Imagine society labelling you as part of something called
the obesity epidemic.
Imagine your body being unacceptable in every new space you
walk into.
Imagine trying for years to lose weight, only to gain it
back eventually.
Imagine being looked at as weak, inferior, lacking
discipline because of your type of body.
Imagine wedging yourself into an airline seat, trying to
make yourself smaller so not to offend the person next to you.
Imagine never seeing a body like yours in advertising –
except as a before picture.
Imagine only being able to shop for clothes in one or two
stores in a mall.
Imagine only being able to buy shoes at many outlet malls.
Imagine going to the doctor and their only prescription is
to lose weight – a prescription that only works 5% of the time.
My body is not an epidemic.
I am not a problem to be solved.
I will not continue to allow the systems that have oppressed me to
continue while I silently participate in the madness of diet culture. Fat phobia is a socially acceptable
marginalization of people. I don’t need
to be thin to be healthy. I don’t need
to be thin to be fully whole.
Well said, Misty. As an older woman who has been labelled fat for the majority of my life - and who also has lost close to 3 times my body weight over the years with various diets, etc. - I've decided to simply be as healthy and happy as I can be - and that's pretty darn happy. Keep up the blogging.
ReplyDeleteWell said Misty. I myself have struggled with my body weight. I have some ugly memories of the past that that made me embarrassed of my own weight. I hated shopping, nothing ever fit right.
ReplyDeleteAs I have gotten older I am learning to love my body and appreciate all it does for me. I still only shop at two stores. But I do find way nicer clothes now in stores. It is a horrible to feel that because I am considered obese I am part of an epidemic.