It's a question I've had for a while, and I don't seem to ever get a good answer. Why is it so bad to be fat?
No, really, it's a serious question. Why is it such a bad thing?
Well, it's bad because being fat means you get arthritis and high blood pressure and diabetes and heart disease and high cholesterol ... right? Except I've been fat for a while (hell, I even have three unrelated chronic inflammatory diseases--all in remission, none related to weight--and I still don't have arthritis), and I don't have these problems. In fact, I got my blood test results back a couple months ago, and they're the kind of results you buy on the black market (yes, I'm sure there is one for blood test results). So, clearly, my weight is not impacting my health in a negative way. My cardiovascular health is great. I can even run a couple miles. You wouldn't be grilling me about my cardiovascular health if I were skinny, would you? No, really, you know that there are not-fat people with cardiovascular problems, with diabetes, who can't even run a mile. But you're not bothering them about their health.
So why do I need to lose weight?
Oh, right. As a fat woman, as opposed to a fat dude, I won't attract a guy unless I'm teh skinnies. Never mind that I've had several boyfriends and hook-ups. Never mind that not every woman even wants to date men. Never mind that our patriarchal culture likes to tell all women that we're not good enough--if I'm finally skinny enough, my boobs won't be perky enough, or my hair won't be smooth enough, or my feet will be too big. And how am I supposed to make my feel smaller? And never mind that it's insulting that ONE facet of my appearance, my weight-shape, should be so important when it comes to my entire appearance. So it doesn't matter if I have great hair, beautiful eyes, smooth skin, straight teeth (another obsession of so many people). It doesn't matter if I'm pretty because pretty matters only when you're skinny.
And, of course, my worth as a human being, since I have a vagina, is measured by whether or not Average Joe will want to fuck me. Regardless of whether or not I want to fuck him. Or whether or not I care what he thinks. Regardless of whether or not I graduated from a top university. Regardless of whether or not I'm working on some serious research. Regardless of whether or not I'm a caring, generous friend. None of that matters because I'm Fatty McFatterson, and until I lose weight, I am just NOT a normal, contributing member of society.
Especially if Average Joe doesn't want to fuck me.
You might think I sound bitter. That's fine. I mean, wouldn't you be bitter after a lifetime of being told that You Are Not Good Enough Until You're Skinny? Especially when you are more than just your BMI--the most ridiculous, unscientific way to assess health if there ever was one? You might think that because I'm bitter, I must be biased and therefore wrong (or--gasp!--trying to defend why it's OKAY for me to be fat!). That's not fine. I'm talking about my lived experiences--my life, what happens to me, how that affects me. To say that this makes me biased is just sort of weird--after all, who knows my life better than I do? And if I say, "I'm healthy and I'm fat and I'm happy, all at the same time, and since this doesn't affect you, leave me alone," then what the hell is your problem?
"It's just so gross when I see someone who's obese."
Oh, get over it. It's just so gross when I see someone walking down the street with a Yankees hat on, and they obviously have more control over that than I do over my weight. If it upsets you so much that people like me have the NERVE to be fat (because none of us have ever caved to pressure to go to the gym and eat nothing but salad--or even not eat at all, and obviously exercising a lot and not eating ALWAYS makes you instantly and forever skinny), then you need to consider going to a therapist.
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