body
Feminism demands a future free of fat shaming, body obsession and the male gaze.
The Reflection I See
Each time a loved one tells me I am beautiful, I struggle to understand what they see in me that is beautiful. The worst part is, I can't figure out if they're just saying that because they feel sorry for me, or because I LITERALLY see a different reflection staring back at me in the mirror. Not being able to distinguish between reality and delusion when it comes to your body is soul-crushing. Is what I'm seeing real? Is that really my face? Is that really my body? If that's what I really look like, how could anyone truthfully say I am beautiful?
By Olivia Edwards8 years ago in Viva
“The Nature of the Photos”
"We can't do anything based on the nature of the photos taken," the woman said on the phone, her voice strained. Almost like she didn't want to say it. "I'm sorry."My insides fell to the floor. I had stepped out of a managerial meeting to take this call, this call that would let me know if my rapist would get what he deserved. Instead of reassurance, instead of knowing things were going to be okay, I find out what happened wasn't credible. I had left work shortly after getting that call.
By S.M. Vargas8 years ago in Viva
Copper IUDs: The Good, the Bad, the Uncomfortable
Getting an IUD is one of those things. You've been flip-flopping on the idea for a long time and one of the main factors keeping you from doing it is the initial pain of the procedure. I get it, I was going back and forth in my head for years trying to justify putting my head down and getting it done. Obviously there are an overwhelming amount of positives, my favorite and main reason for having it being the non-hormonal (copper) option. As a lady who has been on a plethora of different hormonal birth control options (the patch, estrogen pill, low dose estrogen and testosterone, progesterone only) I can honestly tell you that while some people may not experience many side effects, I had experienced plenty—everything from UTIs, low sex drive, high blood pressure, cystic acne (hoo man, a lot of it) on my face and also in other strange and terrible places, leg cramps (from the progesterone only pill), and heightened anxiety. All of these options, while viable because they all technically did their job and kept a child from existing inside of me, never really seemed ideal because I felt like I was changing my biology a little in order to accommodate them. Not to mention, it was causing problems in my relationships and making me more insecure in my appearance (my face had the texture of a balloon filled with rocks for a while). Long story short (–ish), when I heard about an implant that was non-hormonal and would last between 5-10 years, I was sold.
By Carly Anne 8 years ago in Viva
Going Braless
Bras are uncomfortable, sweaty, expensive, and unhealthy for people to wear. So why do so many people go every day with one? They don't actually seem to provide any benefit aside from hiding your perky nipples from the outside world. At least to me, that is.
By Blop Kitsune8 years ago in Viva
I’m Not Perfect, According to the Media...
Every step you take determines who you are. Society tries to pressure us to fit inside the social “norm” and aspire to be more like what we see in the news. I know, I know, it seems as if everybody nowadays makes the statement about the one body size that is shown in the media. However, I’m here to show the other side of the story. People always talk about the hourglass figure that is displayed in the media and how larger people need to be shown too, but rarely does someone discuss the other extreme on the spectrum, the skinny.
By Lily Penshaw8 years ago in Viva
Love Yourself, Love Your Body
This is my first post so I want to discuss something that plagues me day in and day out... the way I feel about how I look. I, like most women, have major issues with my body. My thighs are covered with cellulite, and I have trouble finding jeans that don’t make me feel like my legs will burst out of them. I constantly say I have the shoulders of a man and my arms are flabby, which means there are certain styles of tops I have to stay away from as no matter the size they will not fit me. My stomach is wobbly and I carry the dreaded “mummy pouch.” I have severe muffin top and pull my bottoms up as high as possible to cover this. Despite me feeling it’s large I have no bum no matter how much squatting I do. After loosing weight I now have no boobs and I often compare them to balloons you find 5 days after a party. I have many issues with my body and some days I find it hard to look at myself in the mirror... until tonight.
By Laura Rainbow-Fearnley8 years ago in Viva
Broken Reflections
Poor self-esteem has always been an issue of mine. I don't know where it began, but it's left its mark on me. I am a 24 year old woman with an infant child. I want the world that I raise my child in to be good and wholesome. But today I had to look into the mirror and tell that broken, desperate woman that she was beautiful and worthy of love. What kind of world is that? When did beauty become so unattainable? When did it begin to dictate the value of our lives? How do we reverse the damage and smudge out those dirty words written on our mirrors?
By Camille Martin8 years ago in Viva
Just Be YOU
When I looked in the mirror yesterday, all I saw was a 19-year-old girl with an endless amount of flaws. My hair didn’t fall the way I thought it should. I have acne spots. I looked down at my finger nails, angry that I didn’t have enough self-control to not bite them. I looked at my face—too round, too many freckles. My eyes, not blue enough. Eyebrows, they didn’t look the way the model’s did.
By Katie Hollis8 years ago in Viva
Body Image
Body image can be very important to a person. Thanks to social media and the internet, there is a stigma that most individuals that struggle with their body image are women, when in fact it's 50/50 between both women and men. However, men don’t talk about the issues, whether it is their bodies or their health, unlike some women.
By Tanisha Dagger8 years ago in Viva
