"We have the right to condemn someone for not hiding their body to the best of their ability."
Isabel crossposted this to feministe from her own blog:Let’s talk about: packing on the pounds. Ballooning. Expanding. Language of disgust, hate, and beneath that, fear. Contempt. People saying, pale jiggling arms, an automatic punchline. Thunder thighs. When boobs are that big, it’s kind of gross. People describing bodies in detail for the joy of watching their listeners’ faces contort in disgust at the idea of a body. A body not doing anything, just being a body. Cover it up. Some people have the right to wear certain clothes. She can’t pull that off. I can’t pull that off. You’re lucky you can pull that off. It’s a conditional right, based on your ability to please strangers. You owe it to strangers not to offend them by wearing what you want to wear. We have the right to condemn someone for not hiding their body to the best of their ability.
It's not an easy read, though at the same time it's not quite at the usual level of, say, Kate Harding's work. Sometimes it's good to go back to that root argument of "Why does how a person looks matter so much?" and remember.
It's not an easy read, though at the same time it's not quite at the usual level of, say, Kate Harding's work. Sometimes it's good to go back to that root argument of "Why does how a person looks matter so much?" and remember.