LETTERS

L-J

OUR BODIES, OUR SELVES

I have been reading the magazine for about five years now. DIVA was the first thing I turned to when I was starting to become comfortable with who I was and buying my first copy of DIVA face-to-face in a newsagents felt like meeting a huge milestone in selfacceptance. I have bought DIVA every month since then.

In some issues I have felt connected to the content discussed, while others have left me cold. The March issue however, has had me gripped, encompassing my lived experience in a way I didn’t think DIVA would ever do.

I am on the autistic spectrum and have struggled immensely with finding ways to meet other women that do not involve bars and clubs. I was reassured to read that I was not the only one! It was brilliant to read an article focusing on the difficulties of sexuality and disability. I also have a chronic physical illness which led to me to hate my body for many, many years. Freiya Benson’s writing on living in her own body was incredibly touching and made me cry. She voiced many of the feelings, thoughts and fears I have had and, although our circumstances are very different, reading her story gave me hope that one day we both might feel our bodies are enough.