Flaunt Your Fat

from the mom

When I was in my teens and 20s, there was a great deal of concern about anexoria and bulimia. A lot was done to expose how unhealthy supermodels were or that their photos were airbrushed. All done in the name of giving young girls a positive body image.

Lately, I've started to wonder if the pendulum has swung in the other direction. Perhaps a bit too far. Everywhere I go, I see young girls with fat rolling out from underneath their tanks and over the top of their shorts. There are suddenly more Plus Size Women shops (which I'm not opposed to) and they have clothes that appear to be designed for size 2 girls but in size 20 sizes (which is revolting).

Some women are built bigger and they shouldn't be ashamed to wear normal clothes and should feel good about themselves. However, I am afraid that just like their math and science skills, US teens are made to feel good about things that they have no reason to feel good about. There is a difference between being big and being fat. Just like we shouldn't encourage kids to feel good about sub-par academics, so we shouldn't tell them they aren't fat when they are.

TIME magazine recently did a series of articles related to the epidemic (in the US) of childhood obesity. Thirty-two per cent of US children (2-18) are overweight. The list of health issues they are developing now will (according to experts) make them the first generation since the US founding who will not outlive the lifespan of their parents. Obviously much needs to be addresses in relation to diet and exercise.

But....

I am an overweight adult. I was raised that fat was not something to be proud of but something to work on. I struggled with weight for years and told myself that I was "big boned." Then I started only eating when I was hungry and trying to figure out the reasons I ate when I wasn't. In a matter of a year and a half I had lost about 30 lbs without giving up anything but excess. Unfortunately I am back at my pre-loss weight. This time there are no illusions about being "big-boned." I am small-framed, fat person. And that is why I am working on recovering the mindset that allowed me to lose weight in the first place.

And one of my motivations is how I look in clothes. I would like to wear a dress and feel good about myself. I would like to be able to find sale clothes in my size. (I am with the average American woman now and thus my size is the first to go.) And when I see 200 lb 15-year olds in tanks and shorts that couldn't cover them if they were 70 lbs lighter, I am at a loss for words. What happened to pride?