This fetish with the control of women's bodies is a perversion and, yes, it does reflect our attitude toward the earth--as you note. I worked in television journalism for years and don't think I ever ate a meal; now, in my 70s, my stomach cannot digest a full one. Although I no longer buy into the myth about women's bodies, I still carry the messaging in my mind: Do not eat. Do not eat. Do not eat. It's sort of like being a small country freed after living for years under colonial rule. The mind remains colonized even as the person (body) is free. I hope you'll write more and do more art about this as we fight attempts to control the body in the medical arena (over reproductive justice).
I have strong stirrings after reading everyone of your posts. This made me respond immediately. I had an older half brother. His mother died in childbirth along with his sibling. He was 24 years older than me and out of the house and married before I was born. His childhood was turbulent than mine as I grew up as a spoilt only child with opportunities not afforded to him. He had six daughters and all had and have lifelong challenges with weight issues. The oldest was possibly abused by my brother and spent much of her adult life in an assisted living facility until she succumbed to OCP in her 50's. Two more died within four months. One of liver disease from drinking. The third had gotten stomach surgery as an extreme measure that appeared to gain her a more normal weight range however that had side effects. The week of her daughters wedding the bride came by to pick her up to buy flowers for the ceremony and found her dead on the kitchen floor of a heart attack. Their mother was pregnant with all six in ten years and was agoraphobic for decades and died in her sixties. I am not sharing this as a rebuke of anything you say. I admire appreciate your wisdom. As a man however I am torn between accusations of fat shaming when I make any mention of this within my family. I have three daughters also. I never found an acceptable way to share my lifelong concern for their health and welfare. Especially as the trauma remains silent and hidden. This has made grieving difficult.
This fetish with the control of women's bodies is a perversion and, yes, it does reflect our attitude toward the earth--as you note. I worked in television journalism for years and don't think I ever ate a meal; now, in my 70s, my stomach cannot digest a full one. Although I no longer buy into the myth about women's bodies, I still carry the messaging in my mind: Do not eat. Do not eat. Do not eat. It's sort of like being a small country freed after living for years under colonial rule. The mind remains colonized even as the person (body) is free. I hope you'll write more and do more art about this as we fight attempts to control the body in the medical arena (over reproductive justice).
I have strong stirrings after reading everyone of your posts. This made me respond immediately. I had an older half brother. His mother died in childbirth along with his sibling. He was 24 years older than me and out of the house and married before I was born. His childhood was turbulent than mine as I grew up as a spoilt only child with opportunities not afforded to him. He had six daughters and all had and have lifelong challenges with weight issues. The oldest was possibly abused by my brother and spent much of her adult life in an assisted living facility until she succumbed to OCP in her 50's. Two more died within four months. One of liver disease from drinking. The third had gotten stomach surgery as an extreme measure that appeared to gain her a more normal weight range however that had side effects. The week of her daughters wedding the bride came by to pick her up to buy flowers for the ceremony and found her dead on the kitchen floor of a heart attack. Their mother was pregnant with all six in ten years and was agoraphobic for decades and died in her sixties. I am not sharing this as a rebuke of anything you say. I admire appreciate your wisdom. As a man however I am torn between accusations of fat shaming when I make any mention of this within my family. I have three daughters also. I never found an acceptable way to share my lifelong concern for their health and welfare. Especially as the trauma remains silent and hidden. This has made grieving difficult.