Thursday, June 25, 2009

Giving Love to The unintended Audience

I would never be the one to down play the discrimination an overweight person may experience. Still I believe there is a double standard for what’s an acceptable way to address a skinnier person rather that a person that is overweight. My whole life I’ve had a really small frame, and my whole life I’ve gotten shocking comments about it. I’ve gotten disgusted looks, people poking and tugging at like I’m an unknown object they just discovered, and off the wall comments people pretend I can’t hear.
Now what I experience, an overweight person or a person bigger than me, might experience ten times worse, but that’s not to say I’m not affected all the same. I watch television shows all the time on overweight teens or adults who are ostracized for their imperfections and people who are judging them are made to look like monsters (which they should be). Yet what I rarely see is, a show about a skinny teen who is told she is too small or assumed to be anorexic when she feels she look healthy. These body empowerment movements are sometimes so one-sided, they assume since a thinner frame has the closer body to the quote on quote acceptable body type for society that I would need no encouragement to love me for me. The anger that has built up in certain people who are not the typical image society portrays as okay, has turned into them now slamming those who do fit into the stereotype or has been the one to make them feel lesser, so now they feel it is ok to do what was done to them.
Many times I had associates or people I’ve met make comments about how much I need to eat or how I’m just skin and bones or just ridiculing my body in a way that is disrespectful. The thing that makes it is so bad, is I know that they would never go up to an overweight person and say you are so fat you need to stop eating or something of that manner. While they might, they believe it’s not as cruel if they say it to me. Now I know my friends or associates are not saying it to be hurtful or vicious, but why they would think it would be alright to say that to me but not another person. Their common simple-minded excuse is its good that I’m and skinny and that I shouldn’t take their joke so seriously skinny I should be happy. well it’s a little hard to feel that way when someone is putting you down for being yourself that is a touchy subject for anyone,who enjoys being themself and wouldnt want to be put dowm for it.
Although this seems to be a continuous effort for me to ignore little stares and side comments. Over the years I’ve learned that wasting my time on trying to convince someone that I’m not unhealthy or defend how I was skin I was born in, is just a waste of time. I should just accept some people’s ignorance but know that as long as I know who I am and what I’m doing is okay, who cares what others establish as acceptable or normal.

1 comment:

  1. Nice job, good effort. You really get down to some interesting angles on this issue of body image. If you are interested to read and write more about it on your blog, I would encourage you to do so. You might find some interesting articles at http://fatshonista.com. I like the strength you show to accept yourself as the person you are. And, you are a writer.

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