I'm interested to know what feminism means to you, because you mention it fairly often in your posts but I'm not entirely sure what kind of feminism you believe. (It seems to me that feminism can vary widely.)
short version: I believe that many of our ideas about gender are not only wrong, but used to perpetuate inequality and oppression. and that women have gotten the shorter end of the stick in most cultures for a long long time. showing my opposition to these ways of thinking and working to eradicate them from my mind are essential to my concept of justice and my own free existence.
I know this is the complete opposite of your intention, but I think your occasional posts about body image (among many other things) have gotten me frequently (and negatively) obsessing over my own. Advice?
saaad. but moving on: clarification and deets first, advice second.
obsessing over your own body image, or over your own body? (is there a difference? I kind of do believe in meta-body image; sorry if that seems a stupid question.) what have the other factors been? what about the posts had that effect?
(The Box is not in service at present, but anonymous commenting is always enabled. or email me. wie.ein.lied@gmail.com)
Body v. body image for me is very different. I function properly, eat when I am hungry, and have acne on my upper back. But my body image sees what escapes the eyes. The cellulite that appears like dark magic. The largeness of my nose (thanks to my Irish ancestors). THese things are only visible to me, a secret prison sometimes. But the bodies of all humans, as I have learned in the past year, are just bodies. Not ugly or beautiful. Just flesh that gives us function. Melding the ideas and ideals will take longer for me.
ReplyDeleteAnon - Yes, I know the lesson you are talking about...I think sometimes either all bodies are a little bit hilarious and strange, or they all are all dignified. (Or both ways! haha.) Re: integrating the ideals, my sociology professor said on the first day of class two years ago that the longest distance in the world is between the head and the heart. Every time I remember it, I think, "TRUE." We try as we can.
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