femaleflesh: fuckyeahsylviaplath:

The woman is perfected.
Her dead
Body wears the smile of accomplishment,
The illusion of a Greek necessity
Flows in the scrolls of her toga,
Her bare
Feet seem to be saying:
We have come so far, it is over.
Each dead child coiled, a white serpent,
One at each little
Pitcher of milk, now empty.
She has folded
Them back into her body as petals
Of a rose close when the garden
Stiffens and odors bleed
From the sweet, deep throats of the night flower.
The moon has nothing to be sad about,
Staring from her hood of bone.
She is used to this sort of thing.
Her blacks crackle and drag.

6:46 am  •  24 October 2009

inspiration

women's bodies

femaleflesh: fuckyeahzaftigbitches: (via somerset)

6:45 pm  •  23 October 2009

inspiration

women's bodies

robot-heart-politics:

dancingsagittarius:

I would agree that what you wear is not who you are, exactly…problem is that many people judge you based on what you wear.  In fact, first impressions rely almost solely on your appearance.  Now you can tell me that you don’t care if other people judge you, and that’s perfectly fine, but it still happens.  What you are wearing will be linked to you as a person - whether you care or not is up to you.

I’m not arguing that people don’t judge. Obviously they do. My argument is that judging a woman’s sexuality, character, intentions, etc. by her Halloween costume, or anything else she wears, is wrong. You (the general you) are welcome to judge. That doesn’t make your behavior correct, though, especially when you are drawing upon negative stereotypes about women when you’re passing those judgments. A lot of the other people who have previously commented on this issue generally speaking know better than passing those sorts of judgment on women, but apparently think on Halloween, suspending their opinions about the wrongness of stereotyping and pigeonholing women is a-okay.

Further, I do and will continue to dress (and speak and act) exactly as I please. I have never been the kind of person who thought that other people’s negative judgment of the things I do or say was ever an excuse to change my behavior, especially when I find their judgment and the rationale behind their judgment to be so wholly wrong.

Granted, I had a very poor experience with a rather low self-esteem individual on a particular Halloween who decided to dress and act like a slut (and yes, I will use that word for her).  Her aim for the evening was to have sex (to each his own) and then she gloated the next day about taking some dude’s virginity (not so great, in my book…pretty low class on her part).  The question is why are people dressing provocatively?

I know who you’re talking about, and I was thinking about her as I was writing some of my other commentary. The thing is, you knew other girls at that exact same party who were dressed provocatively (myself included), who didn’t have the same intentions that that particular girl did, and who did not end their night in the same way. Are we to be judged by that other girl’s actions, just because we are dressed in a similar fashion?

More importantly, while I am completely okay with anyone who says that one night stands aren’t their thing and I respect their decision to not have them (and I certainly have no negative comments to make regarding that decision—I respect that you are a grown-up with sexual autonomy), I think judging women negatively solely on the basis of their sexual experience or the fact that they actively pursue sex is wrong, and I don’t see a woman wanting or having sex, however well she knows her partner, as a bad thing. “Slut” is an ugly term used to treat women who have sex (and who enjoy having sex) as lesser persons who lack value in our society, purely on the basis of what they choose to do with their private parts. The word itself is part of larger social mechanisms to control women’s bodies and sexuality, and I am not okay with any behavior that facilitates the patriarchal regulation of women’s bodies.

I don’t care whether you’re using the term “slut” to question a woman’s sexual behavior on behalf of the patriarchy (e.g. “No self-respecting woman would act like that. How does she ever expect to find a husband?”) or on behalf of what some apparently think passes for feminism (e.g. “No self-respecting woman would act like that. How can she call herself a feminist when she’s putting her body out there purely for the pleasure of men?”—the pleasure of the woman obviously not being important or even possible.) Women should be able to make their own sexual decisions, and as long as they are doing so with consenting partners of legal age, it’s really none of our business…much less our place to make judgments.

Accentuate what you’ve got.  Wear what you are comfortable in.  If it’s low cut, it’s low cut, but you are smart enough to know what your clothes are saying to others.

I know what some people think my clothes are saying. I can’t control what people think, obviously, but my advice to any person who doesn’t want to be the kind of personal who makes baseless assumptions about other people—assumptions based entirely on reductive patriarchal stereotypes of women—would be: next time you see a girl in one of those costumes that you seem so willing to pass judgment on, remember that you have a lot of people that you call friends, that the other 364 days of the year you respect, who wear those costumes too…and think about how you’d feel knowing that some people thought that what they wore justified thinking those girls were stupid, easy, only interested in one thing, or “asking for it.”

And keep in mind that warnings like “know what your clothes are saying to others” has been used as both justification and excuse for far worse things than girls making catty comments behind other women’s backs.

2:49 am  •  22 October 2009

women's bodies

robot-heart-politics:

I’m seriously going to flood their motherfucking inboxes with articles about rapists, defense lawyers, judges, and any number of other social commentating rape apologists who have all made statements to similar effect.

I’m tired of having this discussion. I’m tired of women who in any normal situation have no problem understanding why it is wrong to reduce a woman to the sum of her outfit, why it is wrong to make assumptions about people based on little more than stereotypes (particularly when it comes to women and sex), and have no difficulties in seeing how either of those things are absolutely based in patriarchal regulation of women’s bodies, sexuality, reproductive systems, etc., turning around and using the same arguments that the motherfuckers they usually rail against use to keep women “in their place.”

I’m not sure what’s so special about Halloween, that it suddenly becomes okay to assume and judge and to play the slut-shame game. Maybe it’s the fact that many of the women who dress up in these costumes aren’t always the women that you like or who normally get your feminist seal of approval. You know, the women who cringe at the word feminist, who go to college for their MRS degree, who join sororities (although, OOPS! I guess I’m guilty there, too), who have sex, but don’t do so for the super-feministy power of ROAR, WOMEN LIKE HAVING SEX, TOO, AND I DON’T NEED YOUR PATRIARCHAL APPROVAL TO HAVE IT! But if you’re only reserving your feminist ideals for the women you like, for the out and out victims of patriarchy, or for the people who share your opinions, then honey, you’re not much of a feminist.

10:49 pm  •  21 October 2009

feminism

women's bodies

curvycouture:

Big Girl in a Skinny World

Meet Ashley Falcon, proof that fashionistas come in all shapes and sizes.

Meet her here.

10:48 pm  •  20 October 2009

women's bodies

curvycouture:

fuckyeahchubbygirls:

(via justbhre)

I do this allllll the time.

2:48 pm  •  20 October 2009

women's bodies

curvycouture:

(via phantombacons)

me too

6:47 am  •  20 October 2009

women's bodies

ilovefat: (via fuckyeahzaftigbitches)

2:47 am  •  20 October 2009

women's bodies

gauntlet: beautifulordinaire: themanfattanproject:

Jess, FIT.

Taken from probably the most relevant streetstyle blog to pop up lately. Read the creators thoughts:

Q: WHAT IS THE MANFATTAN PROJECT?

A: A collection of photographs of stylish everyday people in New York City. These people are beautiful, they are well-dressed, they are confident. They are also, without apologies or contradictions, FAT.

Q: WHY IS THE MANFATTAN PROJECT?

A: Fat bodies are largely excluded from the fashion world, and from the world at large. They are not seen as beautiful or useful or aesthetically pleasing. I want to challenge these assumptions, and challenge the world to see fat, fat bodies, and fat people in a new way.

Q: ISN’T FAT BAD?

A: NO. Other people have written (and spoken) wonderfully and extensively on this topic. The point of this blog in particular is to attempt to break the fat=bad/ugly/awful mindset through the use of image.

Q: WHO ARE YOU?

A: I’m a 20 year old cultural and media studies student in New York City, navigating the world in a body that toes the line, and the 10 pounds, between acceptable and unacceptable.

(via thebladeissharp)

6:47 pm  •  19 October 2009

women's bodies

ilovefat: lovemeformexox: definingbeauty:

Recently, in a large French city, a poster featuring a young, thin and tan woman appeared in the window of a gym. It said: ¨THIS SUMMER DO YOU WANT TO BE A MERMAID OR A WHALE?¨

A middle aged woman, whose physical characteristics did not match those of the woman on the poster, responded publicly to the question posed by the gym.

To Whom It May Concern: Whales are always surrounded by friends (dolphins, sea lions, curious humans). They have an active sex life, they get pregnant and have adorable baby whales. They have a wonderful time with dolphins stuffing themselves with shrimp. They play and swim in the seas, seeing wonderful places like Patagonia, the Barren Sea and the coral reefs of Polynesia . Whales are wonderful singers and have even recorded CDs. They are incredible creatures and virtually have no predators other than humans. They are loved, protected and admired by almost everyone in the world. Mermaids don’t exist. If they did exist, they would be lining up outside the offices of Argentinean psychoanalysts due to identity crisis. Fish or human? They don’t have a sex life because they kill men who get close to them not to mention how could they have sex? Therefore they do not have kids either. Not to mention who wants to get close to a girl who smells like a fish store? The choice is perfectly clear to me; I want to be a whale.

P.S. We are in an age when media puts into our heads the idea that only skinny people are beautiful, but I prefer to enjoy an ice cream with my kids, a good dinner with a man who makes me shiver and a coffee with my friends. With time we gain weight because we accumulate so much information and wisdom in our heads that when there is no more room it distributes out to the rest of our bodies. So we aren’t heavy, we are enormously cultured, educated and happy. Beginning today, when I look at my butt in the mirror I will think, “Good gosh, look how smart I am.”

2:46 pm  •  19 October 2009

women's bodies

the-activista:

2LoveMyLips: UK lipgloss detects date-rape drugs- http://bit.ly/eroqe

2:44 pm  •  18 October 2009

women's bodies

the-activista: gauntlet:lacontessa:

Three young ladies picket in front of a huge cutout of blonde Marilyn Monroe at the Grauman’s Chinese Theater where “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes” is showing. via

2:44 pm  •  17 October 2009

women's bodies

femaleflesh:

oneplushlush: ohmanson: (via batwithbutterflywings)

6:44 am  •  17 October 2009

women's bodies

Beyonce - Get Me Bodied

2:44 am  •  17 October 2009

women's bodies

abbyjean:

i love vivienne westwood so damn much. (WoW)

2:44 pm  •  16 October 2009

women's bodies