All in feminism
Body image issues are complex, and their roots run deep.
Societally, all women are told we are not enough, on some level, but this is not true to the same degree for all of us.
No one issue is any more valid than another—there is space to process for all of us—but it would be shortsighted to fail to acknowledge that some issues are more costly than others, literally and figuratively.
Statuesque.
Not typically a word used to describe someone like me: not very tall, pit-bull-like in nature (muscle-y, stocky, kinda tough, big ole softie on the inside), skin not of alabaster but of an unevenly-painted beige wall.
The sheer volume of conflicting advice for women is maddening.
First, a low-fat diet holds the keys to the kingdom of thinness and, therefore happiness. Then, low-carb. Oh, but don't forget to sprint! Actually, you should aim for as much low-intensity walking as possible. But mix it in with a healthy dose of strength training, and don't stretch too much! But also, do yoga. And there's no way you can do it right for any less than $599.99.
AND DON'T FORGET TO RIP YOUR HAIR OUT WHILE YOU'RE AT IT. That burns calories.
Are you tired of advertising campaigns convincing you that you've been doing this wrong the whole time? That a bottle holds the key that you've been missing? That you're not capable of figuring your goals out on your own?
You've been taught she can't be trusted, but that couldn't be further from the truth.
Your body – often demonized, rarely celebrated – is wise.
The moment we let advertising & its victims tell us what’s best for us is the watershed moment for many; what follows is a trickling stream – and eventual downpour – of shame. We're told that certain foods are bad, or that lifting heavy makes us bulky & that we shouldn’t want to “look like a man."
Hear me clearly: NO ONE knows what’s right for you better than you do.
Ah, your bikini body.
Didn’t show up again this year?
…
YES IT DID.
PUT A BIKINI ON YOUR BODY (nod to my friend and mentor, Neghar Fonooni). AND BYEEEE.
You don’t have to shape it, shrink it, tan it, or pose it. And you MOST CERTAINLY don’t have to hide it.
Your body is worthy of whatever display you desire, no apologies necessary.
These stories spin any number of ways, but – most often – we’re the damsel in distress, at the mercy of others, awaiting our rescue.
We're sold ideals - often ones we didn't choose for ourselves. We're enmeshed in an overculture holding that the primary purpose of a woman is to be decoration: we are to be looked at first, and we experience no shortage of tips and tricks to help improve our appearances. Comments on our bodies are often the loudest of all, proclaiming that if we aren't up to the standard, nothing else matters.
We look for respite in creams, in exercise programs, in diets...only to discover that these often provide little relief. Perhaps because these are attempts to solve an issue we never agreed was a problem in the first place.
While I find nothing inherently wrong with the pursuit of physique goals (and I'm not interested in telling you what to choose for yourself), I would like to look back on my life someday and say I was striving for more than just an ideal body.
