Get That Girl A Cheeseburger

I keep hearing and seeing all of these comments lately, and I know that you've seen them too.

• Get that girl a cheeseburger/steak/etc.
• Men want meat. Dogs want bones.
• Real women have curves
• Skinny girls are for wimps
• Fat people are more fun
• Yadda, yadda, yadda.....

There is a complete double standard that exists right now. It has become completely socially acceptable for people to bash women who are thin. Why have we decided that it's okay to say these sorts of things? I would be completely devastated if someone looked at me and said "Take the cheesecake away from that woman." 

You can call it the "Fat Acceptance Movement" if you want, but the truth is, you're fooling yourself. This is bullying. Plain and simple. Making any statements or implications that thin girls are any less of a person than girls who aren't thin is no different than any other judgments placed on people. 

The problem lies within the fact that unfortunately that old schoolyard adage that bullies pick on people to make themselves feel better actually holds water. For as long as our generations have been alive, the people who were fat have suffered in silence, and have struggled with self-esteem. With the positive pushes towards increased self-esteem, loving oneself in spite of size, and accepting our flaws as part of who we are, an unhealthy detour of tearing down people who aren't fat has developed. The people who were bullied are gaining in self-confidence, but instead of using that new empowerment by focusing on themselves, some are now completing the cycle and becoming the bullies.

I, for one, have always felt that I became a fat girl as a sort of karma. When I was young, I was thin. I didn't have to work for it. I was active, and everything came extremely easily to me. I ate whatever I wanted, and I had a high enough metabolism that it didn't have any negative effects on my body. I would look at heavy people and I would think, "Geez. Put down the twinkie." It wasn't until I became 150+ pounds overweight that I understood how wrong my thinking truly was. And now that I'm on the flip side of the coin, I will not buy into the propaganda of bashing thin women and tell them to eat a cheeseburger.

I am clearly not an advocate for the movement that is gaining in popularity in our society today. I refuse to support the terrorism of my thinner counterparts. The fact is, what makes me a woman has nothing to do with my size. I am no more, nor am I any less of a woman at 267 pounds than I was at 130. I am not defined by my weight, eye color, hair texture, annual salary, or any other shallow quality about myself. Those things are part of me, but they are not who I am. 

We have the power to change what society thinks, because we ARE society. It's time to push for a new movement of love, not hate. This sort of thinking is not only destructive to those who are on the receiving end, but also to those who are on the giving end. Hate breeds further hate, and it is only a matter of time before that hate turns inward and you will start to once again hate yourself. 

Build up one another, friends. Be encouraging. And most importantly, be kind.