My mom says lots of fatphobic stuff and I have to remind her all the time that skinny is NOT shorthand for "in good health".
I was raised to think fat = lazy but that's just not true. Our idea of what constitutes a healthy body is increasingly warped into things that cannot possibly be attained by most folks.
The viciousness towards fat folks in America is awful. On the converse, I've had skinny female friends - who ate like horses, mind, and took pretty good care of their health - who people said they were "too skinny" as if they were sitting around all day counting calories and starving themselves. Which is also messed up, because it's like - ok, as a woman can't be too fat but you also can't be too skinny.
Though, there is no arguing that my skinny friends are probably not going to be treated like they're lazy if they didn't exercise regularly or eat right. Or feel like they have problems finding the right sizes in a department store, because heaven forbid retailers carry clothes that didn't just fit women built like Kate Moss. Etc.
Just saying all this means that our focus on body image and weight in this country is seriously jacked up.
I was raised to think fat = lazy but that's just not true. Our idea of what constitutes a healthy body is increasingly warped into things that cannot possibly be attained by most folks.
The viciousness towards fat folks in America is awful. On the converse, I've had skinny female friends - who ate like horses, mind, and took pretty good care of their health - who people said they were "too skinny" as if they were sitting around all day counting calories and starving themselves. Which is also messed up, because it's like - ok, as a woman can't be too fat but you also can't be too skinny.
Though, there is no arguing that my skinny friends are probably not going to be treated like they're lazy if they didn't exercise regularly or eat right. Or feel like they have problems finding the right sizes in a department store, because heaven forbid retailers carry clothes that didn't just fit women built like Kate Moss. Etc.
Just saying all this means that our focus on body image and weight in this country is seriously jacked up.
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