Montclair’s Junie Moon Schreiber hit a low point about 15 years ago. She was afraid to the leave the house or put on a bathing suit because she felt such self-hatred and self-shame toward her body.
That’s why Schreiber even shocked herself when she agreed to let renowned painter Andy Golub paint her naked body and then turned the experience into a film called “Shed the Shame” for everyone to see.
“(The film) is my journey as a woman, in this culture, hearing the lies about what beauty is and isn’t and getting injured by those messages and how I’ve done a lot of healing of myself and transformation,” Schreiber said. “In this film I share the journey and I get naked and body painted… to get that message out there that healing is possible, we don’t have to hold onto our shame, those messages are lies and women are beautiful in all shapes and sizes.”
Schreiber released her nine-minute mini-documentary on YouTube last year and recently debuted it at the Newark Independent Film Festival on Friday, Sept. 8.
“It was wonderful. The audience was engaged, I loved that there were expressions of laughter and of being moved in the audience,” she said. “A lot of people came up to me afterward and said ‘wow you were so courageous thank you for telling your story.’ A lot of people were just really grateful that I did it to continue this healing journey that we’re all on.”
In her film Schreiber discusses the challenges women face growing up in today’s society such as having to see magazines at checkout counters “pointing fingers at look who got fat” and creating a negative message saying that in order to beautiful, we must look a certain way.
Struggling with being a critic of her own body due to the fat-shaming culture of society, Schreiber went on a transformational journey over the years in order to love herself. That’s why she decided to take the body painting opportunity and turn it into a film in order to help empower other women like herself.
“It’s been a journey and I still find the inner critic tapping at my door, but I have different skills now to say, that is not true and that is not my message and I am beautiful and wonderful just as I am,”
Schreiber now works as a certified transformational coach in which she runs group programs and works with individuals in person and via Skype on building back up their self-worth and lowering the volume of their inner critic voice.
“My want is for women to feel empowered and strong,” she said. “When they feel love for themselves inside and out, they’re able to be so much more successful in their businesses, their relationships flourish, and they have deep self-care, they’re able to love themselves to much higher levels.”
“(I wanted) to open up the doorway for women to know that the story doesn’t end here,” she said. “There is healing.”
More information on Schreiber’s workshops can be found at www.womenreclaimyourlife.com.
