Being fat is:
- Being told that you’re pretty, but you’d be prettier if you lost some weight.
- Having to have conversations with your family and friends because they “worry” about you and your health.
- Having to have that conversation more than once.
- Being laughed at in the club, at a football game, at school, during lunch, on the train, behind your back, right in front of your face, and on, and on, and on…
- Being told that you are not worthy have love.
- Being the late night hookup, never worthy enough to be shown in public.
- Being the girl that is never worthy.
- Being worthy of love, respect, and happiness.
The next “On Being…” post will go a little more in depth and talk about being black. But I’ll tell you this, I’ve experienced more direct hate and discrimination because of my weight. Your hate for me as a black person is more subtle than your hate for me as a fat person. Why? Because society tells you that it’s ok to hate us. It’s ok to make your distaste clear. It’s for our own good, after all. Maybe if you humiliate us enough, it’ll drive us to the gym. When, in fact, it’s more likely to drive us to an eating disorder and/or therapist. In the words of Lindy West, don’t claim health reasons why you could careless about my mental health.
Occhiolist Beauty 