SMWI*: Come on Ursula. Nobody believes that. No pain…

Posted on by Live & Learn

black-cat

Perfection is “lean” and “taut” and “hard” — like a boy athlete of twenty, a girl gymnast of twelve. What kind of body is that for a man of fifty or a woman of any age? “Perfect”? What’s perfect? A black cat on a white cushion, a white cat on a black one … A soft brown woman in a flowery dress… There are a whole lot of ways to be perfect, and not one of them is attained through punishment.

~ Ursula Le Guin, on dieters and exercisers in Ursula K. Le Guin – On Aging and What Beauty Really Means

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17 thoughts on “SMWI*: Come on Ursula. Nobody believes that. No pain…”

    1. Interesting perspective, I’m not sure I fully agree (for a change). Chocolate bears up at all distances. Cheesy Pasta. Pistachio Ice Cream. Hot Chocolate with Marshmallows in Winter. Chocolate chip cookies. Shall I go on?

  4. i think t’s important to approach the world and live in it, by traveling softly through it. and that includes going easy on ourselves – we are humans and not machines, as much as we try to transform into them at times. this is where the inner conflict lies.

  6. I’m going through a really funny about my age at the moment. It’s just that when I’m not looking in the mirror, I feel moderately young, but directly I see my reflection it causes a bit of a schism in my head. So, yes, I know exactly what Ursula Le Guin is talking about in the linked article.

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