It has impressed me, throughout my work with women, how self-distain does not discriminate. I’ve had clients who are tall, lean, blond women, who are full-figured frizzy-haired women, who are short, skinny, kinky-haired women, and everything in-between. Each of them insisting that they are not the body type that is desirable, so of course they need to look different than they do. (One reason body-image groups can be helpful is for women to see a variety of others who don’t look the same, yet have similar insecurities. It helps to banish the assumption that how a person looks has to be tied to her self-acceptance.)
In Girl Culture, Lauren Greenfield showcases the stories of various women and the struggles that shape what it means to be a woman. One young woman, Leilani, talks about the non-discrimination she has seen amongst her clients as an exotic dancer.
Every type of body turns on a different guy. There’s tall girls, short girls, thin girls, thicker girls, girls with no boobs, girls with huge boobs, all types of girls. That’s the good thing about a strip club; if a guy comes in, I’m sure he’ll find a girl he’ll like.
~Leilani, 21, Exotic Dancer, Girl Culture by Lauren Greenfield
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Body Acceptance Project to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.