So, this topic hits home with me because I have personally experienced skinny shaming far too many times. I have always been underweight. I have never dieted a day in my life. Actually, I do pretty much the opposite. I hate working out, so I always played sports in high school, and since I've graduated, I've maybe worked out 10 times... in almost 3 years. I have an obsession with Krispy Kreme doughnuts and fast food. I love candy, and cookies are my weakness. I have never strived to be skinny. I have always envied the girls with full curves that can actually go into a women's clothing store and have everything not fall off of them.
I get the "you're so skinny" comment a lot, and always have. I don't mind it but to me, it's not really a compliment. Not every girl wants to be skinny. What really bothers me is the negative attitude directed at my size. The "you're like skin and bones" and "you need to eat a cheeseburger" comments make me wanna slap someone with the cheeseburger they believe I need to eat but have probably already eaten. That's not okay.
It's totally not okay to call a bigger girl fat. So why is it acceptable to make nasty remarks about a girl who eats everything in sight and can't gain weight? Saying I need to eat some more or that I look like a 12-year-old because I am so small, is like looking at a curvy girl and telling her that she needs to go find a treadmill and that she looks like a whale. It's all WRONG. Every girl — and guy, for that matter — is beautiful the size they were created. We should not feel inferior because someone thinks we should be bigger or smaller.
I got so excited when I saw the Dove commercial with curvy women on it, and saw the beautiful, full-figured Ashley Graham grace the cover of Sports Illustrated. Finally, some acceptance for women's body types that don't look like Victoria's Secret models. (And there's nothing wrong with their bodies either, I admire them all.) But now, we've taken two steps back. We finally start appreciating one body type, and then we put another one down.
Oh, and the "men don't want bones" comment is ridiculous and sexist. My boyfriend is perfectly happy with my size 2 "skin and bones." Every guy is different, just like every girl. So just because your man prefers a size 12, doesn't mean I'll never be wanted by a man because I am smaller.
How could I forget the anorexic and bulimic rumors either? Just because a girl is "skinny" does not mean she has an eating disorder. Seriously people. These accusations based on size are ridiculous.
So my whole point is it's wrong. We have finally started to accept more full-figured girls, which is awesome. Let's not ruin that by bashing the smaller, "skinny" people. Everyone should be able to be comfortable with their bodies without being told they should eat a cheeseburger.
But you know what, I will eat that cheeseburger because at the end of the day it's my body, not yours, and I'll do whatever makes ME happy with MY size.
