Insecurity in "The Body's Defenses Against Itself"

“Maybe it had to do with being in that specific body, a body so different from everyone else’s at school, one that wouldn’t do the things that other people did, or that did too much of them.”

“It was worse than all those things because it said something about my inherent inability to be something normal, to be a girl, to be perfect all or even some of the time.”

In the first quote, Fatima talks about her experience at the doctor for her extreme sweating problem, and her doctor comes to the conclusion that it’s because of anxiety. On the other hand Fatima thinks that it’s because of what she says in the quote, she is insecure about her body, and how it compares to everyone else. The second quote comes later in the story after everyone starts making fun of her for the way she smells.


Although these quotes derive from two very different instances in Fatima’s life they still go back to the same overarching problem: her negative perspective of herself. It’s clear that she has noticed that her body isn’t as developed as the other girls in her school, which has caused her to be really overwhelmed and isolated. Because of the magnitude of those emotions, the result is for her to excessively sweat. On top of all of that, kids also make fun of her condition, which makes things worse for her. I think what’s really important about the first quote is that she’s 11 and she already has this notion that she’s not good enough, and is already comparing herself to other people. It’s really disheartening to see that she has already grown insecurities about herself when she’s only 11. At 11 those are things you shouldn’t be worrying about, you still have a naive perspective of your surroundings. But clearly that was not the case with Fatima.


In the second quote, after getting made fun of for sweating, Fatima realizes that as a girl, she is supposed to perfect. It is part of her nature as a girl, to be perfect, at least most of the time. This quote spoke volumes to me because she’s right. There are so many standards put in place for girls: how they are supposed to look, dress, and act. Sweating is a bodily function, it’s normal, but it’s not normal for girls because girls shouldn’t smell. It was definitely eye-opening for me as well because of the fact that Fatima also holds her self to the standard: that she has to be perfect, but instead, she feels like she’s failed as a girl just because she sweats. It’s just insane to me to realize how much Fatima as a child has so much pressure on herself when that shouldn’t be the case.


In general, I think what the main takeaway from these quotes is that the root of insecurity starts young. Fatima didn’t even live in an age where social media was the norm and she still was fully aware of the standards she was supposed to live up to as a girl. It’s just really sad to see how tough it is for girls to feel comfortable in their own skin.