Body Image

Our relationships with our own bodies: how we see and feel about all or some of our parts, the good, the bad, and the work-in-progress.

Articles and Advice in this area:

Article
  • Samantha Benac

Contrary to a common public opinion, there’s no right or wrong way to have sex.

Article
  • Samantha Benac

Women get a whole lot of messages about body hair. So how do you figure out what you want in terms of shaving and other personal grooming?

Article
  • Samantha Benac

When we have sex, all of our bodies’ small idiosyncrasies, quirks, and so-called “flaws” are on display. Our natural functions are part of life.

Announcement
  • Heather Corinna

I saw a young woman the other day who was in her late teens. I had a moment of admiring how strong her legs looked, how able her shoulders; where she had curves and where she didn’t, how kind of mixed-up and funky some of her coloring and parts were, a study in contrasts. It was a moment of…

Article
  • Samantha Benac

Many women and girls feel insecure about sex, especially when it’s new. How can we build some sexual confidence?

Advice
  • Sam Wall

Oh, pubic hair. One of those subjects that, when brought up, generally kick-starts a furious debate about which option (shaved, trimmed, left alone) is the most attractive, the most empowered, the most hygienic, etc. And, depending on how much you follow this debate, you may end up feeling like no…

Announcement
  • Cassandra Leveille

Ever since puberty, I found my body to be a site of shame, something I desperately wanted to escape. A transplant to predominantly white Catholic schools on Long Island, I was immediately deemed ugly. I had an older sister, but we were close enough in age that we were navigating puberty around the same time. As second-generation daughters of immigrant parents, we were on our own as far as navigating the personal and social meanings of our bodies.

Advice
  • Heather Corinna

I think this is a really great question, and I admire how honestly you’ve asked something that leaves people feeling so vulnerable. It’s something we’ve had others bring up or ask about over the years, so it’s definitely relevant to more people than just yourself. And that includes people who did…

Article
  • Heather Corinna
  • Karyn Fulcher

Feeling low about your body and how it looks? Thinking about, or already doing, some drastic things to try and change it? You’re not alone. But you can get to a better place with your body and how you feel about it without doing anything that keeps you feeling just as bad, or puts your physical or mental health at risk. Here’s some ways to ditch the die(t)s and go for the happy, healthy do’s.

Advice
  • Heather Corinna

(Porte’s question continued) I’m ashamed of my body. I’m scared of showing him. All my life I’ve been made fun of for being ‘fat’ my whole life basically. I don’t care what people say about me anymore (usually) and I like myself. Kinda. I don’t think of myself as like…this huge chick who stuffs…