# Body Changing Politics



## superodalisque (Jun 2, 2013)

there are lots of tensions around women changing their bodies on both ends of the spectrum whether it be for losing or gaining weight. what do you think it is about women that makes us the target for ourselves and others to change and not being enough or comfortable as we are? some of it is external some is internal. why do you think there are entire lifestyles built around changing women into something they are not even when both ends of the physical spectrum already exist naturally?


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## ashmamma84 (Jun 2, 2013)

I think it's partly due to economics. When a good portion of it rests on whether or not consumers are spending, there are insidious approaches geared toward making women feel they and the very lives they lead are never enough. I don't really know that there are any tangible ways to escape that since this kind of thing is happening all over the world now. People are seeking meaning of their lives through consumption and businesses who are doing incredibly well are capitalizing on that. So, companies aren't just selling their products, they're also selling our desires and what we, as consumers, believe buying/having those products says about who we are (this is definitely true of aspirational and designer brands) - social status, individuality, etc. For the most part, we go for it.


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## loopytheone (Jun 3, 2013)

Personally I think it is the culture of competitiveness and desire for acceptance. People want to be better than other people in as many ways as possible. For a lot of women that is being thinner, though for the ladies on here the opposite may also be true: e.g., 'I might not be as pretty as her but at least I am bigger' etc etc. What I mean by acceptance is that people desire the company of other people like them, so the diet obsessed seek the company of other diets, the fat activists seek the company of other fat activists and so on. Now, before anybody jumps down my throat - that wouldn't be pleasant for either of us - I am not trying to imply that this is the case for everybody or for anybody all the time. Just a common trend. And so you might be more accepted and less isolated/picked on if you follow the prevailing ideologies of the people around you, be that the diet obsessed or those who prefer being larger.

Just my two pennies. :happy:


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## superodalisque (Jun 3, 2013)

yes, i do think it is an element of competitiveness in all of it, competition for positive attention from others. and even followers/admirers get their bit by being able to shape and control the physical reality of another human being. i think for men in particular that must be very tempting. some people involved do seem to have a pygmalion complex working.


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