Hey Naked Ladies in the Locker Room,

You terrify me.

You terrify me because you are SO comfortable with your bodies. You strip out of your clothes without a thought, without a care and you bare your body without shame. You don’t care what I, or anyone else, might think. Any judgments that might be passed on your breasts, your stomach, your thighs, your arm flab, your wrinkles, or your stretch marks are dismissed and cannot penetrate your confidence.

You terrify me because I am afraid I will never be that comfortable with my own body. I fear I will always wince at my cottage cheese thighs and my stretch-marked breasts and my love handles and flabby underarms. I mimic your self-assurance and drop my towel in defiance of my own qualms, but I am scared that it will always be monkey-see-monkey-do for me instead of real, true pride in my body for being my vessel and my home.

So please ignore my flushed face and full-body flinches when the door opens and I am still naked. I am a work in progress.

With Utmost Respect and Awe,

Woman/Girl who has been Socialized to Hate her Body