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Post Pandemic Femininity
My re-entry into society mid-pandemic has altered my entire understanding and identity of being feminine.
I had very strong (and old fashioned) notions of femininity. Or, I have been very susceptible to all the media I’ve consumed about what constitutes being a woman.
I am also in my mid forties, which allows me to say things like “I’m an aging woman” and know that the upkeep of my appearance keeps getting more expensive the older I get.
First, there is the fashion, every season comes with different looks and more clothes to buy and to fit into. Sometimes the fashion industry calls things “classic” to get you to think that you can continue wearing them beyond their years. Keeping up with fashion also means always being on some sort of dietary restriction. Especially because sizing across different brands means different things. Ann Taylor is generous and says I’m a skinny size 6, but Carolina Herrera flips me off and says I can’t even fit into her size 12, so move it along!
Then there’s the clothes under the clothes, so you won’t be able to see underwear lines or even the folds of my belly who mothered two children. There’s spanx and girdles and slips. The bra gets tighter and stiffer, you know, for support. And it’s all terribly uncomfortable.
