I am taking a dance course this semester which ties woman's body image and dance. The first response I wrote was on feminism. The articles which I responded to were about the skinny image women obsess to be. It touched on how a healthy appetite is seen as 'weak' and only strong 'will power' can conquer appetite. This cultural message equation is as such: skinny = strong. Oh the irony. I am always at my best when I am hungry.

I personally love food. I eat all the time. It took me years to get here. Before this, food was the enemy. Such a sad past. So happy to be in my mid 20's and celebrating my health. In a society which obsesses over food by not eating, somehow I have managed to love the things I should hate. I love food, Latin dance and music. I will never be the skinny girl on the dance floor giving my behind to some stranger while listening to super super degrading popular music.

Because my roommate was curious on response, I will cut and paste my response.

Feminism is demanding equal gender treatment. Women want to be seen and treated as equal. For this reason alone I am a feminist. There is a societal box which women are expected to fit. Who creates and maintains this box? The dominate influence of our white male protestant culture create it and label it ‘Handle with Care’. But women can’t all fit this box. This box parallels expectations of a parent for a child. If a parent pushes their artistic child to be a doctor, then that child is suppressed of their true ‘self’ (page 10, Part 1, What is Women’s Studies). The box men have put women is essentially pushing a artistic child to be a doctor.

I do not bash men. I think they are just as victim as the box they have built and have to live with. Fortunately for women, the strong voices of past feminists have started to breaking away at the box. This feminist movement has allowed women to be one step ahead of men in differentiating between reality and societal expectations. This is why women can step out of the victim light and choose to make a difference in their walk.

On a daily basis, I try to be a leader. I lead through confidence. By doing this I amaze both women and men. I show them what is real. There is an entire media influenced culture which has brainwashed us into believing a women’s worth is only body deep. I admit there are days when the negative influence of the mass media traps me in the ‘I am fat’ mentality. Yet I make a conscious effort to celebrate who I am, and focus on my strengths as the beautiful person I am, and will continue to be.