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Personal Narrative: Cultural Pressures Between Men And Women

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Recommended: Gendered beauty standards and the effects on society

Women and girls are subject to cultural pressures due to their bodies. As in the united states, the norm of the perfect bodies for women is to be slim, many girls try to follow that ideology and end up unsatisfied and unhappy. During my pregnancy, I gained a considerable amount of weight. I saw my body change that I started to dislike it. Every time, when I was going out with my friends or family, they couldn’t stop talking about my body and telling me to do something about it. I felt bad and uncomfortable about myself. Because of that, I decided to exercise every day and to register for an online program for women who want to lose weight. The food that I was allowed to eat was vegetable, fish, and chicken with no oil and pepper. I also adopted the habit of weighing myself twice a day and to wear a belt to tie my stomach. …show more content…

I didn’t want to be stuck on that habit for the rest of my life, and to lose the taste of all these delicious and spicy foods that I love and that I cook for my family. One day, I said to myself that all of that has got to stop, and that I have to start appreciating my body as it is. Since that day, I felt more comfortable and happy about my body, and I did not care about what other people thought about myself. I felt like I had control over my own body as recommended in Women’s Realities, Women’s Choices. “They have protested cultural constraints placed on women’s rightful control of their own bodies” (127). This Analysis reveals that our body is shaped by cultural ideas, practices, and representations that change over

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