This post got me thinking about how "feeling pretty" can be feeling valued, cared for, appreciated, nurtured; rather than simply visually appealing. I think it a lot to do with confidence too.
And yeah, it can be hard to speak up and say, oh hey, I don't shave, I don't like to wear make up, I don't diet, etc, in part because one can be mocked for it, and also because it can be an implied judgment on those who do. I don't know what people's reactions are going to be, and women can be very policing of each others' appearances and bodies. One thing I've struggled with a bit is getting over that feeling of judgment-- think "Legally Blonde"-- that people who are into that stuff are not necessarily better or worse than me. I've struggled with this concept a lot, as part of femininity, as part of queer identity, and examined it in a way I suspect a lot of people (ie straight men) don't always have to.
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And yeah, it can be hard to speak up and say, oh hey, I don't shave, I don't like to wear make up, I don't diet, etc, in part because one can be mocked for it, and also because it can be an implied judgment on those who do. I don't know what people's reactions are going to be, and women can be very policing of each others' appearances and bodies. One thing I've struggled with a bit is getting over that feeling of judgment-- think "Legally Blonde"-- that people who are into that stuff are not necessarily better or worse than me. I've struggled with this concept a lot, as part of femininity, as part of queer identity, and examined it in a way I suspect a lot of people (ie straight men) don't always have to.