XML Feeds
Body Hatred Is A Serious Issue
Every morning as I'm getting ready to start my day, I look in the mirror and automatically begin to pick out my imperfections; something I have subconsciously become trained to do. Whether it is that my stomach is not flat enough or there are dark circles under my eyes or that I have stretch marks on my legs or blemishes on my face. I engage in body bullying, like I know many women do daily.
It seems society has constructed an unrealistic female image that we are unable to replicate unless we harm ourselves. Advertising for fashion, cosmetics, and diets remind us that our bodies are unacceptable how they are currently. It's no wonder we become dissatisfied and want to change to fit the ideal Hollywood appearance. Body hatred is a serious issue that can hold women back from their dreams, aspirations, and potential.
Body hatred can increase pressure on women to change, which has led to the rise of cosmetic surgery -- the surgical and nonsurgical procedures performed to reshape the normal structures of the body. We are also told it supposedly enhances appearance and self-esteem. Notably, the number of procedures performed increased 77 percent between 2000 and 2010.
Everywhere we turn this billion-dollar industry is telling women they should change themselves to fit the image Hollywood glamorizes. There are many potential side effects of plastic surgery such as excessive bleeding, infections, loss of sensation, and even death. Sometimes, women need to get a second surgery when something goes wrong or even become addicted to surgeries. The bottom line is that women feel under pressure to look perfect, which certainly has contributed to the rise in plastic surgery.
Instead of dying to fit in, let's teach ourselves to defy the self-doubt we have about our beauty. Pay attention to the signals our bodies provide, appreciate our magnificence within, and accept who we are without alterations! Beauty comes in all different shapes and sizes and everyone deserves respect regardless of their appearance. Instead of teaching ourselves to say "I'd be pretty if," we should teach ourselves to say "I am pretty because."
This post is part of the 2011 Love Your Body Day Blog Carnival
There is a great post and discussion on the new "RadFem Hub" site, critical of the slogan, "This is What A Feminist Looks Like." Both about the word "feminist' being stretched to meaninglessness, but also about the offensiveness of the phrase toward self-respecting, not-straight-looking lesbian feminists, in particular.
The NOW t-shirts with "This Is What a Feminist Looks Like" should be replaced with a better slogan.
That slogan is an obvious capitulation to the patriarchal backlash against feminists who have rejected being objectified, especially aimed at lesbian feminists who don't care to look straight or seek to demean ourselves to please men. We all know what plenty of men and anti-feminist women say, "Feminists are fat, ugly, hairy, butch lesbians."
That's because many lesbians have had the self-love and respect to choose (yes, choose, it's possible, many of us can attest!) not to be with men, not be on diets or bulimic, not shave, have clean faces, wear our hair short for our own convenience, self-defense, handsomeness, ability to move and bicycle to work, and to be attractive to other lesbians who are turned off by straight womyn looking like objects for men.
40 years ago, some straight feminists woke up and got it that lesbian-baiting of feminists, by men, was divisive to the movement, and refused to be baited.
Instead, those straight feminists began to respond to accusations of lesbianism by replying, "So what if we're all lesbians?"
NOW should do the same regarding this "ugly feminist" baiting, and stop capitulating to it.
So, please replace the old t-shirt slogan with, "WOMEN DO NOT LOOK LIKE BARBIE. GET OVER IT."
That is a unifying message for women, because it's true. It rejects objectification, put-downs of lesbians, women with clean faces; and respects ethnic and cultural diversity.
Please seriously consider this. And DEFINITELY axe the old slogan. It is really insulting. I do gladly fit the stereotypes of a self-respecting feminist, and so I wouldn't dream of wearing that existing t-shirt, and feel very insulted it even exists on the NOW site. It has even emboldened a member in our chapter with zero knowledge of feminist theory to yap endlessly about how she doesn't want to call herself a feminist due to negative stereotypes and put-downs about feminists' appearances, and how she wants me to change my(!) appearance to make feminism look more acceptable to her patriarchal friends and male lovers. (Eye roll.) Please ditch it, and use the proposed slogan instead. Thanks.
Comments are not allowed from anonymous visitors.