the good body is a strong one
Nov. 11th, 2005 05:34 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
anotheranonWise words from the Brutal Woman about reasons to be strong. doG, she is so right!
Back in college I was slimmer but was utterly pathetic with any kind of physical effort. I remember stressing that I couldn't lift my own suitcase, record box, computer monitor etc. without extreme effort and/or pain. I remember one time carrying a box of records up 4 flights of stairs (no elevator in that building) to the college radio station and practically being in tears when I got there, partly out of embarassment and partly out of the sheer physical effort.
Now I can lift those damn records! I can move the furniture around, if need be, and get my own suitcase into my car. And I'm only a tiny bit along on the whole weight-lifting thing. In the ~12 years since the record box incident I've gained ~30 lbs but this is a GOOD thing. More strength = more autonomy, IMHO, because I don't have to always make plans through the prism of having someone else around to help me lift things/defend myself.
Learning finally that my body CAN do stuff puts a whole new spin on fashion magazines. I was flipping through one today while getting my hair cut, full of lithe, lissome little things, and my first thoughts were "gee, I bet they don't look all that great naked", followed by "They probably can't even take out their own garbage". This is not a slam on skinny girls or those who love them, but it is a slam on the idea that every woman everywhere should torment themselves and sacrifice physical strength in the name of meeting an idealized body type.
Brutal Women also has a few lengthy posts up about writing and feminism, but I don't have time to read just now. Check 'em out if you do.
Back in college I was slimmer but was utterly pathetic with any kind of physical effort. I remember stressing that I couldn't lift my own suitcase, record box, computer monitor etc. without extreme effort and/or pain. I remember one time carrying a box of records up 4 flights of stairs (no elevator in that building) to the college radio station and practically being in tears when I got there, partly out of embarassment and partly out of the sheer physical effort.
Now I can lift those damn records! I can move the furniture around, if need be, and get my own suitcase into my car. And I'm only a tiny bit along on the whole weight-lifting thing. In the ~12 years since the record box incident I've gained ~30 lbs but this is a GOOD thing. More strength = more autonomy, IMHO, because I don't have to always make plans through the prism of having someone else around to help me lift things/defend myself.
Learning finally that my body CAN do stuff puts a whole new spin on fashion magazines. I was flipping through one today while getting my hair cut, full of lithe, lissome little things, and my first thoughts were "gee, I bet they don't look all that great naked", followed by "They probably can't even take out their own garbage". This is not a slam on skinny girls or those who love them, but it is a slam on the idea that every woman everywhere should torment themselves and sacrifice physical strength in the name of meeting an idealized body type.
Brutal Women also has a few lengthy posts up about writing and feminism, but I don't have time to read just now. Check 'em out if you do.
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Date: 2005-11-12 04:39 pm (UTC)I suppose parental expectations like that (and later in life, the result, parent-ingrained assumption that I should be able to lift/carry stuff) are the reason that, the first time I ever tried out Nautilus equipment, I could press just over 120 pounds with my lower back muscles without effort; at 130, I had to start working at it a bit ***grin***. I agree, it's VERY nice to be able to lift stuff, move stuff, DO stuff (and, if possible, scare the hell out of other people who try to tell you it's too heavy for you ... trust me, that's FUN!) ... the more of it you do, the longer you'll be able to do it (and we all wanna be the kind of seniors who are holy terrors, right?)
Good for you! :-)