Mechanical Fragility

words & artwork Isabelle Raven

We are sexualised for where the fat falls on our bodies and quite frankly, I’ve had enough. By embracing the curvy nature of the female form, Mechanical Fragility highlights that the female body is natural and is to be understood as such. The ebbs and flows of negative ruminations cause serious effect to not only the body, but also mental health, which in turn has a decaying effect on the quality of life. Establishing a positive relationship with the body by disregarding societal expectations and understanding the innately gorgeous, sculptural state of ourselves will guide the system to change and improve the value we place on ourselves. It’s quite unfortunate we have to consider how to create this change in first place.

For me, body image and insecurities are congruent. I’ve lived most of my life double checking myself in the mirror and constantly thinking about the way I’m being visually perceived. It is the broken capitalist system we are under which has instilled these insecurities. The beauty industry plays a huge role in this, viewing profit as a positive outcome; never addressing the negative side effects of their industry model. By living in this female body, we are subject to the calls from across the street, the expectation to fit in to a tiny frame set by society and to loathe ourselves for the curves that protect our organs. We are situated in a vicious cycle that reinforces the negative ruminations we have become so dismissive of through the system we live under.