Female Body Talk
Being physically female can be hard, and whether you are a girl, boy or something in between, our bodies can still let us down. There are plenty of pressures around by both our bodies and society such as periods, boobs, shaving, fashion, make-up and more and these things can be tough to deal with.
It can be just as hard to find someone to talk (or rant!) to about some of the standards set for women, plus the annoying things that happen thanks to puberty. So if you need to get some stuff off your chest about your chest (hehe :P) or you have some suggestions for dealing with both the physical and mental stuff then post it here! 🙂
I will begin with fashion. Has anyone else noticed that most nice-looking women's clothes are at least partially see through? I mean, it's ridiculous! Especially in Australia, in summer. I do not want to be wearing a singlet underneath my shirt just so people can't see underneath. And on the topic of clothes, does anyone else get annoyed by the sleeves? They cut off right under the armpit and it just feels so uncomfortable. Fingers crossed I can find some nice shirts for my prac in the mens department 😛
I've been watching a silly tv show called 'Beauty and the Beach' I think? and a lot of females will go over to Bali because they feel that their bodies are ugly or abnormal, things like 'lopsided boobs' or strange looking vaginas. Its interesting because I feel as a community we probably dont talk about this things a lot, Ive gotten naked with quite a few of my female friends but never looked down there haha.
I think for most of my life I felt that vaginas were quite weird looking... what does everyone else think? should we talk about them more?
These areas being private perhaps opens up even more self-judgement on them. Because the media (and ignorant people buying into the media) portraying a perfect version of them is the only time we really get any conversation on these parts, so when we realise that our vaginas look weird or that we can't get things perfectly hairless all of the time or aren't quite sure what's going on with our discharge we feel like there's something wrong with us and ours rather than our experience being completely normal and what we should be expecting.
I really hate the expectation that women wear make-up, whether in every day life or to work/university etc. I struggle quite a lot with my self-esteem and looking in the mirror as you have to when applying make-up is something that takes a huge toll on me and basically ends with me in tears every time. So I hardly ever wear make-up, but because most other people do, I feel like I'm... deficient in some way because I don't.
I've been advised that not wearing it can make a bad impression at interviews etc. and I really don't like that expectation. That's my rant for the evening!
@letitgoI only really started wearing makeup a couple of years ago, never in high school did I wear it and it used to drive me mad when I saw girls with thick foundation and mascara. I did have an obsession with lipgloss/stick (and still do!) though 
While I do wear makeup most days (Sunday's are make up free if I can help it!) I keep it to the basics mineral powder (just to even out my skin) and mascara, though depending on what I am doing and if I am seeing anyone I may do my eye makeup. I keep blush for special events because you have to do your eye makeup well to even it out and match your lipstick otherwise you can look like a clown haha!
One thing I have learnt is that I do my makeup only FOR ME no one else and for me its a fun thing to do (and almost a hobby). I also have low self confidence and there are days when it gives me a much needed boost.
I do however refuse to spend a fortune on make up and see many women use it as a status thing like they are somehow better than me because they can afford to drop a small fortune (talking $100 plus) on an eyeshadow palate like its no big deal.
At the end of the day its what your comfortable with, no one should be made to feel like they have to wear makeup to fit in nor should those who do wear it on a daily basis be made to feel like they are hiding or covering up something.
@ErinsAntics I could literally go on forever on how much I hate the make up industry, especially it's pandering to women and ridiculously expensive products (this goes to a lot of industries too, such as clothes (as in bras))
I agree it's all about personal choice, I hate it when someone wears make up because they think they should. I think it's something that people should want to do.
As someone whose sex is female I relate to a lot of this. Periods, boob's, body hair, etc it sucks.
I don't always identify as a lady (atm gender fluid) so it makes it worse. I always get compliments on my female days where I feel like dressing up or dissed on my male days and called bogan. Things like that make my ED worse and I want to loose more weight so I look less feminine or beautiful.
Something that's been getting up my goat lately is how much the media focusses on telling women how to live life!
How to be successful, lose weight, look "beautiful", get a boyfriend, get that job, balance kids and work, blah blah blah
They seem to forget the centuries of women who kept industry going during wars, raised tens of kids, battled for equality and voting rights and lead peace and unity across the world!
Women, men, intersex - the media should just let people be who they are and stop telling us all how to be awesome! BECAUSE WE ALL ALREADY ARE AWESOME!!!
I think it's sad that society even feels the need to print this in magazines etc.
What's worse, is the number of people that read them as well...
We need to be ourselves and as you said, we are all awesome! 😛
I totally see the plus side to this; I very much so like that I can wear so many different things.
But it's just struck me that this also creates a bit of a requirement to take advantage of these options. Like, males can have a total there outfits that are different items of the same thing because that's all they have but girls have so many things that they're expected to constantly be in different things.
When one of my male friends talks about how they're wearing the same thing it comes off as them being comfortable at best and funny at worst, and while it can be seen that way with females usually it my friends and I notice it it's portrayed as laziness.
Honestly, while women may have more options, they come at an uncomfortable and high price. I'd rather have a few outfits and be done with it than the high expectation of having lots of clothes.
I also wonder a little bit about whether this has bigger ramifications on workplace gender discrimination, like girls are meant for the starter 'easy' positions while boys are meant for the 'real' corporate jobs.
One of the things I hate about having a body that was assigned female at birth is that other people seem to think they have some inherent right to touch you?? Bosses who put their arms around you and strangers who grab your hand and tell you kiss them and boys who stroke your hair because they think it's pretty even after you've told them not to touch you. Like, why? Why??
@loves netball it's awesome that you wear what you want, when you want (your yellow outfit sounds awesome :D) On my formal night, I was wearing tights underneath my dress(floor length) and my joker converse shoes 😛
@4Tils The expectations of make up are so annoying. Personally, I don't wear make up because I find the effort not worth it (plus I like to avoid anything female) but sometimes it bothers me when, especially in high school, it looks like an actual mask. It's just, why? It's it because you like it like that or is it so you can be pretty? The first option is whatever, but the second option bothers me a lot because I'm sick of hearing make-up makes you beautiful. My friend kept pressuring me to let her put make up on me for a formal and I just plain refused. I hate how for women, make up is seen as such a necessity when going out anywhere, although luckily for me I only got pressure from my friends.
@DruidChild I haven't experienced anything like that, but it's the pet names that get to me. I get called darling and love a lot at work and it pisses me off so much (especially when it's from a guy, definitely if it's from an older guy) because why? The only reason behind it is because of my appearance. He doesn't know me, and yet thinks it okay to call me darling or love? It's just, no. Although I did have one guy actually ask me about it, whether it bothered me if he called me darling, which was a pleasant change.
But seriously, I hate it when people act a certain way just because of your appearance.
And to continue on from my earlier fashion rant, my new uniform sucks. They have the dumb sleeves and I can't cross my arms across my chest or lift them all the way up or stretch down because it's bloody tight around my arms. I'm getting a size up but it seriously sucks. I mean, the shirt fits fine, the size and length but it's the bloody style around the shoulders and arms that suck. The mens shirts have such loose sleeves and just, why can't women's shirts have that too???
@N1ghtW1ng aah pet names suck! It sounds really frustrating to get treated like that at work 😞 I also hate it when guys shorten my name as a pet name - like no, that isn't my name. Not that I like my birth name anyway, but it's the principle of the thing.
Okay but like why is clothing gendered? Why? What is the purpose? GAH.
