I’ve had a lot of nicknames, more than most, I think. Sonja boi, J, Gerber, Jaskinky, Keeks, Jas. But one of the worst nicknames was The Jungle. I had this nickname in middle school because I didn’t (and still don’t) shave my legs (and armpits too). Matthew Immergut states that body hair is seen as a manifestation of a nasty and wild nature so ‘The Jungle’ is probably accurate nickname for a hairy twelve-year-old. Continue reading
Netflix now carries the British series: Embarrassing Bodies, a show about three doctors who travel through Britain, opening pop-up clinics for passersby seeking cures for a wide array of ailments or deformities. The show documents one-on-one consults, large group Q and A sessions on specific health-related topics (these are often set in schools, pubs, or other common public gathering places), street interviews on topics such as “baldness” or “boobs” and exhibits set up outside the medical tents where people can learn more about the inner workings of the body. All of these interventions are designed to make people less worried about their bodies, while setting up expectations about what is “normal” versus what requires medical intervention.
It is hard to think of an American equivalent of this show, though there have been other international spin-offs: Wikipedia lists Embarrassing Bodies Down Under, Dit is mijn lijf (This is my body) in the Netherlands and the strikingly named Я соромлюсь свого тіла (“I’m ashamed of my body”) in the Ukraine.
Back in the day, I used to binge drink on a weekly basis and in turn would often end up vomiting every few weeks from drinking too much. This led me to eventually develop a regiment for dealing with the nausea that is associated with such excessive drinking, but for the most part I had forgotten about it when I stopped binge drinking several years ago. Then a few weeks ago I was out drinking with my partner and some friends and upon return home I became very nauseous. I immediately fell into my old pattern for dealing with this nausea and carried it out, refusing my partner’s help and leaving to fall asleep alone.
The next day, I began reflecting on how this pattern of mine was a situation where I experienced the disciplined body to deal with some illness. Continue reading
In 2010, I lost 50lbs. With a weight loss such as this, my boobs hit the ground. I had never had any intention of getting a breast augmentation before, despite working and loving the beauty industry. I preferred a more natural look for myself. However, when facing the choice of the condition of my breasts after the weight loss, I decided to go with breast augmentation. Continue reading
One of my favorite things to talk about is gyms. Not because I’m a hardcore “gym rat” or that I consider it a hobby Continue reading
I never knew that one’s skin could tell so many stories until I realized that the most common questions I get are about my skin. Continue reading
So I thought it’d be appropriate to write about an experience I had this week concerning my body. I got an IUD! For those of you who don’t know what an IUD is Continue reading
This post isn’t actually about bodies but it relates to our class discussions about the Ferguson case and the protests in general. As I read the post from the link below, I just got more and more frustrated that people actually found offense to the protests on campus over the last two weeks. People said that it was really just shouting, disruptive and was pointless. In doing the protests I didn’t think that anyone could take offense to it but that’s obviously because I felt more invested in it so I never thought of it that way but If anyone had any interest or opinion on the protests, can you please comment about them?
This is the thread that I found on the myUMBC homepage that makes me wonder, Was anyone in class offended by the protests?
Our class discussion from the other day has me thinking. How do we talk about the US’s responsibility in producing disabilities through wars abroad (both in our own veterans and in residents of the countries that serve as the battlegrounds) without implying that disabled people are undesirable or useless?
Last year Kelly Martin Broderick wrote a blog post about The Great Wall of Vagina. As an artist myself I was able to appreciate the wall as art. I cannot imagine the time and effort the artist put into every cast. The fact that so many women took time to participate is amazing!
I decided to do a bit of research and came across PENIS. Big ones, short ones, fat ones, long one and the list goes on. Joseph Tailor’s project entitled ‘Art Work “100” ‘ is a casting project of many penis. This made me extremely uncomfortable. I didn’t understand why. I don’t mind looking at my boyfriend’s penis. His is pretty cool. I also didn’t mind looking at the wall of vaginas.
(Yes that is a Golden Penis. Not to be confused with the Golden Snitch)
Thinking hard -no pun intended- about my feelings I came to the conclusion that it was because of the form of the penis. Let me explain:
The vaginas on the great wall are all carefully placed and appear to be that of relief sculptures. They are delicate and unique. This is truly how a vagina looks.
While each penis is also unique I felt almost as if they were looking at me. I realize it was easiest to capture the mold of a penis while it was hard but this is not realistic. A man’s penis can only achieve maximum size when it is erect. Does that mean you’re “less of a man” when it’s not?
Unruly Bodies 