Women Open Up About the Body Discomforts and Concerns That Come With Womanhood

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Briana Viser • Writer and Editor
Mar 1, 2024 3:00 PM EST

It's 2024, as society has made some incredible, indelible breakthroughs regarding medicine, health, and equality. There's a lot to be thankful for; modern contraceptive methods, debunking and redefining terms like 'harassment' to be more inclusive, taking turns towards a more equal quality of life in terms of social and economical rights, yet life will never be fully fair. Despite all the positivity and breakthroughs there's something left to complain about: sometimes it just really sucks to be a girl. 

Regardless of the modern medical world being shaped to better accommodate women, there's still some irrevocable factors that will always leave us bummed out regarding our bodies. It's not easy to be a woman, whether it's being catcalled and sexually shamed for your body, being told you're not good enough for your body, putting beauty on a pedestal as the highest element to define you as a woman, or just going through aches and pains of period cramps from our womanly bodies. Let us know if this piece resonates with you like it did with us.

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  • 01
    r/TheGirl SurvivalGuide 1 imnowonderwoman How do you make peace with the cost of having female body?
    via u/TheGirl SurvivalGuide
  • 02
    I'm referring mostly to the built-in problems that come with a female body. I had my first period at 12 and I get a lot of mood swings and low- key pain. I don't even have "bad" periods but they are still a bummer.
    via u/TheGirl SurvivalGuide
  • 03
    I am now 28 and I can't really figure out if I want children or not because pregnancy sounds like a body horror experience. It's good that the realities of pregnancy are talked about more openly now, but I love watching female stand up and I always end up feeling sick whenever they talk about their experiences. The fact that if I mess up my birth control I can accidentally gestate a
    via u/TheGirl SurvivalGuide
  • 04
    human and end up being torn open is terrifying. And people will be happy for me!!!! But oh well, I can use birth control to skip my period and prevent pregnancy. That reduces a lot of the problems right? Wrong, since I just discovered the menopause subreddit and apparently I have a 60-70% chance of vaginal atrophy when I'm
    via u/TheGirl SurvivalGuide
  • 05
    in my 50s? What the ? Where's the happy ending I was hoping for at the end of the monstrous fertility road? Honestly, Im terrified. It feels like my body is built to kill me or seriously my life at any point. All the social consequences of being a woman just pale in comparison. And the fact that all this pain and
    via u/TheGirl SurvivalGuide
  • 06
    the fact that all this pain and uncomfortable experiences are the bare minimum standard of the woman experience is just infuriating. Oh and by the way, medical research doesn't really focus on us since we already are expected to suffer a ton in general.
    via u/TheGirl SurvivalGuide
  • 07
    I know I should feel open, neutral or even curious to experience all these things, but I can't seem to get past anger right now. Like yes maybe I'll get "lucky" with birth and menopause the same way I got "lucky" with my periods not being that bad. But it still really sucks.
    via u/TheGirl SurvivalGuide
  • 08
    I'm not amused and I hope there's a heaven after I die so I can kick someone's up there. How do you make peace with inhabiting a female body? Update: woah thanks to everyone who commented! Everyone helped in their own way, either raging with me or giving me good advice. It was cathartic, thank you!
    via u/TheGirl SurvivalGuide
  • 09
    I do want to clarify that I do not wish I was a man, that I am a feminist too and that I am in therapy already lol. I stayed away from bringing up my views on being a woman from a sociopolitical standpoint because I felt like even if I lived in the most egalitarian progressive country in the world right now, having a female body carries a huge physical cost. Having the world witness it and pass
    via u/TheGirl SurvivalGuide
  • 10
    Having the world witness it and pass judgement on it and place demands on it is a whole other dimension of as well.
    via u/TheGirl SurvivalGuide
  • 11
    MrsChess 17h ago It frustrates me that my energy levels and overall mood basically seem to be ruled by my cycle and I'm aware of this when I'm being angry and mean right before my period yet I can't break the behaviour, the hormones are stronger. It frustrates me that the entire world is based on male
    via u/MrsChess
  • 12
    world is based on male hormonal fluctuations which is a 24h cycle rather than 28 days. I really just need a week every month where I just freaking rest but I can't.
    via u/MrsChess
  • 13
    bluntbangs 17h ago I think peace is impossible to achieve. Why should I be at peace with being valued as lesser simply because my body is of the type built to build things? Why should I be at peace with being targeted by inhabitants of stronger bodies just because they feel like it? Why should I be at peace with
    via u/bluntbangs
  • 14
    billions of people formed just like me not being allowed to learn to read, or be educated about what their bodies are, simply because they are formed this way?
    via u/bluntbangs
  • 15
    But peace is overrated anyway. I have divided my feelings into two. First, feelings about my body as a place to live. Second, feelings about living in this world in this body.
    via u/bluntbangs
  • 16
    The first I have dealt with through accepting my body. It's not going to change unless through time or effort or bad luck, so best to see it for what it is and learn to appreciate it. It's amazing. It lets me explore, it lets me create, it lets me read and dance and sing. When I became a mother I was even more appreciative
    via u/bluntbangs
  • 17
    because even though the pregnant body is heavily policed and arguably out of our control, it's also outside of normal expectations and that's quite freeing. Of course then I gave birth and was immediately angry that any man had the audacity to claim any superiority over women - are their bodies capable of even
    via u/bluntbangs
  • 18
    half what ment women's are?! The second I find useful reading feminist literature, books that deal with thought and nature.
    via u/bluntbangs
  • 19
    mynamecouldbesam. 17h ago Totally agree. And it's not just in medicine. Women are 17% more likely to die in a car crash than men, and 71% more likely to get injured because cars are built to ensure the safety of the average male. Crash test dummies are built to male specs.
    via u/mynamecouldbesam
  • 20
    It happens throughout society. Tools are created for men (and those created for women apparently have to be pink and/or flowery), bricks were created to fit men's hands. Bags of cement were created for the average man to lift. There's no reason why any of these things couldn't be a bit smaller to better fit women AND men.
    via u/mynamecouldbesam
  • 21
    Even the average phone size is created to fit in the average man's hand. Hence the need for all of these pop sockets. Women in the British police force have been reported to have to undergo breast reductions to be able to wear their stab vests properly because they were made for men.
    via u/mynamecouldbesam
  • 22
    It's everywhere, and it does annoy me, as you can probably tell. I don't make peace with it. I rage!
    via u/mynamecouldbesam
  • 23
    Constipatedbride • 17h ago Its pretty brutal. It feels even worse if you're not at least what people deem an acceptable appearance for a woman, so people just are unnecessarily rude or mean to you compared to if you mean their stupid beauty standards. You're also expected to take on so many
    via u/Constipatedbride
  • 24
    more burdens than men are. Men can get away with so much awful and it's "just how they are" but women are shamed for existing. My same. My periods were debilitating as a teenager, aren't shaped the nobody really taught me about or birth control so I was
    via u/Constipatedbride
  • 25
    sup... 14h ago Edited 14h ago I refuse to view my body as my enemy for functioning the way it is meant to. She's doing her best. She doesn't know I don't want children right now so I don't need to have a period. She doesn't know that she bleeds too much, and reduces my iron levels. She's just trying to keep me in top shape as best
    via u/sup...
  • 26
    she can. It helps to think of my body as both me and not me. I am my body, and I am also living in my body. She might make mistakes just like I do. I might make mistakes and hurt her. She's not built to kill me, she's built to keep me alive, and she's done a bang up job of it. She's gotten me this far.
    via u/sup...
  • 27
    Heidi739 17h ago ● I don't have an answer, but I completely get you. It's such a pain in the I just wish I was born without the organs. Not to be a man, I'm happy with my assigned gender, but without the hassle of female reproductive organs.
    via u/Heidi739
  • 28
    itsfineimfinejk. 17h ago I don't. I spend a lot of time being annoyed at all the we have to deal with on a regular basis that gets completely overlooked, and depending on the day it either fuels me or exhausts me.
    via u/itsfineimfinejk

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relationships feminism lol love womens-health body body positivity female reddit thread Reddit funny women female body dating
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