Last week, one of my classmates made an inappropriate comment about my breasts by stating bluntly a particular shirt had made them look “too big.” This both infuriated and offended me... to say the least.
I believe comments like this are poised as compliments but are actually insults in disguise. Such as the “you look so good!” after you’ve lost a few pounds. What’s that supposed to mean? Did I not look good when I was five pounds heavier? So, to put it simply, let me give you all a simple message: don’t talk about someone’s body, even if you think you’re giving someone a compliment.
Over the years, I’ve dealt with body issues. When I was 16, I was on the unhealthy roller coaster of binge eating, starving myself and excessive amounts of exercise, attempts to become a size zero.
Playing badminton in that following fall, I soon realized this diet was simply unhealthy, but still felt “fat” even when eating healthily. It took about six years, but I’ve come to accept the way my body looks, and to learn how to treat my body better. I owe it to myself to eat healthy and to treat it right by accepting each and every curve in it.
With that being said, when you bring up an issue on someone’s body, you never know what it can trigger for them. When this person mentioned this, I felt really self-conscious about how I looked, even though I was wearing one of my favorite shirts. That’s not right. And why did I feel this way?
All because of a small comment a classmate said to me.
When we are little, we are told not to discuss politics and religion while having company. Well, I would like to swap them out and put in omitting discussing in details someone’s body and making comments about it. That’s something that’s wrong, and should be a subject not to be discussed not only at the dinner table, but anywhere.
The take home message? If you wouldn’t like someone saying a particular thing to you, then perhaps you should not say it. It’s the Golden Rule, people. It applies just as much now as it did in kindergarten. Let's get the message, think twice before you say something. You never know the impact of what you think is something that is so small.
