The Body

We as women have always been preoccupied with their body image and how we are viewed.  This may be due to the standards we believe men hold us up to, the standards that other women hold us up to, or our own standards.  In our class survey it seemed that most of us believed there was a clear line between looking healthy and having too much muscle.  It would make complete sense for women to embrace their bodies and their muscles just as well as men, but we have the mindset that women should be petite and fragile.  Beauty is not muscle it is being fit and thin.  In the article by Molly George, she mentions how women in sports are put in the position where they have to choose whether to be a better athlete or have an "ideal" body.  I felt the same way when I swam in high school. I was constantly worried about my body image, even though my friends and my family told me that I have nothing to worry about.  There are some individuals that cannot cope with the stress that they tend to go to extreme measures such as bulimia and anorexia.  This should not be an issue that women have to face, I wish that we could find beauty in muscles as well in our own body.  Unfortunately humanity feels the need to achieve perfection, whatever perfection is supposed to be.