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Destruction of Body Image

I had never realized how easy it is to destroy your own body image; your own self-worth. I realize that the article I want to talk about is several years old, but I felt the need to share this. I’ve spent the last little while trying to slowly build up my own body image and come to terms with my curves. I watched all of Huge. I listened to angry girl music. I downloaded Rubens paintings.

Today, I was looking for some more pictures to add to my collage. I google searched “plus size women” and “role models.” This was my first mistake. My second mistake was clicking on the link. I should’ve read the blurb. I should’ve known better. But what I found was this.

(Though this isn’t a typical triggering subject, I warn anyone who has had serious body image difficulties in the past to approach this article with care).

After reading it, I was shaking with anger. I went out into the living room, sat down on the couch and burst into tears. Everything I’d built up over the last few weeks was gone. I couldn’t even look at myself in the mirror. “I’m disgusting, I’m disgusting, I’m disgusting” chanted the voice in my head. My boyfriend listened to my story. He told me the article was crap and the woman was completely out of line. He hugged me, kissed me, and told me that I’m beautiful. I feel a little ...

Vaginismus

Hi everyone,

To begin, I apologize if this is somewhat off-topic for this community, but to me it is relevant. This is about the condition called "vaginismus." For those who don’t know, vaginismus is an involuntary tightening of the pelvic floor muscles which make penetration (not necessarily sexual) painful or impossible.

I was finally diagnosed with this condition about a month and a half ago, after over six months of increasing pain when attempting penetrative intercourse with my boyfriend (with whom I have been sexually active for over 2 1/2 years). I suppose the distinctly feminist part of this post is that, despite my many trips to the local youth clinic to attempt to diagnose the problem, none of the nurses or ...

Hi everyone,

To begin, I apologize if this is somewhat off-topic for this community, but to me it is relevant. This is about the condition called "vaginismus." For those who don’t know, vaginismus is an involuntary tightening of ...

A Question of “Good” Feminism

I feel that I should start this by saying that I absolutely consider myself a feminist, and have a strong drive to educate and inform people about many different types of feminist issues that face our society. That said, I also feel strongly about protecting the rights of all members of society, not just women. While I fully understand the idea of male privilege and can clearly see the terrible ways in which many women are treated, I also see that there is a certain degree of sexism towards men, and that many issues which I have a strong opinion on as a feminist may not be completely black and white.

I definitely know that feminism does not exclude the protection ...

I feel that I should start this by saying that I absolutely consider myself a feminist, and have a strong drive to educate and inform people about many different types of feminist issues that face our society. ...