I wanted to write on this topic for long, but couldn’t make it possible for some reasons. And now I thought this is the time when I should come up with this post.
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| Some of my clicks |
It’s about two days back when I have changed my WhatsApp display/profile picture and a text message popped up in my inbox from one of my friends saying “you should gain weight” and I was like..really?? I am happy like this, happy being me! I clicked my picture, I liked it and I put that as a DP. Where the thing “gaining weight” has come in between?
Well, I know I am thin and I always have been. My wrist bone show through my skin and so do my collar bones too. But I am healthy! Just because someone looks a certain way doesn’t mean they are healthy or unhealthy. Size and health are not always correlated. A person can be thick or thin and still can be healthy. A healthy woman comes in all shapes and sizes. But still, there are many people out there who have a lot to say about thin people. And yes! Thin people are victims of body shaming too just like the fat people and I was one of them. I tried all the things that I could, I struggled for about 7-8 years to put on some weight, to get that so-called “perfect body,” but nothing worked. One day I asked myself, why I am doing all these things? Just to make others accept me, but why? And there came a point when I realized people should like me the way I am and not for what body type I have and eventually I learned to love myself the way I am.
“Do you ever eat?” “You are whole dried up and not already complete” “You just look like a bag of bones.” “You’re so thin that you’ll blow away in the wind.” “Yeah, that’s what I heard often, every now and then in my life so far. It’s like people always have something to say and to make comments about my body or I should say about anyone’s body whether the person is thin or thick. But can’t these things just stop ever? Shouldn’t these types of things be behind us? We are all grown! But, sadly it isn’t.
People be like, "just eat a lot and you will gain weight!" and I will be like, it’s just not so. Yes, I probably can eat more than you think I can, but just eating doesn’t work at all. It's not that simple, at least for me. I am aware of the fact that I have a fast metabolism rate. Just in case if I miss a meal, I feel sick and my head starts to pound. I always need something to eat every few hours and I am still not even 100 pounds yet and I see a lot of people who eat a lot less than I do and weigh a lot more and two of them are my own sisters. Yes, they eat a less than me but they weigh a more than me.
I recognize that many of the comments are nothing but lighthearted teasing and that’s still okay, but there are some comments from other people that are intentionally made and I wouldn't feel comfortable personally calling out their rudeness quite so bluntly, so I choose to be lighthearted and say “I am happy like this” and yeah I really am! I don’t have a problem with my weight but people bring it up to me; random people walk up to me and say “you are soooo thin; eat dairy products, eat potato, eat meat and blah blah blah”… Does anybody go up to fat people and calls them fat? Many times the quick answer you will get is "No, they don't because it’s nasty, it’s inhuman." And I think they need to apply this to thin people as well because comments on being slender really are as awful as being called fat. Yeah, sometimes it pisses me off to no extent that people come and tell me to gain weight in unflattering ways and I would be like “Can I protect my heart, please?” but then at the end, I would be happy.
People just want other-person to look like the body image that they have in their mind or that they see in the media. They still confined “the good looks” in a narrow box. But they forget that it’s not about what they think and what they want. They should think outside of the box; it’s about the individual. If an individual is healthy and happy with their body image then who are you to tell them? Of course, the curvy woman looks beautiful (and a man with abs looks handsome) and I neither feel envy nor repulsive about them. But I personally feel that everyone is beautiful and/or handsome in their own way, they just need to be themselves and should be comfortable in their own skin/body. And to me, accepting own image and having confidence in oneself is the key.
Of course, I am not endorsing poor eating habits or unhealthy lifestyles neither I am saying that people should not exercise. You should follow the proper diet as per your body needs, eat healthily, do exercise, but do not downgrade yourself for being thin or for being thick. It is okay to be yourself and if people have a problem with your weight, it’s their problem, not yours. I would suggest the best thing is to STOP trying to please others because we are not here to do so instead just try to please yourself and do what you think is good for you. Whatever your body type is, it’s important to embrace it; it's your responsibility to make sure that you are happy with it because it's the only one you got.
"Don’t change your body to get respect from society. Instead, let’s change society to respect our bodies." ~ Golda Poretsky
I really don't understand what the "Real Women Have Curves" has justified, because there is no ideal or perfect shape or certain look and I do feel “Real women come in any shapes and sizes.” You are already whole and complete, and perfect the way you are!
Don’t forget -- "You are unique and always be your own shining star!"
Stay Blessed, Be Happy..!! :-)
Preeti
