Bodies

“Then why are you so worried about the scale?” Why was I? I had finally let go of the scale as an indicator of my own health, but my inability to do the same when it came to my daughter was bringing up the same old feelings of inadequacy and frustration.

I have 14 body piercings, a rib tattoo, a thigh tattoo, an inner wrist tattoo, two “tramp stamps” (and, yes, both were acquired when I was 18), and a full sleeve. In fact, I have more tattoos than I can count, since most of my pieces meld right into the next. But you know what? My piercings don’t make me masochistic, a degenerate, or some sort of delinquent. My tattoos don’t make unemployable. And my body modifications definitely do not make me a “bad mom.”

I didn't want to go through the experience of having an abortion. I didn't want to get pregnant in the first place. But I was grateful for the option. An option I had fought hard for to protect all women (including myself), marching on Washington, protesting at the Virginia state capital, raising money, collecting signatures. And now I had the chance to turn this unhappy experience into another piece of my own activism.

Where does my love for my body stop and my vanity pick up? If I’d spend $126 in a futile attempt to “resolve” the rosacea I didn’t even know I had, then why not $500 on laser treatment to effectively repair the damage of time? If I’d whiten my teeth, why wouldn’t I spend $4000 on braces? If I’d wear Spanx, would I have an abdominoplasty? A push-up bra or a breast lift? It Works wraps or liposuction?

Endometriosis is typified by a high degree of uncertainty, making even a basic summary difficult. This latest incident is further proof it’s a neglected, gendered and politicised disease that needs to be taken more seriously by academics doctors and others, alike.

I was nearly six months pregnant when they died. They died because I was one of the 5% to 10% of women who suffer from preeclampsia. Worse, I was one of the rare ones who had early-onset preeclampsia, before the babies were viable (able to live outside the womb).

The issue is that most people don’t recognize these inherent strengths that they actually have. These quirks in the personality or physiology, or experiences or family background, that make certain activities so much easier for them.

It wasn’t until my sister started getting into weightlifting that I decided to give it a shot. As someone who had previously approached exercise with a negative eye, I started with all of the same preconceived notions that many women do. However, after adapting to the lifestyle over a year ago, I cannot imagine a life without lifting. Here’s why!