People always cite Marilyn Monroe as the quintessential ideal for a voluptuous type of beauty and sexiness. And hey, even after taking into account that her time period enjoyed fuller figures compared to now, her image still works for me! I love having a kind of role model for the unapologetically curvy body, especially in someone so influential. So in dark times of body-image trouble, I just meditate to this image and remind myself that curvaceousness can be absolutely stunning. Cheers!
UPDATE: This post provides great and appropriate commentary on the recent Marilyn Monroe memes. Although I wasn't commenting here on any of the offensive memes that feature women pitted against each other or ones that shame women with skinny bodies, the post still sparked a question in my mind: does my draw toward a full-bodied role-model still point to a kind of internalized sexism? Am I perpetuating the value we place on women's bodies above all else, or am I just happy to see a prominent woman whose body looks like mine? Is this my own internalized male-gaze speaking, and should I focus more on health? Yes, probably, all of the above. All I can say is that I continue to be amazed at how complicated and confusing this issue of body image is.
UPDATE: This post provides great and appropriate commentary on the recent Marilyn Monroe memes. Although I wasn't commenting here on any of the offensive memes that feature women pitted against each other or ones that shame women with skinny bodies, the post still sparked a question in my mind: does my draw toward a full-bodied role-model still point to a kind of internalized sexism? Am I perpetuating the value we place on women's bodies above all else, or am I just happy to see a prominent woman whose body looks like mine? Is this my own internalized male-gaze speaking, and should I focus more on health? Yes, probably, all of the above. All I can say is that I continue to be amazed at how complicated and confusing this issue of body image is.
2 comments:
Thanks for saying hi on my blog ^^ I love your thoughts here from start to finish. I think it's important no matter what your body looks like to have a healthy role model. Some people might argue about Audrey Hepburn - but she is mine because of how I was created. And it gives me hope that I don't have to get implants and what not to be considered feminine ^^.
Good point, and yes, I've love it if we all had various role models of different shapes and sizes (although isn't the ultimate goal not to have a focus on the body at all?) :) Thanks for stopping by!
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