Do I love who I am? I’m always reading about being positive about who you are … but not settling, if you’re not happy. While I was traveling (wifi on the plane, woo hoo) I stumbled on to a “Love Who You Are” website. It was written by a woman who said, “I’m full-figured and proud of it!” Her tag line was a modified, “ Big is Beautiful,” and mostly concentrated on a litany of statements focused on being healthy and happy as a big person.
Our politically correct world is always chiming in on body acceptance, fat-shaming, and offering opinions about what an attractive body should look like. There’s a lot of fat people conversation, including the recent controversy surrounding “fatpeoplehate” on Reddit. I’ve experienced plenty of fat hate, including on my recent trip to DC … a wheelchair attendant “trading” me for a smaller person, sitting next to a person who was incredibly rude because my arm was touching hers, and of course the judgmental stares when I have to use a seatbelt extension, or can’t get up from my seat easily.
I’ve mentioned in an earlier post, that I’m pretty sure I thought poorly of fat people when I wasn’t one. Considering my current physique and situation, it’s embarrassing to admit that I probably contributed to this problem without even realizing. But the truth is, regardless of how you look or how you want to look, there will always be detractors letting you know you should look different. I’m never sure if people just want to make you feel badly, or make themselves feel better. I was on a Facebook posting recently, where a friend of mine has been posting her substantial amount of pounds gone on a weight loss program. She has posted many pictures throughout her weight loss. Her before and after photos demonstrate an incredible transformation through a 125 lb drop in weight. But a quick trip to her comments section reveals some surprising remarks, not always positive. Some people even criticized her for posing too “sexily” for her weight loss photos. It was weird and made me sad for her. But she responded pretty casually about how she was “happy and healthy, and thanks for the input.” I admire her for that. And maybe if I ever get thin, I’ll have a thicker skin, too.