Coastal Carolina University is sponsoring Love Your Body Day on Wednesday, Oct. 15 on the Lib Jackson Student Center Deck from noon to 1:30 p.m. to raise awareness about health and body image issues for both men and women. The event is free and open to the public.

Love Your Body Day is a national event sponsored by the National Organization for Women (NOW) Foundation, designed to raise awareness about negative images of women in our culture. The event specifically targets ads and images of women that are offensive, hurtful, dangerous and disrespectful; beauty standards that are unrealistic and unhealthy; and stereotypes that discriminate against people based on size and appearance. Light refreshments will be provide.

Sponsored by the Women's and Gender Studies Program and the Office of Counseling Service, events on the University campus will include a belly dancing performance led by Roxanne Roundtree and the HipNotic Rhythm Belly Dance Troupe. Other activities will include a hula-hoop competition, a funhouse mirror, "body positive" message bracelets and quilting squares, and presentations on nutrition, health and well-being.

"Although the national Love Your Body Day programming is focused on the impossible 'beauty' standards that our culture imposes on women, the Coastal event is a community celebration encouraging both men and women to define on their own terms what makes them feel healthy and comfortable with their bodies," said Maria Bachman, professor of English and director of the University's Interdisciplinary Studies & the Women's and Gender Studies.

For more information about the event, contact the Office of Counseling Services at 843-349-2305.