Although I do have to take some of the things I read in these books with a grain of salt, (no I have never danced around a campfire, and probably never will) ultimately they help me out when I am feeling a little down on myself, or inferior to the world at large.
Yesterday I read a review about a new book, that I would absolutely love to read! It is called Feel Good Naked, and it is all about accepting yourself for who you are, and not who you wished you were. Oh boy do I struggle with that one. Anyway, I had to raise an eyebrow at the picture that accompanied the interview with the author- it showed a silhouette of a woman who obviously didn't have any weight issues,- long skinny legs, nipped in waist, etc.
I have a feeling the book's author didn't pick out that picture.
Anyway, I just thought I would share three of my favorite books to all those out there who want to get in touch with their feminist or wolfish selves.
4 comments:
Have you read The Beauty Myth? It's pretty awesome. I first read it in high school when I was doing a big paper on women, body image, media, etc. and it totally changed my life. I actually reread parts of it several months ago and discovered that I no longer totally agreed with everything she was saying, but I still highly recommend if you haven't read it.
Amy,
I have not read that book, nor had I heard about it. I will have to check it out, thank you.
Thanks for the list! "Women Who Run with Wolves" is a new one to me, as is "Feel Good Naked".
I think you may have already read "The Secret Life of Bees" but it has a feminist leitmotif. "The Women's Room" is a definite hallmark of the early feminist movement. I recommend that one.
I just finished a book that has a similar premise, it sounds like, to the one in "Feel Good Naked". It's "Do I Look Fat in This? How to Get Over your Body and on with Your Life". I definitely appreciate the process oriented love yourself now books, and I love that there's starting to be a social push for women to accept their bodies as they are.
I raised an eyebrow myself at your description of the woman on the cover:
"it showed a silhouette of a woman who obviously didn't have any weight issues,- long skinny legs, nipped in waist, etc."
I didn't see the picture, but I can take your word for it. I definitely appreciate the frustration that comes with body image books being publicized with fake or unattainable bodies. Perhaps it's unfortunate that they used a picture at all. Thin women, women with long or skinny legs, women with "perfect" breasts, women with xyz ideal body part, can and do have body issues. When we claim otherwise and cut certain body types out of our struggle, we shortchange our own cause (everyone feeling good naked -- a definitely fabulous cause!).
I, like everyone, know women of all sizes, and their feelings about themselves don't correspond to their weight. The issue isn't about weight. It's about conforming to ideals, about never being enough, about not accepting how we are, about a load of other things. Your statement illustrates the other side to the same pernicious coin. It buys into the mindset that "it's the weight that counts, not the psychology", again defining women by weight, "she's in this with me since she looks like me, you're not", again, body type (imagine a caricature cheerleader saying it--divisive is divisive!), and "IF I looked like [fill in the blank], I would not have issues", again, defining things by weight and the backwardsly supporting the delusion that if we could only attain our better body, we'd be women who "obviously don't have any weight issues."
We definitely each have different experiences and struggles, and it's good to realize that we may not know what goes on in every pair of moccasins, but emphasizing the differences based on weight is really buying into the damaging idea that that's that what counts and defines us as women. It cuts into the unity of getting our selves and our society over this.
I really, strongly believe this, so I submit it as a tenet of humanism and feminism. I obviously think you'll consider my position, so I've laid it all out here.
We can do it.
- raucous the riveter
Raucous Riveter,
I think you make a very good point about weight and body issues. Of course this is the perfect example of how I do struggle with my body image and weight, because I do imagine that if I had the perfect legs and the perfect waistline I would obviously feel good naked. This certainly isn't the case, but it sure is the perception I have. So, touche, way to call me out on my own philosphy ;)
Post a Comment