9
Sep 23, 2013
Does anybody really live their life thinking, "According to mass marketing, I am average,"? I really don't think so. I think many of us, particularly women in my age group, have merely worked around our lack of average-ness. I've been pondering the stories so many of us share here, and I've got to say, we are a bunch of tough, resilient people!! Admittedly, I'm probably going to sound like a clueless geezer, but I'm 47, and so many things have changed since I was "young". I feel so much better because of all of you...this is the truth.
I moved here to AZ from Southern CA about a year and a half ago. Before that, I'd lived in Orange County (Southern CA) for most of my life. Moving to a new state is fun in so many ways, but one thing I've loved is having the ability to try new things without being overly self-conscious. I heard about the "Curly Girl" hair care method around the time I moved, and I've been implementing it for my hair ever since. Before that, for my whole life, I struggled and battled with my curly hair. I always knew my hair was "naturally curly", but because my hair had always been treated as though it was "abnormal", I figured it was. I wore short and/or straightened hair, and I avoided water. Now, I have long curly hair. And I really like the way it looks!
Today I found yet another box that hasn't been unpacked, and guess what was in it? Old bras. Really old...not even the bras I wore before Bratabase; but bras from before I got pregnant with my daughter 5.5 years ago. Chills. I picked up a couple of them and I thought, "How could you not have KNOWN these things couldn't possibly fit you?" All I knew was 32 was the smallest band I'd ever heard of, and B was the largest cup size that came with the 32" bands I could hardly ever find. Any band size smaller than 34 was directed to the "Juniors" sections, while cup sizes D and up were directed to "Plus size" department. It's illogical and ludicrous. Who came up with these titles in the first place? "Junior" or "Plus size" according to what "standard"?
When I look around me, I rarely see tall, thin, size 4 porcelain-pale 22 year old women wearing size 34C bras with their fair, straight hair blowing on the breeze. In fact, I don't know when is the last time I saw someone who had all those particular characteristics. Who has been buying all this stuff in all these mediocre sizes and colors, all of these years? I realize that my generation of women more often than not has modified our bodies through surgery, bleached our hair, and starved ourselves in order to hide or compensate for how "not average" we all are. It's truly a shame.
Is it safe to hope that people are finally learning there are infinite sizes and colors and knowledge beyond what were "dreamt of in our philosophy"? When I read the world news, I don't think it is. When I come here to Bratabase, I think the media operates under one big delusion.
Filed under Bras ups and downs
3 comments
honestly really and truly i avoid mass media. Helps to be illiterate. Women here want higher noses whiter skin and double eyelids. Im gorgeous simply for being a foreigner. Nothing special back home.
I think that wearing those almost fitting but not quite-clothes seems to have affected the way I see my own body. I'm fairly standard in size but my measurements don't correspond to a standard size, if that makes sense, and of course I choose clothes to fit my largest measurements. So store bought clothes make me feel like I'm the deviations from that size - fat and thin all at the same time and it's just confusing. It's really hard for me to see my body for what it really is; I either over- or underestimate it. Isn't that weird? It's been a revelation to realise this, because I know many, if not most, women have more severe issues with their bodies than I do. I will eat when I'm hungry and I don't dress to appeal to anyone. But my body is still so sensitive that it's hard to really see it.
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