The Body Image Site for Every Body
By Kitty Cavalier Recently a friend told me she wants to love her body but she always feels fat. I dedicate this article to her. No woman is immune from "feeling fat." But notice we don't say, "I have fat on my body all the time." What we are describing is the FEELING of being fat. For every woman, the feeling of being fat … [Read more...]
by Melanie Klein, Contributor My mother never addressed beauty in a critical way. In fact, beauty was rarely openly discussed in my house, but was the lingering weight on the shoulders of all the women in my family. The only times beauty was discussed was when my mother told me I needed to lose weight or when my grandmother … [Read more...]
By Melanie Klein, Contributor “Are you sure you’re not hungry?” he asked with grave concern as chicken grease ran down his fingers and his chin. We’d just finished a rigorous hike and I was starving—famished, ravenous and slightly light-headed. I mean, really, we’d been cavorting, frolicking and climbing the local … [Read more...]
By Sharon Haywood Fifty-something-old Barbie[1] might be middle-aged but she sure doesn’t show it. When she was in her 30s, her manufacturer Mattel sent her for plastic surgery, not to maintain her youthful appearance, but rather in response to market demands to morph her into a more realistic-looking doll. In 1992, Barbie’s … [Read more...]
By Pia Guerrero Last night a woman asked what I do for fun. I quickly answered, “Hang out with my dog, Kayla.” To that she looked at me a little funny as if to say, “Oh, you’re one of those.” I don’t obsess or coddle my dog, as she wouldn’t have it. And certainly you won’t find me coochi-cooing her at any time. … [Read more...]
By Melanie Klein They say “love don’t pay the rent.” Love is undeniably the foundation of any healthy relationship, but it is by no means the only essential ingredient to keep that relationship humming smoothly. The same rules apply to the relationship with our bodies—relationships often complicated, contradictory and … [Read more...]
By Ophira Edut Does the mascara make the woman? The New York Times published results of a study (see the article here) claiming that a moderate amount of makeup "increases people’s perceptions of a woman’s likability, her competence and (provided she does not overdo it) her trustworthiness." … [Read more...]
By Ashley-Michelle Papon When I was a kid, before I understood that patriarchy wasn't a particular type of game hen, Halloween was my favorite holiday. I spent weeks dreaming about my costume. In hindsight, this was a rather amusing waste of my time because I dressed up as a ballerina for six years straight. It's worth … [Read more...]
By Sayantani DasGupta The first young adult (YA) novel I ever read that had to do with body image was Judy Blume’s Deenie (1973). In it, 13-year-old Wilmadeen “Deenie” is the “pretty one” of the family, the one whose mother dreams will be a model someday. When Deenie is diagnosed with scoliosis and required to wear a … [Read more...]
By Sharon Haywood Last month, a UK high school attracted media attention when its administration chose to remove all mirrors from its bathrooms. Shelley College in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire put the policy in place only a few weeks into the new school year to enforce the no-makeup rule for students between the ages of 14 and … [Read more...]
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