13 Comments

You're articulating things I haven't even figured out how to say to my therapist yet, though I long to. Thank you

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That means so much to me Mary, thank you. I'm glad this resonated with you <3

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Thank you for articulating what I couldn't exactly put my finger on about beauty as self worth, and for identifying an alternative way of thinking about it - in dialing the other tracks up. I appreciated and enjoyed this essay. Thank you.

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Thanks so much for reading! I loved the “tracks” thing Susan wrote about. I’m glad you could appreciate it too.

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This was so meaningful to read, as someone who has had very similar struggles. I get nervous raising a daughter in the world of her peers, too. But I think your reflections about how to just help her receive said feedback on her body and not equate it with her self worth, is spot on.

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Thank you so much. I’m glad it resonates.

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So well written! Thank you for this!! I have witnessed all those things growing up with my beautiful and thin-framed mom. There were always a couple kilos too much, the hair not perfect etc. I am still struggling at 35 with getting rid of those inherited views/thoughts and I am so SO scared to pass this on. When I started cycling something new happened: I could appreciate my body for what it can do instead of how it looks. It was such a wild feeling! ❤️ Time to get some more tracks going.. for me and for him/her. :) Thank you

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Thank YOU Julia! Sounds like you're well on your way toward establishing some new patterns and thoughts around this complicated subject :)

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Reading this has been so healing, you really put into words what im going though after losing 70 pounds. Thank you :)

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This piece is so raw and I love how you didn’t hold back. You went in as honest as possible

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Appreciate you saying so! Just trying to be an open book.

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Much of this resonated deeply with me - being the 'fat' child all through high school (even though I wasn't - children are just cruel creatures), being the larger daughter of a tiny, objectively beautiful mother to suddenly being the object of desire, the complicated relationship with food, equating 'thin'ness with worthy of being loved ...

I am childless, so I might not be qualified to comment on your introspections about raising a girl in the current and future social (media) climate - but I do want to thank you from the bottom of my heart, for writing about what I've been feeling all my life. Well done !

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Thank you so much for your words! I'm so happy it resonated with you.

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