The Struggle with PCOS and Weight

Last March I was diagnosed with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, otherwise known as PCOS. When I heard this, I felt like not only were things starting to make more sense, but like I didn’t have to blame myself for my weight gain.

“You’d look perfect if you got double-eyelid surgery”

I was sitting out on my grandma’s porch when she decided to tell me that I would apparently look perfect if I got double-eyelid surgery.

Speaking Up for the Selfie

The Day I Taught My Mom How To Take A Selfie (2006)

I am proudly, unabashedly, fond of selfies. Even before the advent of the camera phone and the digital camera, I was taking pictures of myself on film — the anticipation of what would come back from the lab always excited me. It’s amazing to me that we can so easily create images of ourselves, and the fact that our ability to do this is, historically speaking, Kind Of A Big Deal, is never far from my mind.

Proactive Perspectives on Beauty Ideals

Beauty ideals executed through cosmetic modifications or fashion can be traced as far back as 6000 BC. From the ancient Egyptians who practiced complete body hair removal and experimented with nose reshaping, to tribal tattooing, to the modern day breast augmentation.

Hair We Go Again

Body hair, almost everyone has it. Some more than others and in more places too. But when did body hair become a symbol for unhygienic, dirty, and gross? There used to be a time when body hair on both men and women was completely normal. Men had hairy chests and women left their pubic hair in its natural state. But today both of those are big no – no’s in society.

“You got some thunder thighs there.”

Trigger warning: Eating disorders, body image

Genetic “body type” is a strange thing. For as long as I can remember, my older sister has been a size zero. Slim, tall, and willowy, with long legs and a flat stomach. She eats anything she wants at any time she wishes, while thinking of the nutritional value of none of it.

Me Versus My Skin

Your skin is your largest organ, your first defense against the outside world. And mine is constantly under attack. The enemy? My own hands.

Bodies, Self-Esteem, and Sex in “My Mad Fat Diary”

trigger warning: weight, body image, self-hate, suicide mention

Recently, actress Sharon Rooney who plays Rae Earl on the UK TV show My Mad Fat Diary announced that the show is returning for a third season. MMFD is allll about bodies. Rae Earl is the protagonist of the show, a fat sixteen-year-old girl dealing with not only her weight and low self-esteem but also with mental illness. She has a tough push-and-pull relationship with her mother, and a father that is out of the picture.

Bodies in Photography

When you take a lot of photos of other people its important to have your own picture taken regularly as well.Not in order to even things out or something, but so you can observes your feelings on the matter. As someone who uses photography as a diary, an outlet to making sense of things, and a profession, I take a lot of pictures. The subjects of those pictures are always people, mostly friends or family, but sometimes strangers. I’m so thankful these people allow me to photograph them incessantly, through private moments, through unflattering faces, probably through not feeling like having their photo taken. I’m so thankful for them, in part,because I’m a bit of a hypocrite. Or sometimes I feel like one. I hate having my picture taken. It pains me. Maybe it pains me a little bit more then the ‘average’ person who doesn’t like getting their picture taken because I spend so much time thinking about the intricacies of the power of photography. It reveals too much for comfort. Photographs turns your body into an expression rather than a familiar possession. The subtext of a moment can be amplified in the bend of an arm or the tilt of a head. Even if you try to calculate a picture and how you’ll be perceived in it, sometimes, in a good photograph, something will slip through. The power of photography amplifies the power that our bodies have to express themselves. It’s a nearly unhinging experience to see yourself reflected in a single still moment, just your body existing in the physical world. If you look too long, that is. Which I do. Which is important to me. I encourage everyone, particularly people who don’t like to have their picture taken, to think critically about why and experiment with it.

Tall women with high heels

A lot of my friends are tall, around 5’8-6 feet and they all love to wear high heels. But whenever they wear high heels, the response most of the time is “you are already tall why do you need to wear high heels?”