Mood Shaper
by 
Tracee Sioux on March 6th, 2008
Angry. Moody. Irratible. Cramped. Shoved in. Judged. Restricted. Oppressed. Repressed. Hostile. Wrong. Fat. Unacceptable. Picked Apart. Flawed. Pinched. Unworthy. Squished. Frustrated. When I quit smoking and realized what a blatently hostile and self-destructive act it was to my own self. I vowed to show my own self more kindness from here on out. This is me in a girdle or more recently coined body shaper. I bought a few of these girdles after indulging in a make-over show. Basically, you suck your whole body into tight elastic.I was expecting it to make me feel better about myself. Everyone gets sucked into today’s body-culture sometimes - I’m no exception.So, usually on Sunday morning as I’m putting on a dress for church, I’ll struggle to stretch one of these full body girdles up over my thighs, stomach and yes - even my breasts. (Why on earth does it cover the breasts?)I feel. . . .Angry. Moody. Irratible. Cramped. Shoved in. Judged. Restricted. Oppressed. Repressed. Hostile. Wrong. Fat. Unacceptable. Picked Apart. Flawed. Pinched. Unworthy. Squished. Frustrated. The girdle stands up and screams at me: You’re not thin enough! How dare you let your body hang out! How dare you exist! How dare you show your imperfections in public? Why do you eat? Can’t you look better? You’re such a fat cow! How could your thighs be so big? Why don’t you do more sit-ups?Wait - no, that’s the voice in my head that sounds an awful lot like Stacy London from What Not To Wear. What if I have to pee?I strip the blasted thing off and put my dress on. I get compliments all day. I feel liberated. I feel beautiful. I feel comfortable. I feel unjudged. I feel accepted. I feel lovely. I feel worthy of kindness and self love. I feel thin. I feel sexy. Anyone want a free girdle?
| 2.5 |
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POSTED IN: Fabulous Beauty Editor, Fabulous Body Image, Fabulous Culture, Fabulous Health
9 opinions for Mood Shaper
Mar 6, 2008 at 7:24 am
Tracee - burn that thing! I feel the same way about pantyhose w/ the control top! They somehow make me feel ‘less’ put together and sweaty and fat because unless I pull them up to my chin there’s going to be that unnatural roll right above my waist..what’s that? people are thinking..how are you just fat there?
Mar 6, 2008 at 7:34 am
Good advice Ashley!
Mar 6, 2008 at 1:15 pm
i loved this post! Good for you!
Mar 6, 2008 at 6:49 pm
You are SOO right!! I tried one of those things, too, and had EXACTLY the same experience. YUK!
Mar 6, 2008 at 6:51 pm
I have this theory that if we stop treating our bodies like crap, then we’ll feel better about ourselves and how we look.
It’s worth a shot anyway.
Mar 6, 2008 at 8:03 pm
Just had to ask…..how many sickos have taken you up on your offer for the girdle? HA! Hey, wanted to let you and your readers know that I’m having a contest where any one of you stand a good chance of winning $50 - http://natespost.com/index.php/win-20-of-my-unemployment-check/
P.S. Nice dress!
Mar 6, 2008 at 9:56 pm
You look great without it! Yeah, I gave up the girdles a long time ago, and let my gut hang out. I wasn’t fooling anyone anyway. Duh, I’m fat. Live with it.
Guess what? I realized it made no difference anyway. The people who love me still do. My husband still calls me beautiful. And now I can breathe and enjoy myself instead of feeling it roll up or dig into my skin. Ditto on pantyhose. And high heels (okay, except for once in a while for fun).
The Fabulous! Festival for April ‘08 | All About Appearances
Apr 7, 2008 at 7:15 pm
[…] liberated yet? Tracee Sioux is feeling freer after ditching the body shaper. Read her account, Mood Shaper, at Blog Fabulous. She says, “Post make-over show I run out and buy a body shaper, expecting […]
Feminism at its Finest: March 2008 | Menstrual Poetry
Apr 13, 2008 at 5:58 pm
[…] at So Sioux Me. She also presents Mood Shaper, a post on how a full-body girdle made her feel about herself, including adjectives such as angry, […]
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