My Body My Mind

   When looking at the definition of "Feminist" and "Feminism", it's hard not to wonder as to why there is such a fear in young people to admit that they are in fact feminists. Men and women of all ages refer to themselves as such, but while I could go into the historical background for this it is not why I have created this zine.

For me, coming to terms with the true meaning of feminism helped me become more comfortable with myself in terms of the direction of my life as well as how I view my own body (the latter changed as a result of the comfort I had within myself and the new direction I was taking in life).

               My experiences with feminism did not begin until I entered college, but I didn't even begin to think of myself as a feminist until the end of my sophomore and beginning of my junior year. While I have always had feminist beliefs, throughout my life the word "feminist" always had a negative connotation. Through the classes that I have taken, the projects that I've worked on, and the people that I have met, I was able to come to terms with my own experiences and see them from a new light. I have transformed from a quiet and shy girl that wanted nothing more than to disappear in the background into a young woman, while sometimes still a little reserved, who can and desires to communicate my thoughts and opinions in all aspects of my life. This transformation included and resulted in me being more comfortable with my body.

               As a girl growing up I was never really seen as all that feminine, I was SUUUUUPER skinny without a single curve on my body aside from the shape that my bone structure revealed. While I did have a few boyfriends growing up, I never felt pretty enough. I was flat and definitely didn't have the cutest face and to top it off I've always had such crazy curls -- believe it or not I spent an entire year of high school straightening my hair every morning before school. I used to compare myself to other girls and looked to magazines and television for guidance way more than I'd like to admit. Over the years I did become more comfortable with my body, but I definitely had my ups and downs sometimes seemingly for no reason. My experiences have at times made me question myself, appearance and all, but I definitely am more comfortable with my life now despite any breakdowns that I may have. I know that some people may have certain expectations about what my body should look like but I'm not going to change a single thing for anyone. Yes, I am flawed, but no one is perfect. Half of the images that you see in the media have been touched up. Why else do you think that it's such a big deal to see celebrities without their makeup on? We're used to seeing them with their flawless makeup and outfits but behind it all they're just as human as the rest of us and they have just as many imperfections (but we'll save this talk for a later post).

               Long story short, I am happy with who I am now. Yes I wear makeup sometimes and I'm interested in various fashions, but I do it all for myself and that is one huge reason I have created this zine. It's not important for any person to live up to someone else's expectations, especially when it comes to appearance. No one should ever worry if they're too fat, too thin, whether their breasts are the right size, or if they look lean or muscular enough. Society may present a certain ideal in the media, but no one is expected (nor should they try) to strive for these images. You should love and take care of yourself. As long as you do what makes you happy and what's in your best interest, than nothing else matters.

*Definitions are from the World English Dictionary