My Body Will Be Mine!

You shrink me into a shell,

Tell me I'm not enough.

My hair, my thighs -

Never good enough.

Tell me to hate my body-

When you don't even love yours.

Expect me to stand tall on your fake standards,

Just to please your ego.

You pit me against women,

Teach me to betray my kind.

You're not my saviour -

Just a devil in disguise.

My body is not a battleground,

I will escape your voice.

I'll love this body,

Your capitalism can't find.

So listen now -

You'll mould to my body.

Mine will be ever so bold. Loud.

Unapologetically Mine.

An ode for anyone who's ever disliked their imperfections ~You are enough

(Poem by Anvita Sethi, Co-founder, Untamed)

Ageism and Body Image in Women

.......If you come to think of it, ‘age-appropriate’ is actually a socially constructed concept deeply rooted in patriarchal control. The belief that a woman’s worth and range of expression should be linked to her sexual availability and desirability, but only within a narrow, socially sanctioned age window. Younger women are shamed for “asking for it,” while older women are shamed for daring to express sexuality at all.

It’s a double bind that ensures compliance and silence at every stage of life.

The Untamed Neena Gupta celebrated her 66th birthday recently wearing a gorgeous dress designed by her daughter, Masaba Gupta, which the internet wasn’t happy with.

While body image issues are seen as a ‘modern day struggle of young girls & women’, the subtle, yet entrenched expectations from and the pressures faced by women at senior ages often go unseen. Have you ever noticed how an ageing woman is allowed visibility only if she conforms to the societal script of being graceful, modest, and invisible in terms of sexual expression?

Dr. Seema Anand, a storyteller and educator rooted in ancient Indian traditions of sensuality and body wisdom, is another woman who advocates for reclaiming body autonomy and sexual expression, at any age. Her unabashed presence on social media, where she shares stories, wisdom, and sensual aesthetics, challenges the narrow definitions of “graceful aging” and reminds us that older women are not past their bloom, they are in full, untamed flower.

(Article by Saumya Garg, Co-founder, Untamed)