Ok im pretty self confident. But whenever someone glances at my body my mind gets to racing. I just came back from the mall and of course people looked at me. Girls and guys but especially when guys look at me Im thinking to myself are they going “oh she got a nice body for a slim black girl” ( cuz black women are expected to be thick) are they looking at my arms and going they’re so tiny. Are they picturing me as athletic and active. Are they saying my strides are so graceful .Or just a lazy bum that happens to be slim. I wish I could look at myself and the way it moves from outside my body. What would I think about my bodies look and movement if I was an outsider looking in. Like my conscious floats out and I can see. It’s kinda hard to just observe the body when you’re out in public. I can’t just stand in the middle and watch. But honestly not just me, I wish I could just see in a spiritual way the way we mammals dance through life.
Thats why I really liked LaMothes piece because I feel like were saying similar things. Like twinnn👯♀️. There really is something so deep and beautiful about how we and the Earth move. It’s just us. I think more humans should have that mentality. Think of Earth as your twin flame that you’re connected too by fate and science. We live on a planet that was made for us. She has everything we need. Her piece made me a little emotional especially this ending quote: “Humans are who they are, able to bond near and far, / by moving with others around and above, / wanting and needing to live in love, / equipped with the power to detect / the subtle moves of a dance dialect. / Nothing more or less, than an impulse to connect”.
Unruly Bodies 
Beautiful thoughts.
The Lamothe piece spoke to me too, and I have a similar feeling as the one you shared but as a fat person. I feel like the way I see myself in the mirror versus real life are so different. It definitely tells me something that I love myself more when I am posed in the mirror at a “good” angle than in pictures where I’m just being myself. Even in public when I see someone looking at me (probably because I looked at them first) I wonder if they are criticizing my body in their minds. As if it matters. Thank you for your honesty and vulnerability in sharing your story.
I admire your reflection and how you think about your connection to your body and the world around you. I think it’s natural to wonder how others perceive us, especially when societal expectations and personal insecurities come into play. But your curiosity about seeing yourself from an outsider’s perspective reflects a desire to understand not just how you look, but how you move through life and interact with the world. I like your connection to LaMothe’s piece, especially the way you tie her message to the broader idea of humans as interconnected beings on this Earth. Embracing that perspective can make self-perception feel less about judgment and more about shared beauty and connection.