[un]Finished Body

TW:// Sexual Assault; Body Image; 

 

I was given a body that didn't always reflect the mold that was dictated to me the moment I was born. I didn't look like the models I saw in magazines, the celebrities I saw on TV and the people around me didn't seem to share my body. I was young when crash diets were first introduced into my life - somewhere between the ages of 9 and 12. I didn't understand my body, what it was supposed to do and the autonomy that I should have had over it. I know I am not the only female presenting person to have run into this. I was no more than 12 years old when I encountered my first experience of verbal harassment regarding my body. I was barely legal when I became a part of the statistic. I know that I am not the only one. I was barely an adult when I found out that, despite the fact that my reproductive organs didn't work and put me at a higher risk for cancer, I could not have them removed. The reasoning was 'what if you want to have kids' despite being informed that it will never happen biologically. I know that I am not the only one. 

 

In 2021, we are still fighting against negative body stereotypes. In 2021, we are still fighting for the right to be equally researched and listened to in the medical system. In 2021, we are still fighting against an overwhelming statistic of reports regarding sexual assault. I would be remiss if I did not say that these reports disproportionately affect female presenting persons. Female presenting persons who identify as being part of the 2SLGBTQAI+ community face increased incidents of sexual and physical assault - particularly  transgender women, lesbians and bisexual women. Female presenting persons who are a part of the BIPOC community face sexual and physical assault and harassment at a significantly higher statistical rate and are often not reported on in the media. 

 

Somehow, on top of the act of fighting for the rights to make medical decisions that are best for our bodies, fighting stigmas that constantly yell at us to look a certain way and fighting for the right to have the word 'no' heard outwardly as loudly as we feel it inwardly, we've created bodies and patterns of movement. Beauty becomes clouded by the need for survival, and we hide shards of glass among the nature that built us in order to protect ourselves. Striving for a day where our voices are equitably heard.