Girlfriend's body image issues and a link I visited blew up big-time the other night.
The setup: The other night we were getting ready to go out. GF was in the bathroom putting finishing touches on. I was browsing reddit.
What happened: In my boredom, I clicked a NSFW link at the top of the page- it was a link about "sexy self shots"- you know, girls, phones, underwear. I spent less than half a minute casually clicking through the photos before going back to reddit. The GF came into the room and asked me to pull up a video link from earlier. I tried to pull it up using the history tab, and a bunch of the "sexy self shot" links appeared.
The GF immediately wanted to know what they were, so I showed her. Now, we both watch porn. We sometimes have to spend time apart, and when we do, we each use what's necessary to get off. She watches porn. I watch porn. It has never been an issue. So imagine my surprise when she gets upset.
The aftermath: She proceeded to tell me that she couldn't believe I'd look that kind of stuff up, that now she's going to have to go to the gym because she knows what I want and it's not what she looks like. I told her, "you watch porn, too. How is this any different?" She said, "No I don't." I said, "Yes, you do." To which she replied, "Well, not while you're here." This essentially distilled into her feeling terribly insecure because I clicked on a link out of simple curiosity. She made it seem like I was looking for that sort of thing exclusively.
TwoX- When I first met my GF, she was insecure about her body. I've been with her for 1.5 years, and she's become better about it- more confident because I've said lots of reassuring, encouraging things. But in the past, her exes have criticized her appearance, especially her breasts. Her breasts are small- A-cups, and they're asymmetric- but I don't fucking care- I love them, and I've told her time and time again how much I love her body. I really, really do.
Epilogue- I'm here, on TwoX, because I feel like I've been doing damage control for the entirety of our relationship, and she has negative images of herself reinforced by asshole ex boyfriends. I want her to know that what I say matters, and that her exes were selfish, stupid boys (I said as much the other night).
What can I do to help her? I'm desperate for advice. I want to help her get over this, and to help her feel good and confident about her sexy self (she's not overweight, and she's really damned gorgeous). I'm all ears.
TL;DR: Help me help my GF be more confident and comfortable with her body.
Edit: PS- I realize this might be a little relationship_advicey, but I feel like this is a job for the ladies of TwoX. Thanks.
Posted Dec 2, 2011, 1:33 AM UTC