I’m Fat-Phobic
But not about you
I’m fat-phobic.
But not about you. In fact, I want to see more fat-bodied people wearing crop tops and bikinis; feeling confident in their bodies and no longer buying into the societal message that a thin body is better than theirs — because it’s not.
But I am fat-phobic. That same societal message sunk into my soul at an early age so that if I ate too much, I would stand outside in the bitter, frigid Wisconsin winter air without a coat to punish myself.
I have always been praised for being thin. How gross is that? That the women figures in my life would praise me for something that is mostly genetic, at least, when you’re a small child. These same figures would admonish their own bodies and pick themselves apart at the seams — was I somehow supposed to learn that just being me was enough?
No. “The patriarchy is a smog we all breathe in,” is an incredible quote by Brittany Packnett Cunningham. A statement so profound and on point so as to explain away the behavior of women who have let men’s opinions of them seep into their hearts, minds, and souls.
I am fat-phobic toward myself.
There was a time when I was heavier, much heavier. I had C-cups, which have been traded in for the tiny tots I have now. (They’re still wonderful and a small…
