Things I Will Never Do: Fatshaming

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HeartOfAmethyst's avatar
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Today when I was getting dressed from swimming, I noticed a pair of thin girls getting into their workout booty shorts, chatting about the day.  In the middle of the convo, another girl who was around my height but a bit bigger overall walked past heading out to the pool.  One of the girls said to the other "Gosh, you gotta be pretty brave to walk out in that" behind this other girl's back as she headed towards the pool.

And this bothered me.  A lot.  Because I think a lot of women and girls suffer from low self-esteem due to weight.  We're in a society where being thin is praised so much that even myself, being of average height, who is slightly overweight but working towards being more toned also feels a strong sense of shame for my thicker than thin thighs.  And I hate it because as I've gained more weight due to higher stress and less time to workout, I realized that all through high school I was so unhappy that I was 125 pounds which is a perfectly normal healthy weight, but I was around people who were considered to be the standard "thin".

And thus, I really really hate fat-shaming.  I think it's quickly become a terrible trend of dehumanizing, similar to the level of dehumanization we see with racial, ethnic, and other social minorities.

I don't promote unhealthy living.  I have for a long time now, lived with the idea that we have a finite amount of time on this earth and that it is my obligation to stretch that time out as long as possible so that I can do the things I want the way I want to.  And thus, after a degrading 4 years of undergrad where I spent more time studying that maintaining my health, I decided I would not be that way in graduate school.  I've started valuing my relationship with food to be more healthy.  I've found a workout (swimming) that makes me feel good and exhausts me in the ways I enjoy.  And that's something I will always encourage people to do.  I'm not a health nut.  I don't wanna ever be the person my aunt (whose a dietitian) became to be to the point where she even shamed her family members.

So here's my opinion: Unless someone asks for an opinion on their weight (loss or gain), then your opinion isn't friggin needed.  There's no reason for you to validate someone's weight loss or invalidate their life because of their weight.

PS - fatshaming includes the unneeded opinions of extra congratulation to a person who has lost weight who you've previously fat shamed.  I know this because I know people who've been pissed off about it.  Myself included.

Edit: I corrected some of my language.

© 2014 - 2024 HeartOfAmethyst
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Entheory-art's avatar
It goes both ways..."stick" girls offends me. I weigh 94lbs right now and I've only reached 101lbs once. I have been trying to gain weight for years and it's very difficult for me. It's not just girls that make me feel bad about my tiny frame but guys as well. Comments like, "you're too little. You need more cushion..." And other awkward stuff. 

Making anyone one feel bad for the way they look is unacceptable. I have never ever talked about someone being over weight until recently when a girl called my momma white trash. Then I called her bessy and told her I would meet her somewhere. It has always bothered me when people pick on others for being over weight and even felt bad myself for being small. Especially when people started calling me anorexic... If I was, that would be a totally different story but I'm not. 

Its a pain not being able to gain weight...I want to join the military but I have to weigh at least 107lbs and I haven't even made a dent in that....