taking up space

I am thinking about what it means for a woman to take up space in a context that idealizes female smallness. What are the implications of believing that your body must be confined to as little space as possible? Why is taking up space so offensive?

What about your physical being can be so detestable? If you think about it literally, becoming smaller--to the point of anti-health--is to disappear. Why do we worship an ideal that calls for female deterioration?

To impede female competition in the work force? That just seems too contrived.

I suppose if you believe in traditional femininity--you know, you are the counterpart to strength and protection, so you embody frailty and vulnerability--it makes sense that you should be physically worthless, because the very act of your health and strength over space usurps the territory of your protector.

I suppose if you are looking for someone to come around and make you happy, you should be weak so that you can make yourself available for rescue.

Just like a big tree has roots stretching far and wide, I feel like a strong person takes up room literally and figuratively. Confining development and existence, especially self-electing to do so, just sounds horribly self-deprecating.

This really does not resolve this phobia of taking up too much space.

I don't know how (normative) men feel about space. I would think they like to dominate it.