1. Social- (how I exist as a body in a social world.)
2. Personal- (how I experience my body.)
I talked about this a bit last time mentioning the benefits of being white with a feminine gender expression. Another very important dimension of my social body is my body size and shape.
When I reached puberty I immediately became aware that I fit some kind of standard that seemed to earn the approval of adults.
When we took our body measurements in 7th grade home economics class I was told I had "perfect" measurements. When my mom took me to the gym with her, people would say how "healthy" I looked. A specific example that stands out in my memory is when I accompanied by girlfriend to a doctors visit. After briefly meeting with my girlfriend the doctor turned to me and said "as for you, keep up the good work." I can only assume that he made this judgment by looking at my body size and shape and, as a smoker, I recognize why this is a problem. I recognize that 'health' can easily become a justification for fat-phobic discriminatory behavior and practices.
It is hard to reflect on the privileges and disadvantages of living in this particular body, although I know that it has shaped my life in significant ways and made me who I am today.
