Carmen Maria Machado takes the phrase “Real Women Have Bodies” literally as her story with that title follows an outbreak of mysterious disappearances by women, but the women who “disappear” do not vanish, just merely exist as a spiritual entity that cannot be touched by the physical world. Through the protagonist and her relationship with Petra, the amount of time a woman takes to “disappear” is revealed as Petra goes through the process. Ironically, her name derives from petros, which is a Greek word for “stone” or “rock.”
Machado used this story to make a bold statement that the universe does not see people who do not dress feminine as women; therefore, they vanish from the title. Dresses are an iconic example of femininity, therefore their spirits would cling (or rather feel attached) to the symbol as that was who they were/are: a woman.
One of the women who did not vanish was Gizzy, her boss at Glam. However, it is revealed that her daughter, unfortunately, did not have the same fate and ultimately “vanished.”
She is my mother’s age, maybe a little older, but her face is strangely youthful and unlined. She paints her mouth matte peach every day, so evenly and cleanly that if you look at her too hard, you might faint. I think her eyeliner is tattooed on her lids. (125)
Petra, however, is referred to in the exact opposite way. They describe her style are more grunge, less feminine.
Casey referred to her as a dyke once during a smoke break, but he’s too afraid of her to say anything to her face. (127)
Machado also made references to other female characters or myths including selkies, Banshee, and a character from Hamlet called Ophelia. She made several references and comparisons when describing the types of dresses, colors, and fabrics in the store to the ocean.