One of the most urgent themes of the novel is the exploitation of the female body and its damaging effects. Camille states:

Women get consumed. Not surprising, considering the sheer amount of traffic a woman’s body experiences. Tampons and speculums. Cocks, fingers, vibrators and more, between the legs, from behind, in the mouth. Men love to put things inside women, don’t they? Cucumbers and bananas and bottles, a string of pearls, a Magic Marker, a fist. Once a guy tried to wedge a Walkie-Talkie inside of me. I declined (204).

While Camille was sexually abused at the age of thirteen by older boys, this quote represents a deeper level of daily abuse; in particular, an unwillingly penetration coming from “tampons and speculums,” items meant to be helpful rather than harmful (204). The fact that these items are related to medicine is of importance, considering Camille’s experiences with Adora, who only demonstrated affection when forcing Camille to ingest poisons. This theme of unwanted penetration, either from men or her own mother, is the basis of Camille’s damaged psychological state throughout the course of the novel.

Camille self-harms by penetrating her skin with sharp objects. Her cutting first started at age thirteen, after her sister Marian died.