Skinny people are the privileged ones in society. Whenever we are spoken to or spoken about, it’s generally positive. We are portrayed positively in the media and in society in general. The word itself, “skinny,” seems to have a positive connotation.
This needs to end.
Skinny does not always mean healthy and I am sick of being told how “healthy” I look. It’s offensive to me and it’s offensive to my fat friends. Also, yes, I will call them fat, because “fat” is not an inherently negative word. Being fat doesn’t mean anything is wrong with you or that you’ve done anything wrong. So why does it sound so negative?
I shouldn’t feel ashamed for being skinny and fat people shouldn’t feel ashamed for being fat. Whenever someone says to me “Have you lost weight?” or “Omg, you’re so skinny!” with that happy tone, I just get upset. It’s not just that it’s offensive to my fat friends who are perfectly happy with their bodies and are perfectly healthy, it’s that I didn’t work hard to get here. If my goal was to lose weight, of course I’d love to be complimented on looking skinnier, because that would have been what I wanted.
I have gone back and forth with my weight for some time, and I have always been complimented on losing weight, but never on gaining it. I was required by doctors to be on a diet of entirely fruits, nuts, and grains for 8 weeks, and I lost a lot of weight. I went from about 130 pounds, which is average for my height, to about 110 pounds. That’s bordering on underweight. Just after I was allowed to go back to my regular diet, I went to a family party. One of my cousins asked me “Have you lost weight?” I replied, “Yes, I had to be on a very restrictive diet, but I’m working really hard to gain the weight back.”
“Why?”
….Why? Because I’m not healthy. Because I was essentially starving myself for two months. Because not everything in life is about being skinny. Only about 5% of women actually have the body portrayed in magazines and media so it’s no wonder 91 percent of women are unhappy with their bodies. More than two-thirds of the population in the US is considered overweight. This doesn’t mean America has a health issue, it means that fat people aren’t alone. Being over the average BMI could mean a multitude of things, and it doesn’t necessarily mean you’re unhealthy. Only 3 percent of adults get the recommended amount of exercise and nutrients needed to have a healthy body. So if 97 percent of people aren’t living a healthy lifestyle, how is it that only 68 percent of people are overweight? If you’re thinking it’s because of underweight adults, you’re wrong. They only make up about 2 percent of the population.
Therefore, be free from shame, fat people! You’re not alone, and you’re not wrong. Everyone is a different size due to circumstance more than anything. There are, of course, some things you can do to gain or lose weight, but none of that is important. As long as you try to live a healthy life, no one has any right to judge you on your size, because it is irrelevant.
