As society’s standards go, she is not doing too well in the ‘feminine’ beauty department. She is tall, fat, Haitian, tattooed, and queer. Roxane Gay, like many women around the world, does not have the kind of body that follows the rules of society’s standards of feminine beauty.

So if your body does not meet the particular standards of female beauty at any given time, you will be blamed for it. Someone, somewhere gets to decide what ‘perfection’ for the female form is, and in my general experience, women are usually the last ones to be asked about this. I distinctly remember being about seven or eight years old at my friend Amanda’s house playing dress-ups, when I thought to myself as I looked in the mirror, “Well at least I have skinny arms.” Women and girls, overtly and covertly teach each other how to judge and ridicule the bodies of others and their own bodies. Clicking through for additional information or to make a purchase may result in a small commission.Įvery woman and girl knows what it is like to have their body judged by not just the people around them, but also by themselves.

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