Feel Yourself February

The pandemic turned life upside down, but at centre stage is the vessels that have taken us through it all: our bodies.

Have our sense of selves been narrowed to the four sides of a Zoom window, or broadened to a constant awareness of our proximity to others? Have we been able to dress for ourselves free from society’s critical eye or fallen further into the image-focused world of social media? Has the health of our bodies finally been valued above aesthetics, or has government messaging about overweight bodies reinforced existing fatphobia?

These are just some of the questions we seek to explore in this campaign. With Eating Disorders on a sharp rise, ‘New Year, new me’ rhetoric is adding to the existing pressures of lockdown, and with a socially-distanced Valentine’s Day on the way, Feel yourself February aims to spread counter-messages of self love and body acceptance, address taboo topics head-on and support those struggling.

Led by Ella Williams (Editor of the Courier) and Nadia Ahmed (Welfare and Equality Officer), the programme is the first of its kind at NUSU, consisting of podcasts, articles, workshops & free online events for all Newcastle students to attend.