In the 19th century, Baartman was dehumanised and mocked for her large posterior. So what does it mean when Black women today strive for ‘Sarah Baartman hips’?
Tag: body shaming
Hostels, Bullies and Coming to Accept My Body
The jibes, the sketches, the insulting looks, the fright and unresolved anger – it all started choking me until I chose to take the time to heal.
The Day I Wore ‘Bold’ Red Lipstick
A small act of personal protest to reclaim female power.
A Fraud of My Heart – From One Sick Woman to Another
The Kerala high court recently held a woman guilty of fraud for not disclosing her cardiac ailments to her husband before marriage. It ordered her to pay him Rs 10,000 …
The Phases of My Life
On the many prejudices and false beauty standards that women grow up with.
My Body Hair, Why Do You Care?
It is dangerous to normalise the made-up body, the photoshopped body of social media and magazines.
‘I Need to Lose Weight For My Wedding’: The Social Construction of Body Dysmorphia
Society expects women to be thin, to invest in maintaining their physical appearance, in order to be seen as a desirable partner.
The ‘Ugly’ Daughter of a Pretty Mother
On how social stereotypes turn women against each other, and how I started hating my own mom in the process.
Terms and Conditions Apply
Girls are made to fit in a structure that supposedly ensures their 'decency' – right from their birth.
Mirror, Mirror
On our complicated relationship and perpetual struggle with beauty standards.