"Unruly Body"
Gay confesses, “I don’t have any powerful insight into what it takes to overcome an unruly body and unruly appetites. Mine is not a success story.” The metaphorical unruly body implies that Gay has been having difficulties taming her weight. Her body weight is beyond her control (unruly).
Cage
Gay affirms, “This is the reality of living in my body: I am trapped in a cage. The frustrating thing about the cages is that you-re tapped but you can see exactly what you want. You can reach out from the cage, but only so far. It would be easy to pretend I am just fine with my body as it is." The metaphoric cage underscores’ Gay’s difficulty in accepting her big body. Consciously she recognizes that she can accept herself unconditionally. Unconsciously she yearns for a leaner body. The divergence between the two desires complicates the process of exiting the cage.
