16/07/2014
On being fat or overweight. This is the curse of fat-shaming/body-shaming. The truth is if you don't love yourself at one weight, you're not likely to love yourself at another. I've been fat since I was a kid and I've had people (mostly family, classmates, and church members) comment on it. Telling me no boy would ever like me for it, I would look so much better if I lost weight or fixed my hair or wore this or did that. At one point in sixth grade I made a serious effort to "look nice" and got compliments from a lot of people who normally didn't really acknowledge me. For the first time in my life I was severely self-conscious about how I looked because I wasn't living for myself, I wasn't dressing for myself, I wasn't acting like myself. The truth is, someone else's physical appearance is no one else's business. No one else's weight is your business and unless you're their physician/doctor, it is not your place to tell someone they need to lose weight. It's discouraging as all hell and all you achieve is potentially negatively affecting that person's perception of themselves.
Bonus info: being fat ≠ being unhealthy. You can be healthy or unhealthy at various weights and sizes.
Bonus bonus info: fat is okay. love yourself first, the rest will follow.