Bitchin’ Chickens Memes: 35

As a woman, and a product of my society, I am acutely aware of the idealized body images we have for both men and women. That being said, we are more forgiving of the purported shortcomings of our male counterparts while women are more scrutinized and criticized for deviating from what is valued or, conversely, rewarded when they do meet those standards.

Many years ago, my professor in a Women’s Studies course asked the class to look at the person seated to their right and then look at themselves. We were then instructed to raise our hand if we thought the person next to us was an ‘acceptable’ weight. All of us raised our hands. When asked how we judged ourselves the class overwhelmingly felt we were lacking. Interestingly, the one male student was the only one who thought he was acceptable. Scanning that class, we all became aware that most of the women who felt inadequate were far more accepting of their colleagues with the same body type.

“In a society that profits from your self-doubt, liking yourself is a rebellious act” Caroline Caldwell

Chickens make me laugh: the way they cluck, peck around in the dirt, run and especially their body types. Making memes about hens as stand-ins for women, is my way of pointing out the crazy-making pressures our culture puts on us to strive for often unattainable, and even more often, unhealthy ‘goals’.

That said, we can all laugh at the roly-poly physiques of some of the girls featured here.