Thursday, May 12, 2011

Being called FAT is hard to swallow....

Yes.  I was called FAT again.  And, it hurt.  It hurt a lot.  I felt like a I was 12 again and my peers were mocking me relentlessly.  It was not a fun experience and it was in front of my children.  I posted it on Facebook.  Why?  To garner sympathy of course.  No one wants to have their less-than-perfect physical attributes pointed out: big nose, crocked teeth, cross eyes, black gums, unibrow, pvs, muffin top, ect... 

Weight discrimination is the last socially accepted form of discrimination.  Star magazine makes it a game out of playing "Guess which celebrity belongs to this fat ass?" or People Magazine's yearly "Look who finally got thin!" issue (which truth be told, I want to hit that lottery someday).  Oprah has her weight loss stars, airlines have their special pricing options (real special - Buy 2 seats for 1 ass), Biggest Loser (...and then biggest gainer again), Ruby, Extreme Make Over Weight Edition, even Survivor!  Women still make significantly less money than their thinner counterparts - (you all did read my paper on weight discrimination against women in the workforce, right?!? I'll post a link).  Men also make less depending on their weight, however the percentage difference drops significantly. 

What are the effects of calling a person fat over and over again?  In my experience it was a fulfilling prophecy.  Notice I left the self out of it as it was not, and is not, the prophecy I have for myself.  Fat has a powerful hold over people.  The word is dehumanizing and the tissue itself is immobilizing.  I once had a doctor who told me that the only thing wrong with me was that I was fat and fat hurts.  I was so angry that I never went back to see her.  She let my "fat" disable her from being able to treat me properly.  Much later in life I came to the realization that she did have one thing right - fat does hurt.  It hurts emotionally, mentally, and physically. 

Part of my healthy living goal is to take the power out of the word fat.  This is a tall order and starts at home.  I teach my children that the word fat is not a bad word.  Noah can often times be heard saying, "Mom, can I give your fat a little love pinch?" to which I reply, "Of course baby, go ahead and give it a big pinch!"  There is not much we cannot attain through social and responsible education and living.  Teaching children that fat is not a bad word does not teach them that being fat is a healthy lifestyle.  It is also our responsiblity to teach our children healthy choices and  behaviors. 

One last thought.  Just because a young person is predisposed to being overweight does not mean that they are predestined to being overweight.  The freedom, glory, and wonder that comes from being a child is that there are no limits, no guarentees, and no final destination.

Here is that link to the paper if you are interested!  I wrote it my senior year at Brockport and have made several presentations since.  Interestingly enough - not much has changed in the last 12 years.
 http://www.2cyberwhelm.org/archive/diversity/values/pdf/weight.pdf

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