(Josephine)

Bodies

“[…] If I didn’t define myself for myself, I would be crunched into other people’s fantasies for me and eaten alive.” – Audre Lorde

My body is unique. Bodies are individual in character. And yet certain body norms dominate our everyday lives. This is especially true of people who do not fit the usual, socially-imposed body standards, and are constantly having to defend themselves as a result. Our system classifies the body and holds it to a power discrepancy; it is an expression of violent hierarchy. A fixed social framework defines certain bodies as “normal” while others are labelled and devalued. The latter group includes Black people, People of Colour, fat people, genderqueer people, non-binary people, people with disabilities and many more.

Children, for example, are also socialised into a binary, two-gender system. It starts with assessing a baby’s supposed gender before birth, a determination later celebrated at so-called “gender reveal” parties. Before the child can even assert themselves, there is a search for supposedly gender-specific body parts that are used to define the child as a “boy” or a “girl”.

Intersectional feminists are calling for a paradigm shift in which bodies are no longer viewed and defined through a patriarchal, white supremacist lens, but as bearers of a unique collection of experiences that exists beyond judgement.