"“A culture fixated on female thinness is not an obsession about female beauty, but an obsession about female obedience. Dieting is the most potent political sedative in women’s history; a quietly mad population is a tractable one.” "The Beauty Myth" by Naomi Wolf was published in 1990 and will be worth your time.
This is such an important read! I would highly recommend Renee Engeln's "Beauty Sickness." She talks about the importance of reframing "body talk" to focus on your body's function, not form! One of the respondents in her research said: "I love that my body can live the life I've always dreamed."
We should be compassionate and grateful for our bodies, but also aware that we are so much more than how we look.
I definitely still struggle with this every day. I try to remind myself my body can do all the things I want it to…except fit in clothes made by companies that refuse to make extended sizing.
I’m working towards a PhD in the history of eating disorders in the 1600s and you’re bang on - body size and image has been inextricably bound up with patriarchy since the get go.
the ending!! omggg who really benefits from these trends?! such a yo-yo diet culture we live in as we work to bounce back and forth within these communities. there’s no wonder the diet industry makes 60+ million per year!
There's some good content around just now on the edge of this, talking about specifically the way women with visibly strong physique are viewed and spoken to. Women's experiences when they don't just refuse to accept a standard of thinness but adopt some of the things that men have adopted for their own standard, are fascinating.
I think if there is any “conspiracy” to be had it’s that (at least in western culture, as that is what I’m most familiar with) society would collapse if women weren’t doing unpaid labor all the time. They want women to be pregnant, uneducated, have no financial or electoral rights, and to fit their sexual ideal (again, fat phobia and white supremacy) to fulfill all their needs. A woman who’s desperately trying to fit in and take care of children she might be forced to have due to no BC or abortion is one who can be exploited. Working the minimum wage jobs, taking care of the house & kids, being too tired to organize and fight back. Idk if I think there’s some cabal keeping women thin to keep us in line but I agree that it’s just part of the whole BS of patriarchy.
It’s so easy to fall into these ways of thinking, and then a eloquent lil piece like this comes along like a hug from a big sister telling me it’s all going to be alright
Just graduated with my Master’s in Women, Gender, Spirituality & Social Justice where my research has centered body image. The focus on what the body looks like is one big distraction from connecting to the power and wisdom of the body. Currently writing a book about it! Grateful to have seen this post through IG and the awareness you’re bringing to the topic. So important. 👏
"“A culture fixated on female thinness is not an obsession about female beauty, but an obsession about female obedience. Dieting is the most potent political sedative in women’s history; a quietly mad population is a tractable one.” "The Beauty Myth" by Naomi Wolf was published in 1990 and will be worth your time.
second this!! such an amazing read — the more recent contributions made by naomi wolf however …
This is such an important read! I would highly recommend Renee Engeln's "Beauty Sickness." She talks about the importance of reframing "body talk" to focus on your body's function, not form! One of the respondents in her research said: "I love that my body can live the life I've always dreamed."
We should be compassionate and grateful for our bodies, but also aware that we are so much more than how we look.
I definitely still struggle with this every day. I try to remind myself my body can do all the things I want it to…except fit in clothes made by companies that refuse to make extended sizing.
I’m working towards a PhD in the history of eating disorders in the 1600s and you’re bang on - body size and image has been inextricably bound up with patriarchy since the get go.
I for one would love to hear more about these 1600 disorders!
I’ve written about it a little in a may 2023 essay but don’t want to self promo myself on someone else’s blog!
I'll go find it!
the ending!! omggg who really benefits from these trends?! such a yo-yo diet culture we live in as we work to bounce back and forth within these communities. there’s no wonder the diet industry makes 60+ million per year!
There's some good content around just now on the edge of this, talking about specifically the way women with visibly strong physique are viewed and spoken to. Women's experiences when they don't just refuse to accept a standard of thinness but adopt some of the things that men have adopted for their own standard, are fascinating.
I think if there is any “conspiracy” to be had it’s that (at least in western culture, as that is what I’m most familiar with) society would collapse if women weren’t doing unpaid labor all the time. They want women to be pregnant, uneducated, have no financial or electoral rights, and to fit their sexual ideal (again, fat phobia and white supremacy) to fulfill all their needs. A woman who’s desperately trying to fit in and take care of children she might be forced to have due to no BC or abortion is one who can be exploited. Working the minimum wage jobs, taking care of the house & kids, being too tired to organize and fight back. Idk if I think there’s some cabal keeping women thin to keep us in line but I agree that it’s just part of the whole BS of patriarchy.
Girl did I need this today 💕
It’s so easy to fall into these ways of thinking, and then a eloquent lil piece like this comes along like a hug from a big sister telling me it’s all going to be alright
Just graduated with my Master’s in Women, Gender, Spirituality & Social Justice where my research has centered body image. The focus on what the body looks like is one big distraction from connecting to the power and wisdom of the body. Currently writing a book about it! Grateful to have seen this post through IG and the awareness you’re bringing to the topic. So important. 👏
Looking very much forward to reading ... as a person who eats what she wants, wears what she wants, says what she wants and does what she wants!