing a set rarely is flippant and always has purpose. She did it again recently claiming "divergent approaches to the process," but it can be inferred from her work history that something about the setting didn't meet Balan's standards of respect.
As a woman, I was thrilled to see her in a promo poster for a movie as a gorgeous pregnant goddess; not your typical glamour shot! In a culture that idolizes extreme thinness, virginity appearing as a concave to flat lower abdomen, and copious make-up as an ideal female image, Balan's infectious smile and sheer candor cut through these expectations. This is how she gains a potential listener's ear for her accurate and clarifying speak, describing human rights as belonging to everyone, regardless of gender. Balan transforms body shaming into oppotunities to display the many beauties of women and educate those of us who are still ignorant regarding healthy body images for women.
Balan shows us that while she may have a public platform to inspire healthy and noble choices for ones life, and in turn mentoring others, she does this as part of having strong values of positive identities for women and peaceful political views for her county's universal betterment. We can all take little steps towards a more peaceful world and a kinder one regarding personal body image by following Balan's example of polite strength when sharing our values and loving our appearance for what it is, provides an avenue to love others!
When we find our empowerment, and are willing to defend it to be at peace with others, to enjoy interacting with our environment, we win. And others win. And the world gets just a bit better.
Other everyday people who use their job to bring positive role modeling to their world: