I, like many girls and women of all shapes and sizes, have “struggled
with weight” since middle school. Right around that age where puberty begins, I
became aware that I had smaller breasts, smaller hips, thinner thighs, and more
visible ribs than any other girls my age. Now I don’t know if it’s just a part
of the “haters gonna hate” rule of life, or if it were actual genuine concern,
but as soon as I hit high school, my self-consciousness was magnified by a
constant stream of, “Did you eat enough?”… “Do you have an eating disorder?”… “You’re
disgusting. Bitch, eat a BAGEL.”… “Are you bulimic?”
I have never been anorexic. I have never been bulimic. I
have never had an eating disorder of any kind—unless you count eating lots and
lots of junk food because I hoped that it might make me gain weight so that
people would stop making me feel so incredibly uncomfortable about my body. I
have never been an athlete, either—so those who wondered if I had an exercise “disorder”
were also incorrect. All of these questions, all of these comments made me feel
uncomfortable, self-conscious, and ugly.
Somehow it seems like the overweight people of the world
think that we, the naturally slender, have no feelings. Somehow it seems like
the overweight people of the world think that we are robot super-humans who don’t
have any normal human struggles—especially not in the midst of life’s most
trying times, like puberty or pregnancy!
“Real men like curves—only dogs like bones.” Have you heard
that one before? It’s one of the most offensive things I’ve ever seen on the
internet.
How are things like this supposed to make HEALTHY women feel
about themselves? Something is seriously wrong when the woman who has taken
care of herself posts flattering post-pregnancy photos online and she gets
attacked and banned left and right.
Something is seriously wrong when a pregnant woman is told
to her face that she is causing harm to her unborn child by being thin.
I shouldn’t have to be armed and ready with my standby
response of “well I have Gestational Diabetes, so with my forced healthy diet I
haven’t gained much weight.” I shouldn’t have to apologize for being fit.
Teenage girls of ANY shape or size should not be caused by
friends or by teachers to think less of themselves for something that they have
ZERO control over.
It’s completely unacceptable to make negative comments about
people who are overweight. So why is it acceptable to overtly make fun of, put
down, and cause thin people to feel guilty, unattractive, unhealthy, and
abnormal?
