feewings
Ok, for starters, I'm going to say that I don't know why I do this sort of shit to myself. I don't know why I bother poking around message boards and opening up threads that are obviously going to offend me on sight (ie, "America is fat"). So now that I've got that as a disclaimer, I'm going to say that this argument is just old. "Obesity levels rising blah blah blah..." "unhealthy eating habits blah blah..." "sedentary lifestyle blah..." but aside from that being something I'm just entirely SICK of hearing and how no one seems to want to care NEARLY as much about the sharp increase in anorectics and other eating disorders (golly, correlation anyone?) I'm mostly just sick of saying things like that to this argument and being rightly offended and then told that I need to grow up and that it's not about my "feewings" it's about an unhealthy lifestyle. And that they don't mind fat people who are "healthy/trying/starving themselves" but can't stand to see them at McDonald's.

Ok, how about I start saying this bullshit? Thin people suck. Thin people are unhealthy. Due to the sharp increase in eating disorders it's only logical to assume that every thin person has an eating disorder. That every thin person, ESPECIALLY rail thin people are unhealthy and malnourished. Only fat people are the ones who are exercising reasonable exercise habits and are treating their bodies well by giving them all the nourishment they need. We have to address this! We have to force thin people into hating their bodies enough to forcibly change them, even if that means their eating an unhealthy amount, even if that means they eat until they are uncomfortable every day. Because if they do all this and still remain thin they are just LYING, right? They just aren't trying hard enough, right? They just aren't as proactive about their health as fat people, they just don't care enough, they are just resigned to their unhealthy lifestyle and are too stupid to realize it's unhealthy, right? And when they go out in public, dear god, for my sake, please don't force me to be audience to your awful addiction to starvation. Please, skinnies, for everyone's sake order a burger, fries and milkshake, even if you just ate an hour ago. You need to bulk up, you ugly, unhealthy skinny.

I hope it's obvious enough that the above is sarcasm, because I don't for a second believe that. It sounds ridiculous right? It should. Because it is. But reverse that paragraph in your mind for me. Spin it around in terms of fat people. I'm not going to do the whole thing again, because I think we've all heard that schpeal. You know, especially the whole "you just aren't TRYING hard enough, fatty" the whole, "I don't CARE if you're starving. You're obviously lying and snarfing chocolate when no one can see cause you've barely made a dent in your weight!" And of course my favorite, "please, I'm so sick of seeing fat people at McDonald's ordering that cheeseburger, fries and milkshake. Is it really that dang hard to order a salad?" Sorry, but no one is obligated to order a salad, just because it bothers YOU. Did you think that maybe they aren't ordering a salad because McDonald's salads are ridic expensive, don't fill you up and don't even taste good? And did you think, "Hey, maybe that person just hasn't had a chance to grab a bite all day and that's why they're eating so much?" Or, "that person's probably just had a really busy day and McD's is the closest 'food' joint to his/her work"?

But when I point out all the offensive illogicalities in this argument, I'm at best just not able to keep my "feewings" out of an argument, at worst, a lying bitter chubby girl because of course I must be eating like crap and never exercising in order to maintain my tummy and jiggly thighs.

And what am I arguing about anyway? I'm chubby, not fat, I'm not part of that horrible, grotesque obesity blob that's about to engulf the entirety of western culture. I'm just a little chubby. Almost cute. Guess what? My almost cute self, is also almost obese. No, seriously. According to the BMI I'm overweight, and not many lbs shy of obese. Or maybe I actually already am obese, being as I haven't weighed myself in god knows how long. But how many people would I tell this to who would say, "No Swan. You so aren't. The chart's wrong. The scale must've been wrong. etc..." No in fact, while I'd allow for the scale to have perhaps been a bit off, most are fairly accurate. Being off by a few lbs is pretty negligible anyway since you can gain about 3-5 lbs just in water weight in ONE day. Go weigh yourself, then drink a gallon of water and weigh yourself again, see what happens. In any case, I am either part of the epidemic or pretty dang close to it. And you know something? I'm also healthy, athletic, and a decently sensible eater. I'm also quite attractive and quite normal looking to my friends (and to new doctors who often do a double take at me and at the weight on my chart). Which I'd wager is why none of them believe me when I tell them about how close I am to being a part of "the problem". Because "No no, you aren't FAT. You aren't ... you aren't.... [awkward silence] ... but you aren't unhealthy!" (really? I didn't know that).

And yes, I'd argue that "the chart's wrong". Because quite frankly the BMI is bogus. But, that's not my point. My point is, rather than attack the thought process that thin=good and fat=bad, we attack the scale, the charts, whatever, but not the thought process. We say, "no no, you aren't FAT" to save our friends from the stigma our brains have been trained to recognize, rather than say, "well, that's just a number. It doesn't mean anything".

So really, I'm sick of being told that I need to grow up and develop thick skin. I'm sick of being told that it's not about my "feewings" and about how unhealthy my habits are and how much more unhealthy those who are fatter than me's habits are (yes, I know that was awkward wording). Because that in itself is the most condescending and presumptuous and asinine thing you could think to say in your argument. I guarantee that people would find it just as offensive were our society twisted around to believe the rubbish-y paragraph I've typed above and it's just as illogical AND hurtful. It's just as pathology provoking, especially if it were a mantra repeated every minute of every day by commercials, doctors, nutritionists, clothing designers, etc, etc, etc. I don't understand why it's so bad to point this out. The offensive thinking is destructive (see, above where I mentioned eating disorders. Or maybe at some point I'll delve into my own spots of eating disorder). Why are we still clinging to this destructive thinking?