Excerpt From
Her Body and Other Parties
Carmen Maria Machado
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Dear Reader,

The story of “Eight Bites” is a somber, complex story that goes over the issue of body image in today’s society, especially for women. The narrator, who appears to be fat, is someone who isn’t happy with their body due to societal expectations. Her mother isn’t the same way as she is, which makes her question why her body is the way it is. She grew up with strict expectations of maintaining a certain body shape, and this is seen through her mother only consuming eight bites which also explains the title of the story. After having a child, Cal, the child appears to be just like her mother. Fat. The narrator went through with the surgery to adjust herself to conform to societal standards and the definition of “pretty”. During this process, the only person who opposes this idea is her daughter, Cal.

The narrator doesn’t seem to be negatively affected by the surgery as much as her daughter. She feels proud of her journey until her daughter calls her and asks whether she hates her body to which she breaks down and hangs up. At this point, her daughter serves as a reminder of her former self and the way she used to view herself. It was truly upsetting for me to read this, as her daughter feels like her body isn’t worth loving after the person who gave her the body started getting surgery to change it. Was it all worth it? Is she truly happy after getting the surgery? She also encounters a ghostly figure in her home, a figure that is described as something in deep pain but hidden from everyone else but her. This figure serves as a reminder to the narrator of her old self, and how it will always follow her no matter what she does to change herself. It symbolizes the narrator’s guilt and regret that follows after the surgery, and that nothing is happiness and “pretty”.

The narrator, in Eight Bites, is someone who may be happy and pretty on the outside, but deep down, she experiences feelings of pain, regret, and guilt. Growing up, she had always been taught to put on a mask and conform to societal standards. It’s clear that there’s only one definition of “pretty”, and that is skinny. She may be a pretty girl on the outside now, but what about that true side of her that remains unresolved? It won’t ever return.

This image reflects a happy “perfect” woman in the mirror, who aligns with all societal expectations. However, deep down, she has some unresolved conflicts with herself. The broken mirror symbolizes how the old her, the true her, will never be able to return.