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As a kid I was a skinny girl. I was short, dark, and skinny and it never really mattered what I ate or how much I ate. I ate like a construction worker with nothing to show for it. People would always comment about how I should be taking vitamins to grow taller and to gain weight.
It lasted till I turned 13 and I finally got into sports. I shot up about 6 inches in a span of 4 years. Unfortunately, I also packed on the pounds. By the time I was in law school I was about 30 pounds overweight, and the sedentary student lifestyle didn’t help any.
It didn’t bother me because thanks to my parents’ genes, I always had a waist. It wasn’t much of an hourglass figure, but it was an hourglass figure nonetheless. It still is. And thanks to sports I was, and still am, very limber and quick on my feet.
The only problems arose when my clothes would begin to tighten at the seams. I’ll ponder a bit, then I’d just wear bigger sizes, or I’d exercise a bit and I’d be back to a comfortable weight.
It pissed me off, however, when people who knew me as a kid would look at me, look me over, and blurt out “what happened to you???” like I grew another nose or maybe horns and a tail. Well nothing happened to me. A standard answer would be “Nothing. I grew prettier,” and I’d just go away or ignore that person. If it was someone I was close to, I didn’t mind so much.
After a few comments, however, I began to wonder. Why is it that people only notice weight gain/loss? Why is it that only a very select few would say a simple “How are you, it’s been too long?” Of course there’s been too many articles about self-image and how the media often equated skinny with sexy. Too many articles to count, and yes, I’ve read a lot of them. I’m sure most of the people who were exposed to the same articles have been influenced by them, hence the idiotic comments. But it never really hits you until you feel its effect when a person lets out a tactless comment about your weight.
Earlier I was walking in the mall when a lady approached me with a brochure for weight loss. Did she pick me out from the crowd? Do they get training on how to spot those people they think are overweight and swoop on them like birds of prey? I’m a size 12 on a 5’5” frame. Do I fit their profile? I bit back a nasty comment and just went on my way. They’re losing my business anyway.
I have no doubt that that person got a lot of snide remarks from people she approached. Perhaps they didn’t feel that they need to lose weight or maybe like me, they’re comfortable in their own skin. I also have no doubt that she got a lot of business, too, from people who felt that they needed it, because they’ve heard one too many remarks about their weight, or because they felt their health was in danger.
Things will remain the same for quite some time, I’m sure. Fat comments will be thrown left and right. I guess I’m just thankful that even if that happens, I’ll be happily oblivious to them. I’m comfortable in my own skin, and that’s that.
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