This new series on Hulu moved me more than I expected. Much more…

Based on a memoir by Lindy West, Shrill: Notes From a Loud Woman, the series stars Aidy Bryant as a woman who, as the logline puts it, “seeks out ways to change her life without changing her body.”

Only twice in my life have I been a thin person. Once when I dieted diligently to get a job in television news and again a few years later when I starved myself to try to get back to that weight.

All of my life, I have been judged by my face and my figure, and most of the time, that has been a burden because who can ever live up to ideals in popular culture that are not based on realistic standards (or, for that matter, reality)?

Watching Shrill last night made me think about how far I have come toward accepting myself as I am, how challenging life is for my students and other younger women, and how I must have some distance still to go for complete self-acceptance based on how one sequence in the series made me feel.

The pool party sequence sparked a complicated set of feelings, memories, and realizations for me.

How many times in the past have I held myself back or not participated in certain activities I might have otherwise because of body image issues and the desire (instilled in me) to seem “perfect”?

I used to feel awkward going to the Y to work out without makeup. How crazy was that? And, it seemed like a big deal in October 2017 when I posted a photo on Facebook of myself in a shortie wetsuit sans make-up from the Galápagos Islands.

This is not to say that I’m perfectly comfortable with my physical self all of the time, but I’ve certainly come a long way.

Seeing all of those plus-sized characters frolicking during the pool party sequence in Shrill made me imagine how different the world would be if we saw women of all shapes and sizes (and other varieties) on television all the time.

Would young women today–and those who follow– feel differently about themselves if there were more Annie Eastons on screens large and small?

Judging by how the series makes me feel, my guess is that Shrill and Annie Easton are good for everyone.

Bring on more episodes and more series that promote an expansive view of humanity (yes, I realize some will see that as a pun).