Blog 6 - Ashlyn

 Personally, I really love a lot of Roxane Gay's work (and her twitter) as she is very open about being a fat, queer woman of color. The standard for "traditional" feminism has long been rooted in giving a platform to skinny, white, cisgender-heterosexual women which has taken up a lot of space that is now being claimed by women like Gay (as it should). I have read Bad Feminist in a few Women's and Gender Studies courses before, and I really like Gay's take on the idea of not following that "traditional" standard for feminism and being a "bad feminist" in her own regard. I especially liked when Gay points out that those "traditional" ideas of feminism are also tied into suppressing ones sexuality, "When I was called a feminist, during those days, my first thought was, But I willingly give blow jobs. I had it in my head that I could not both be a feminist and be sexually open." I think this is relatable to a lot of people whom identify as feminists whilst also being open about sex and their sexual experiences.

I have never heard of the Un/Tied project, but I really love the background and the story behind it. I myself identify as queer and have sometimes found it difficult to shop for clothing/shoes I am comfortable with and that I feel reflect my personal fashion. I like how when you go to the "website" and choose either mens or women's, the options for both sides are the same and are not labeled or pushed towards solely one gender. Dismantling the ties of gender to clothing/fashion and making it more accessible to those who do not identify within the binaries is a necessary step we are very slowly seeing unfold as androgyny is slowly embrace in mainstream fashion.

"You're so Brave for Wearing Clothes and Not Hating Yourself" I really liked for the way in which Lindy West makes the point that fat women are not inspiration porn for losing weight or for others to boost their self esteem by comparing themselves, but are their own persons who do not need approval or validation from others. Size-inclusivity and body positivity that includes ALL bodies is especially important, and in recent years we've seen the backlash towards companies who only include stick thin, blemish and pube free models (victoria's secret...) go to work. These companies that "embrace" diversity in times where it's trendy do so whilst discriminating against certain bodies and people by not including them has come into mainstream attention. Fat-shaming women and idolizing some Instagram model who only consumes flat-tummy tea (laxatives that make you shit yourself) and eats 3 almonds a day is counterintuitive in itself. You're telling fat women they're unhealthy, even though they eat normally, whilst praising someone who is telling other women they can look like her by starving themselves? As someone who has struggled with disordered eating, this concept has never made sense to me. Why would you uphold the standard to someone who is legitimately unhealthy whilst shaming someone for simply existing in the body they have?