If you know me you know that I’m overweight, and if you know me well, you know that I am not ashamed. I will be the first to tell you that sometimes I eat too much pizza. I like sweets and junk food and overly sugared coffee. But I’d like to invite you to my house to take a peek into my refrigerator. As I sit in front of it now I can tell you what you might see on any given day — spinach, celery, carrots, apples, grilled chicken, salmon, broccoli, almond milk — I could go on, but a grocery list does not make for the best reading.
Society operates within the boundaries of assumptions: preconceived ideas about people we have not met. There are thousands of these ideologies floating around us at any given time — a person on welfare is just lazy, a person with tattoos cannot be a professional, a person who is fat must be extremely unhealthy.
These assumptions about people light a fire under us, and we want to “fix” whatever it is that we perceive is wrong. We do this by inserting ourselves into the situation. To the mom on welfare we say “I know of a company looking to hire,” to the person with tattoos we say “I know something that will cover that up,” and to the overweight we say “I know being disciplined is difficult, but here are some changes you can make.” The biggest issue, though, is that we insert ourselves into situations we do not, and cannot, fully understand.
I was 10 when I became conscious of my weight. It was in my elementary school cafeteria; I purchased my lunch and walked to my table. As I passed a group of my peers I heard a small “oink” followed by the girlish pre-pubescent giggles of third grade boys. I did not eat lunch that day; in fact, I did not eat lunch for the rest of that week.
The preconceived notions society has about fat people make us believe that all fat people must be unhealthy and lazy. Then, we think it is our duty to help. We tell them how “wrong” it is to be overweight. Even if your desire to help comes from a true and good place, all you are doing is fat shaming.
Fat shaming in our society is intense. Fat shaming consistently tells us “you are not good enough unless you are small enough.” But what are we really doing? A recent study from University College London examined fat shaming and the effect it has on people who are overweight. The study found “that weight discrimination does not encourage weight loss, and suggest(s) that it may even exacerbate weight gain.”
Think before you speak. Fat people know they’re fat. I know I am fat. What I also know is something that you do not — I live my life to the best of my ability. I go the gym regularly, I eat healthy, but I also splurge on pizza and cookie dough sometimes. And most of all, I know that I am not sorry.
