Wow, I’ve just uncovered a ton of draft posts that for some reason (probably episodes of writer’s block) just needed a sentence or two to finish and post. This one’s from last September! Sorry about the delay! —fl

Bond of Dear Diaspora has a cool, cool post about body image, presentation, and visual “truth.” (Emphasis mine)

A friend of mine explains our mutual friend’s recent swing toward femininity by saying that she’s interested in being sexy and attractive.

Another friend complains to me about someone responding to her masculine clothes by lamenting that she has such a nice figure, why doesn’t she show it off?

These are two incidents among many like them, all pointing toward the same conclusion: there is one right, attractive way to present a female body.

Let us first establish that presentation is not true. Not so much in the “don’t judge a book by its cover” sense as: there are a hundred ways to represent something, and done properly, each of them is extremely convincing, so convincing you will find yourself believing it.

...

My choice to de-emphasize my breasts and draw attention to my shoulders is no less accurate or honest an image than the opposite. Both the breasts and the shoulders are mine. I should be able to position them however I want.

Definitely read the whole thing here.

I realize it might already be obvious to everyone else but me. And goodness knows appearance, appearing, and the performance of appearance have been heavily critiqued. What I appreciate about this, though, is that what Bond’s talking about is about her intention to be seen.

Anyway, it makes sense. I mean, we all already appear different to other people. For instance without dressing or standing differently at all I look old to my children, young to my parents.

Sure, there’s the perfectly real chance that while Bond might prefer to draw attention to her shoulders, and her friend to her breasts, onlookers might instead direct their attention somewhere else entirely (e.g. face, legs, hands.) Lead a horse to water and all that. But it makes sense that it would be legitimate for us to condition how we’re seen by others based on our image of ourselves and based on the image we desire to present.