Jan
2009
30

Lesbians and Body Image?

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Recently I was contacted by Lauren from Lemondrop.com (God help me I didn’t even know AOL still existed) in regards to an article published in Marie Claire.  The article, written by Margeaux Watson, talks about her discovery of having “body issues” only after being with another woman. An excerpt from her article reads:

Naively, I assumed that connecting with women would feel even more comfortable, like coming home. We are wired the same, after all. But losing my lesbian virginity at 22 actually stirred up insecurities and fiercely competitive body issues I hadn’t known since junior high. Given that our bodies were so similar (shapely, supple, soft), it was like having sex with a distorted mirror image of myself. Not only could I see what I looked like from a multitude of angles and positions, I also saw all of my flaws, reflected, in a sense, in hers (stretch marks, cellulite, jiggly bits). By the time we collapsed on opposite sides of the bed, I had taken enough mental notes to fill an entire spiral notebook: Keep back arched and stomach sucked in at all times; while lying down, bend legs to avoid unflattering thigh spread; whenever possible, sit upright to prevent breasts from running off in opposite directions… Scared straight by the experience, I waited another six years before kissing another woman.

Lauren emailed me asking if I felt there was validity to Margeaux’s article. My response, as well as some other lesbian bloggers responses, are in Lauren’s article Can Kissing a Girl Bring Out Body Insecurity?

I was hoping all of you could read the articles and let me know your take on the subject via this posts comments. I seemed to be in the minority in my opinion in regards to the other lesbians that were quoted. I would love to hear from a wider group of women.

I read some of Watson’s self-accessment at another site and but didn’t comment there because I don’t think it was worth a comment. From what I get out of it, she saw her own (flaws?) while being intimate with a woman. I would like to know if she did a critique of male(s) she was intimate with. Women check out other women’s clothed bodies and do comparisons, but to be taking inventory while being physical, I wonder how much focus she put into pleasuring the other woman. “By the time we collapsed on opposite sides of the bed…” Maybe she went “straight” because she knows she didn’t sexual pleasure the woman, but with a man all she had to do was lay there, so I’ve heard. I don’t know who Watson is — is she really a lesbian? Lesbians stop having sex or put off having sex with women because of societal/religious reasons but this is the first I’ve read about a lesbian(?) not having sex with another woman because of her ego.

Salty´s last blog post..Rusty 5

by Salty on January 30th, 2009 at 1:19 PM

A long time ago, before the internet, when the only lesbian material I could get my hands on (I didn’t know any actual lesbians to get my hands on) was the printed variety. I don’t know who published that stuff, but it left me with the clear impression that lesbians idealize women the same way straight men do…beautiful bodies (nothin’ wrong with it) were more important than exquisite minds, hearts, spirits. But Watson had a real live lesbian with her to check her observations/insecurities. I agree with Salty above that Watson must not have been much of a lover if she was busy taking her little mental inventory rather than melting into the moment. Most lesbians, regardless of age, who don’t eventually get good at (and enjoy) realistically assessing a woman’s true physique through her clothing should have her lesbian license revoked. There’s no real reason to be disappointed or posturing unless you’re an idiot. And any woman who doesn’t appreciate what you’ve got to give and the fact that you’re giving it doesn’t deserve you, period. Screw ‘em.

by Diane on January 30th, 2009 at 4:58 PM

I don’t think this has anything to do with the fact she had gay sex. How you feel about yourself and your body image has to do with how comfortable you are with the person you are sleeping with (male OR female) and your own insecurities and self-esteem. She obviously has problems with her body image and that is something entirely in HER own mind that she needs to fix. It was caused less by the woman she was sleeping with and more so (in my opinion) by her own personal thoughts and comparisons.

by dancer_inbarefeet on January 31st, 2009 at 1:48 PM

Hm. This is tough. I do see both sides of this.

Everyone is different. I’ve been with men and women. I’ve been with skinny women and large women, and oddly enough I felt more at ease with myself with one more slender woman than I did with others of various sizes/shapes/body types. That had to do with my comfort level and trust of her as a person, and how in love I was with her at that time. I was two or more times her size (I emphasize she was tiny). I had hangups, yeah, but I did not stop going back for more. In any relationship, really, if you’re comfortable with your partner, you can let the hangups go and trust that they find you attractive. So, I can see the side of the argument that says the relationship must not have been great/she must not have been that good a lover/she must not have been that into it, etc., if she couldn’t get past it. Yes, there must have been something wrong.

However, body hangups are a very serious thing. I’d agree with dancer_inbarefeet about the fact that it doesn’t have to do with the woman, so much as with herself, except that in the article she states she was okay with men but women are, to her, mirrors of herself that she watches and sees the effects of gravity on a female body and is taken back.

The article says she didn’t go back to women for six years. What about men? I’m inclined to think she likely did sleep with some men, and if you’re comfortable with yourself with one partner and not another, that sends the signal that you’re… more comfortable with one partner than the other. Maybe this woman is more into men. That’s not a sin, but maybe it’s true.

by Carnivalesq on February 1st, 2009 at 10:36 PM

I met and became very active with a group of lesbians online about 2 years ago. I developed a mad crush on one of the ladies. Because I have weight issues, I didn’t post my picture online for a long time. Anyway, there was another woman in the group that did post a picture of herself. She had no interest whatsoever in the woman that I had the crush on. But she fit the “look” that my crush likes so my crush pursued the other woman. I was devastated.

So I totally understand your feelings and agree with you and the woman who posted her insecurities of being with another woman. If I don’t have “the look” that other women want, what chance do I stand of finding a long-term relationship? Who knew other women even had a look they found desirable? I’ve always been attracted to a person’s personality first (seriously, I’m not lying about this) and then they became physically attractive to me. Am I in the minority in feeling this way?

by Anonymous on February 3rd, 2009 at 7:42 PM

I don’t think lesbians are any less prone to social and culture influence than straight women are. If WOMEN, regardless of sexual orientation, continue to grow up in this hypocritical society of:

“Be comfortable with who YOU are, (but you’d better be skinny too, ‘cuz those are the only bitches who model MY clothes)”

they are going to have hang-ups about not only what they themselves look like, but also what a potential partner looks like.

Please, I absolutely cannot get started on the bullshit media and how females are negatively affected (from a “pursued” aspect but also from the “pursuer” side as well….UGH)

by sugar_baby on February 3rd, 2009 at 8:28 PM

I can certainly understand having body insecurities. When finding myself in the moment of undressing, I prefer dim light, but when in the heat of the moment generally disregard body issues – mine or hers. After the weight loss surgery, I found myself with a lot of loose skin, cellulite, basically a trainwreck from the waist down, but it’s mine, and I can’t change it without going under the knife, which I’m not prepared to do.

Comfort has a lot to do with positioning (bad knees can impede a lot).
Getting off the subject here, but basically when her body is proffered and her skin is waiting for me, I’m all lust, no thought. Sometimes I replay, but never to the extent of apologizing for the way my body does what it does, and certainly not to the extent of giving up the intimacy, either.

by Andi on February 4th, 2009 at 1:19 PM

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