nutrition

So, I've been a little frustrated lately. As a feminist, I often struggle with my goals of health, fitness and weight loss. My professors often talk about "beating one's body into submission" as a woman. Or conforming to what media messages say we should look like, what ideological structures hold us to. I'm not overweight, but I'm not completely happy with my body right now. I guess I just don't know if my goals for a thinner (not emaciated mind you) more fit body is driven by what I see around me, instead of what I know is right for my body. I know that I will be more comfortable and confident with myself if I get back to a healthier weight, but I have trouble distinguishing the source of this goal. I've been trying to lose some weight now for several months, actively since mid-June at least. I'm a fairly recent vegetarian, and I eat as healthfully as I can (for the most part). It's difficult in college, where the most tempting food is to eat out at restaurants, and fresh fruits and veggies go bad when your on a crazy exam/paper/work/sorority schedule. I guess I'm just struggling with whether I'm working this hard for the "right" reasons.

Feminism?

So, in my Gender and Media class today, we were talking about feminism. We read a very interesting article by Susan Douglas called "I'm Not a Feminist, but...". It basically talks about the backlash of the term "feminist". Many women would say that they believe and support women's rights, however, they balk at the term feminist. A Feminist is often associated with the extremes; bitchy, over-bearing, lesbian etc...This is so sad to me, especially since the term is not meant to be associated with those things at all. That is like saying that the extreme or fringe of any group (Civil Rights, Anti-War) defines the whole group. Can't someone believe and want to fight for women's rights without being a bra-burning man-hater?