Get ready…this dietitian is a (proud) feminist. We need to explode the idea of “health” having cultural capital. Let me elaborate.

In my work I know acutely that challenging feelings about one’s body are not the exclusive experience of any gender identity. And yet, impossible societal standards for women’s bodies are especially suffocating. 

Explicitly and implicitly, our culture teaches women that beauty is our commodity. In the 21st century “health” has become a code word for beauty and both are defined by thinness. Beauty sounds superficial; “health” does not.

I’m using the word “health” in quotations because this definition actually doesn’t have much to do with authentic health. Authentic health takes into account physical, psychological and emotional health. The version of “health” I’m talking about here is the look of health as defined by our culture; it is frequently at odds with authentic health.

So “health” (previously beauty) has historically been one of women’s most powerful forms of cultural capital – a noneconomic resource that we use to signal our power and value in society. In a world that allows women so little power, it makes sense that we feel like we need to access any form of it that is socially sanctioned. 

I am sure some of you might point out how far women’s rights have come. And yes, we are far closer to equality than we were in the 1960s but consider these stats: 

• In 2022, women earned 82 cents on the dollar earned by a man, up from 59 cents on the dollar in 1963. At this rate, it will take another 50 years to reach pay equality. 
• Women are 2 out of every 3 full-time workers in occupations that pay less than $30,000 per year, and fewer than 1 in 3 full-time workers in jobs paying an average of $100,000 or more. However, even within the same occupations, women earn less on average than men.
• The US is the only developed country without paid maternity leave. 
• 25% of mothers who have experienced homelessness reported leaving jobs or school due to lack of child care.
• Mothers with the same job as their childless female peers – with the same experience and education are paid an hourly wage that is 5% lower for each child they have.
• Women in the U.S. consistently turn out to vote at higher rates than men. But they are significantly underrepresented as policy makers in government – particularly in the South. Women make up about 30% of elected positions. 
• Only 10% of fortune 500 companies are led by women CEOs. (Note: That stat was achieved for the first time in 2023 and celebrated as a success. No.)

I don’t know about you but for me this is far from enough. Equality means equal.

So, yes, I believe a big part of women aspiring for “health” (read beauty, read thinness), is our attempt to grasp at whatever power we can get. And in this grasping is a real catch-22. The standards we’re trying to achieve are illusive. Culture tells us it’s never enough. We’re never enough. And this hamster wheel leaves few resources to pursue the things that will actually deliver equality. The perpetual striving for getting or staying smaller keeps us small. This is a convenient way to uphold our patriarchal society, not to mention many of the racist systems that prop it up. 

In my experience working with and personally knowing many women at the top of male-dominated fields, their success does not lessen the pressure to achieve or maintain “health”. In fact, it seems as if it’s a prerequisite to earning, deserving, and maintaining their career successes. In our culture’s current version of value and success, no one wins.

But can you imagine something different for women with me? How about we say F-it to the concerns of being too loud, too smart, too intimidating, too opinionated, too bitchy, too big…too much? It might be messy but we can step off the hamster wheel together. We can stop policing each other – our daughters, friends, coworkers, acquaintances and strangers. We can take up space. We can forgive each other for not doing it perfectly or looking perfect while we do it. 

I am not saying I don’t think authentic health has personal value. I’m a dietitian. I love health! But practicing accessible behaviors to help you towards health should be for you, the individual. It’s not a moral imperative and it shouldn’t be imperative for power, acceptance or safety.

Health should be about helping you feel as good in your body as possible so that you can be all-in in life. So that you can take up space in any way you want. So that we can all witness you and not the “you” you think the world thinks is palatable. 

This is what I tell myself. Writing this down is me taking up space. Maybe it’s messy and I’m sure it’s imperfect but it’s my starting point. Who’s with me?

If want support exploring what authentic health looks like for you so that you can be all-in in life, let’s work together. 

A note about my positionality: I am a white, cis-gendered, straight-sized, heterosexual, able-bodied, neurotypical, middle to upper class woman who has had access to higher levels of education. My lived experiences are a small and limited view of the overall human experience. I acknowledge the many privileges I hold which impact my views and welcome other viewpoints and constructive criticism. I’m ever-learning and ever-evolving.