Why “Love Your Body” Is A Problematic Dictate

therotund:

Marianne, I follow a lot of your stuff and I’ve read your book, but I don’t think I understand why the “love your body” rhetoric is problematic. If you have the time and inclination, could you please elaborate?

 aenaithia

I definitely can!

There’s a lot of good intention behind the “love your body” rhetoric. It’s very much coming from a place where people want to feel good about themselves and to help other people feel good about themselves, too.

But it homogenizes bodily experience and feeling - basically it dictates the One True Way people are “supposed” to feel about their bodies. And that skeeves me. Because there are lots of reasons people have complicated relationships with their bodies - from trans identity to disability to body dysmorphia in general and so on. 

I don’t think the goal of fat acceptance is for everyone to be super double rainbow in love with their bodies - I think the goal is for EVERY body to be treated with dignity and respect. And, yeah, that CAN go hand in hand with loving your body, but it doesn’t have to. Whether I love my body or not, my doctor better provide me with competent medical care that goes beyond “you’re fat”, you know?

“Love your body” also often accompanies the idea that we are required to love the way we look. That perpetuates the idea that, really, we are still reduced to our aesthetics.

Our bodies are so much. And our relationships are so complex. I hate to see those relationships forcibly reduced and dictated to us.

(Making this rebloggable by request.)

Why “douchebag” is an awesome insult:

dolgematki:

niaili:

When you call someone a douchebag, what you’re literally saying to them is,

“You think you’re so great, but your existence is actually totally unnecessary and your main function is probably toxic. Also you shouldn’t be allowed near anyone’s genitalia.”

THIS

Ha!

(via moniquill)

Feminists .. yall doin’ it rong.

dank-potion:

If you tell a Muslim woman that her hijab (which she chooses to wear on her own terms) is oppressing her, you are wrong.

If you suggest to a woman that she doesn’t respect herself because of what she wears/does with her body, you are wrong.

If you agree with the use of the slogan “Woman is the Nigger of the World”, although black women have consistently stated their unhappiness with it, you are wrong.

If a non-heterosexual woman tells you she doesn’t like the term feminism because it’s not inclusive and you shun her for her concerns, you are wrong.

If a non-cisgender woman says her problems aren’t addressed and you tell her that feminism isn’t for her, you are wrong.

If you ignore the painfully obvious degrees of patriarchy, misogyny and oppression women of different backgrounds face, you are wrong.

If you derail any woman who is not white and voices her concerns over the mis/under representation of her ethnicity, you are wrong.

(Source: eastafrodite, via garconniere)

I started seeing a new rheumatologist last week. He thinks my TMJ issues might be caused by juvenile arthritis. He wants me to get some x-rays and MRIs to look into it and also check up on my ankspon. He also sent me for more blood tests (which was horrible - the vein in my left arm collapsed twice and the nurse ended up using some special needle on my right arm instead). And apparently my surgeon is full of shit and I shouldn’t have stopped taking anti-inflammatories like he said. In fact the rheumatologist said I should be on stronger ones if anything and prescribed me some. I was already beginning to question whether the surgeon actually had my best interests in mind, but now I’m pretty certain that to him I’m just a consult fee. I’m not really sure how to go about changing surgeons (or if I even can) and I doubt the stress of it all is doing me any good. I really just want it all to be over. Sometimes I dream that it is and I feel great - in my dreams I can run and do other physical activities with ease - and then I wake up and I just want to cry.

notafunclub:

“There is no cure” is one of the scariest things you can hear, I think. It’s like a punch in the stomach, even on pain-free days. The reminder that “chronic” basically means “forever” and that there’s a high chance that your most recent flare wasn’t your last flare.

(via fancybidet)