Manhattan Beach Pier! What's Your Favorite Thing About Your Body?
Manhattan Beach Pier | Sunday, March 22, 2026 | 2:00-4:30 pm
I took my sign to the Manhattan Beach Pier this a few Sundays ago, and here’s what happened.
I’d hit an area in Redondo. I’d hit an area in Hermosa. Next up was Manhattan, and for some reason, I was extra nervous for this one.
I had to really talk myself into getting out to Manhattan Beach. I didn’t have a clear plan on where I wanted to stand. I was tired from a weekend of festivities. And I didn’t know if I’d have it in me to take my sign out this day. But I convinced myself to muster up the courage and energy to go.
I drove in circles around the Manhattan Beach Pier looking for parking. It took me 20 minutes or so to find a (drumroll please) freeee parking spot a few blocks up from the beach. I grabbed my sign and headed towards the pier. It took me so long to find parking that I had to quickly detour to find a restroom before standing for 2+ hours near the pier.
When I arrived at the area I wanted to stand in, I almost immediately saw my good friend Brian and his friend Jay, whom I’d never met before.
It was calming to my system to see a friend so quickly and reminded me that I was in the right place at the right time.
Today was a male-heavy day. Between Brian and Jay, the next few people to approach me were male-presenting.
The first woman to approach me was a girlie in her 20s/30s or so. She said her favorite thing used to be her legs, and now it’s her eyes. But she’s trying to appreciate her belly because it’s changing and growing as she ages. I let her know I, myself, am working every day to appreciate my belly as well, and that she’s not alone in that quest. It was inspiring to me because she was in a bikini with a fun head scarf on, and the fact that she answered her belly, while allowing her belly to be see by others, was powerful.
Overall, the day was a hit. It’s amazing how receptive people are to this question. Of course, there will always be those who walk past me without acknowledgement, but that’s to be expected. The interactions I have with people that truly feel life-changing make the discomfort of those who choose not to answer worth it ten times over.
After my sign time, I went to a local brewery to reflect on the experience and wrote down those that I remembered most:
“What’s Your Favorite Thing About Your Body?”
LOCATION: Manhattan Beach Pier
DATE: March 22nd, 2026
TIME: 2:00-4:45pm
Answers I heard:
My physique
My ass/booty
My eyes
My nose
My hair
My hands
My feet
“Everything!”
My belly
My mind
My boobs
My smile
My brain
My face
My shoulders
My lips
My pinky finger
My head
The theme that stuck out to me the most:
How many people said their eyes or their face.
Special responses that stood out:
A 13-year-old and her mom came over and waited for me to be done chatting with some other people to talk. The mom said, “You know you’re doing something right when your 13-yo daughter wants to come over and answer this question.” They said they both had the same answer initially, but the mom chose another. She said her height, that she used to hate it but has grown to appreciate it because she can see over crowds. Her daughter said her favorite thing about her body was strength and capability. Then, the mom said she also loves her eyes because, though her mom recently passed on, she still sees her when she looks in the mirror. (To which, I cried.)
I told one gentleman my response to my own question, and he said, “Talk about practicing what you preach!”
At one point, someone had their window rolled down and was shouting at me from the parking lot. I stepped closer to find it was my good friend Veronica! She shouted, “My favorite thing about your body is me on top of you!” Ha, I love her. Very on-brand response from her. She snapped a pic of me before driving away.
“My Obama ears.”
A bald guy asked me what mine was. I said my hair. He took off his hat, pointed to his bald head, and said, “Mine too!”
A woman came over to me and said hers used to be her hair, but she’s gotten older now. She then started to open up about how she’s facing adversities and discrimination with her landlord for being an older, disabled woman. She told me how she took it to court and tried to fight it, but didn’t end up winning. (This is a huge part of the problem with our current system, by the way.) I asked if I could hug her and told her I’d be thinking about her, sending goodness her way, and that I had a feeling things would start to turn around soon. I’m so glad she stopped to talk and share her story.
First-Time Responses:
My immune system
My belly button
My aura
Various groups that approached me:
Two girls came over early on. They both said their eyes. One friend turned to the other and said, “Yeah, but I love everything about you.”
Early on, three women came over to me. One woman blurted out her eyes and said that was the first thing that came to her, and that she never thought she’d have said that as her favorite thing. The other woman with her was almost in tears, saying she felt like it was meant to be to run into me and my sign today. She expressed that the three of them had spent time talking about their bodies earlier that day during brunch, but not in the nicest of ways. She asked to take a photo with me and said she was going to send it to her daughter. Her favorite thing about her body that day was her décolletage.
Two younger girlies (about high-school age) approached me to answer. One said her hair, the other said her eyes. They then chatted for a bit and said they’d be back with more friends. Their friends came and answered their nose, their hair, and their hair. I told the two girls that my hope through this project is to remind everyone, especially girls their age, to speak kindly to their bodies.
Stand out words of encouragement:
A woman running stopped to tell me that she really appreciated what I was doing. She said, “If you see something good in someone, tell them.” So she told me she thought it was wonderful that I was out there with my sign asking that question. Her favorite thing about her body was her arms.
Patterns I noticed:
There was a bit of pushback on my question this day. Fun!
One woman asked me what mine was. To which I replied my hair. She said, “That doesn’t count!” I explained why it does, and that anything can go here with my question. She said, “We’re 60 (her and the man she was with), so we’re just grateful to be alive.”
Another man who was a vet said, “Well, you have two bodies - the physical and the spiritual.” He’s not wrong.
A common explanation I kept getting as to why this was the people’s answer was: “It’s what gets complimented the most.”
The amount of people walking past that I noticed turned to their partner or friend or the person they were with and said, “What’s your favorite thing about your body?” was, yet again, so incredible to see. This will never get old. It’s such an interesting experience to watch people look at my sign and smile, or look at my sign and ask the person next to them what their favorite thing about their body is.
I find myself so grateful for those vulnerable enough to stop over and chat with me this day. Thank you for being brave and for continuing the body image conversation with a stranger (me!).
My chosen place to reflect: Culture Brewing Company, Manhattan Beach, CA
I dropped my sign at my car and exchanged it for my notebook. I went straight to Culture to debrief my day over a beer. There, I saw my friend (and beertender) Ria and told her what I was up to. Then I asked my friend (and beertender) Junior what his favorite thing about his body was, to which he replied, “My hair. I’d never thought about that before.” Such a powerful moment.
My favorite thing about my body that day was my hair. I used to dye it and straighten my waves. But I now love my natural color, and I’m trying to embrace the natural texture too.
Per usual, stay tuned for more of this! I’m inspired by what I’ve experienced so far in standing out with my sign, and I cannot wait to continue on with this experiment.
I’ll leave you with this: What’s your favorite thing about your body?
❤️🔥Megan
Do you have a friend, family member or peer who might love this too? I’d be honored if you could help me spread the word about my writing and body image conversations!
While I’m not a licensed therapist, registered dietician, or medical health professional and cannot speak to body image topics from a clinical, trauma-informed place, I am an expert of lived experience. I’m an academic of my own body, and I’m passionate about facilitating conversations with other humans about their relationships with their bodies. I believe it’s important to continue conversations about healthy body image in creative spaces as a means to heal individuals as well as the collective whole. But just know the information presented in this medium is not professional mental health advice or medical advice, and any questions or concerns you have should always be directed to your healthcare providers.