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    1. This article is so good and I resonated with it so much, as a Southern white girl.

      >I still felt like a woman, but I didn’t always feel comfortable performing womanhood in the way the West had deemed appropriate.

      I grew up traditionally very pretty (Ganesh is absolutely beautiful) but I couldn’t conform to all this, and it led to a lot of rejection over time, from both other women and from men. Even within my own family. I think less attractive people are not pressured to the same extent.

      It’s always made me sad to realize how differently I’m treated when I dress and present a specific way. I’m even treated as more intelligent if I do the dog and pony show. It feels so empty and shallow, and I can’t respect people who require it.

    2. Mundane-Bug-4962 on

      As a person of Indian origin – it is absolutely laughable to point fingers at the West in this way. She did not question gender in India because Indian society is far more prescriptive.

    3. Very thoughtful piece. A great read.

      I – stupidly – assumed that since she is an extremely beautiful woman, she would never have experienced something like struggling to fit into the narrow mold of feminity.

      It’s always good to remind ourselves that we never know what other people have faces or still struggle with.

    4. I enjoyed reading this, it’s interesting hearing about a different perspective. I think a lot of us experience similar feelings of disconnect when it comes to traditional femininity/masculinity, but there’s another layer when you originally come from a different cultural or ethnic background.

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