This weekend, I went to a "singles mingle" at a local bar known as The Grumpy Mole. Now, the Grumpy Mole is notorious for being a meat market. It's decorated in a Wild West theme, with a stage at the far end that had played host to nude hot tub parties during the biggest singles bashes of the previous year.
This night, however, word about the "singles mingle" must not have gotten out. Despite being nearly midnight, the bar wasn't happening yet. The men and women milling about were older than the usual late teens/early twenties crowd that usually occupied the place. They nursed drinks, hunched their shoulders, and lifted their heads only to see who else was there.
I'm not sure whether it is the city or the culture, but slumping seems to be a national pasttime. I glanced across the bar and saw no one holding their body proudly. Heads were bent down. Shoulders were rounded. People kept their arms close to their sides. No one looked excited. Everyone looked, well, embarrassed to be there.
I noticed one girl in particular. She was wearing black hot pants and a wrap-around bra. Though she had a curvy figures, she held her drink closely to her chest and hunched her shoulders. With an outfit like that, she should have been displaying her curves with a chest-up bottom-out "look at me" stance. Instead, she simply looked uncomfortable and hopeful.
Conclusion? Keep your spine straight, throw your shoulders back, and look up for the world to see. Look at the mirror. Do you have a proud body? Don't keep your elbows close to your sides; let them relax. Gesture animatedly. Keep your head up.
Be the girl that men can tell at an instant has confidence in herself and loves who she is.