moonlit_shelves's review against another edition
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
1.5
misspalah's review against another edition
4.0
Our body is the carrier of the stories of the world of the earth of the mother.
Our body is the mother.
Our body came from Mother.
Our body is our home.
We are crying here.
We are found.
We are women.
We are too much.
We are empty.
We are full.
We live in a good body.
We live in the good body.
Good body
Good body
- The Good Body by Eve Ensler
.
.
When i was 2 years old, I was so thin that my mom fed me ‘Appeton’ twice a day. When i was 12 years old, I grew taller than many boys in my class that they became insecure so they called me names. When i was 22 years old, my former classmates hinted that i have a body of a mother that just had given a birth (implying that i have big body that it made me so unattractive). Now that i am 32, i simply don’t give a fuck anymore. I am fat , ugly and super loud but at least i am secure enough to accept me as it is. That being said, the good body came to me on the right time. Reading about women twice my age, taking charge , being unapologetic about their body issue is empowering and i aspire to be this level of unbothered. In all honesty, Eve Ensler did give us diverse insights of what ‘Good Body’ meant to us - how we perceived our body, how we came to reconcile that while it may not fulfilling the global beauty standard, it is us that need to embrace it wholeheartedly. Indeed, it is disheartening reading some stories despite her mother has gone for a decade, yet she was still being haunted by her mother torment about her body. It is also saddening that we women went too far to modify our body simply because to satisfy our partner. There are few quotes that i love in this book that i would like to share.
1. I think for many of us well, for most of us well, maybe for all of us there is one particular part of our body where the badness manifests itself, our thighs, our butt, our breasts, our hair, our nose, our little toe. You know what I'm talking about? It doesn't matter where I've been in the world, whether it's Tehran where women are smashing and remodeling their noses to looks less Iranian, or in Beijing where they are breaking their legs and adding bone to be taller, or in Dallas where they are surgically whittling their feet in order to fit into Manolo Blahniks or Jimmy Choos. Everywhere, the women I meet generally hate one particular part of their bodies. They spend most of their lives fixing it, shrinking it.
2. We have poison in our foreheads, in our chins, like the head of a snake. One more false, humiliating move, you could activate the global posse. Here are things that could do it: People who ask for my honest opinion and then call me a bitch when I give it. People who call it consensual. People who tell me to lighten up when I'm already fucking funny. It's real. It's botulinum. It's in our bodies. A single gram could kill millions. My face could take out most of Manhattan. It gives new meaning to the notion of homeland security. Doesn't it? Who am I? I am the Hillary Clinton who told Bill to fuck himself. I'm the Princess Di who married that Muslim. I am the Margaret Thatcher who wears sexy bras. I am the Madeleine Albright who's proud to be Jew.
3. I am fat, i like food. The way it tastes. The way it goes down. I eat for happiness. I love buffets. We eat at home. Oh, we eat. (Beat) I never missed my mom so much. I don't look fat when I'm with my mom. My family, we are big people, I do not know why they're trying to get me to act small. They're worried. All this talk from the government about blowing up from obesity. I think this government should be worried about blowing up from all these bombs. I'm starving. Give me my momma's home cooking and her fluffy duck ass, and Supersize it. Fat girls are good people. Aren't we, Eve? We deserve to be skinny bitches.
Overall, a great book to understand what body image meant to a women like us. The commodification of it and how the objectification ruined women and womanhood. I wish it was much longer so i could give this 5 stars.
Our body is the mother.
Our body came from Mother.
Our body is our home.
We are crying here.
We are found.
We are women.
We are too much.
We are empty.
We are full.
We live in a good body.
We live in the good body.
Good body
Good body
- The Good Body by Eve Ensler
.
.
When i was 2 years old, I was so thin that my mom fed me ‘Appeton’ twice a day. When i was 12 years old, I grew taller than many boys in my class that they became insecure so they called me names. When i was 22 years old, my former classmates hinted that i have a body of a mother that just had given a birth (implying that i have big body that it made me so unattractive). Now that i am 32, i simply don’t give a fuck anymore. I am fat , ugly and super loud but at least i am secure enough to accept me as it is. That being said, the good body came to me on the right time. Reading about women twice my age, taking charge , being unapologetic about their body issue is empowering and i aspire to be this level of unbothered. In all honesty, Eve Ensler did give us diverse insights of what ‘Good Body’ meant to us - how we perceived our body, how we came to reconcile that while it may not fulfilling the global beauty standard, it is us that need to embrace it wholeheartedly. Indeed, it is disheartening reading some stories despite her mother has gone for a decade, yet she was still being haunted by her mother torment about her body. It is also saddening that we women went too far to modify our body simply because to satisfy our partner. There are few quotes that i love in this book that i would like to share.
1. I think for many of us well, for most of us well, maybe for all of us there is one particular part of our body where the badness manifests itself, our thighs, our butt, our breasts, our hair, our nose, our little toe. You know what I'm talking about? It doesn't matter where I've been in the world, whether it's Tehran where women are smashing and remodeling their noses to looks less Iranian, or in Beijing where they are breaking their legs and adding bone to be taller, or in Dallas where they are surgically whittling their feet in order to fit into Manolo Blahniks or Jimmy Choos. Everywhere, the women I meet generally hate one particular part of their bodies. They spend most of their lives fixing it, shrinking it.
2. We have poison in our foreheads, in our chins, like the head of a snake. One more false, humiliating move, you could activate the global posse. Here are things that could do it: People who ask for my honest opinion and then call me a bitch when I give it. People who call it consensual. People who tell me to lighten up when I'm already fucking funny. It's real. It's botulinum. It's in our bodies. A single gram could kill millions. My face could take out most of Manhattan. It gives new meaning to the notion of homeland security. Doesn't it? Who am I? I am the Hillary Clinton who told Bill to fuck himself. I'm the Princess Di who married that Muslim. I am the Margaret Thatcher who wears sexy bras. I am the Madeleine Albright who's proud to be Jew.
3. I am fat, i like food. The way it tastes. The way it goes down. I eat for happiness. I love buffets. We eat at home. Oh, we eat. (Beat) I never missed my mom so much. I don't look fat when I'm with my mom. My family, we are big people, I do not know why they're trying to get me to act small. They're worried. All this talk from the government about blowing up from obesity. I think this government should be worried about blowing up from all these bombs. I'm starving. Give me my momma's home cooking and her fluffy duck ass, and Supersize it. Fat girls are good people. Aren't we, Eve? We deserve to be skinny bitches.
Overall, a great book to understand what body image meant to a women like us. The commodification of it and how the objectification ruined women and womanhood. I wish it was much longer so i could give this 5 stars.
k5tog's review against another edition
4.0
Well, this really isn't a book... It's a performance of Ensler's one woman play.
Very thought provoking re body image. I loved the African woman's answer to whether she liked her body - (paraprhasing) Like my body? Like? I LOVE my body! Look at all the things it can do!
Very thought provoking re body image. I loved the African woman's answer to whether she liked her body - (paraprhasing) Like my body? Like? I LOVE my body! Look at all the things it can do!
echojar's review against another edition
1.0
Disgusting. There's so much self hatred in here. So much internalized misogyny. I wanted to vomit the entire time I was reading it. Nobody needs this in their life.
e_d_ivey's review against another edition
3.0
This book, though a bit disjointed at times, was resonated painfully with the undercurrent of self-hatred that runs beneath too many women's narratives.
bluenicorn's review against another edition
3.0
Audio. Read by author. Some good excerpts, some meat to chew on over how women view their bodies. Nothing really you haven't heard a million times before, but some of the voices were thought-provoking and well-written. I liked the part about this tree looks different from that tree- would you call one better than the other, or more attractive? I never really thought about it like that. A short read, but decent.
annie_reads_books's review
emotional
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
mckenzierichardson's review against another edition
5.0
Eve Ensler is absolutely phenomenal. This play speaks to anyone who has ever been insecure in their own body, an audience that encompasses most, if not all, of the planet. This was a great quick-read that really puts body issues into perceptive. I think my favorite part was Leah's section. I loved the metaphor she gave on loving one's own body. Overall, this was an interesting read that helps to clear away some of the shame and guilt that we all feel about our physical appearances and brings its audience that much closer to true body acceptance. It was a wonderful read.