The other day I was walking into the gym when something strange happened. I was thinking hard about something or other, and not really paying attention, when suddenly I realized someone was shouting. I turned to see a girl with her head hanging out the passenger window of a car, looking at me and saying something. I couldn’t make out what she was saying.
My gut told me she wasn’t complimenting me on my outfit.
A few minutes later, after I had finished checking in at the front desk, the girl and a guy walked in. She was thin and pretty, and had on a super skin-tight dress that was very short. She asked very loudly to see a manager. I have no idea what that was about, as I headed back to the locker room to change for Aqua Fit. I don’t mean to imply that anything she needed to talk to the manager about was in regards to me, because I firmly believe that was not the case.
But I do believe that girl had shouted something rude to me in the parking lot, and I just wasn’t paying attention enough to hear what it was. A big part of me wishes I had heard her, because you can bet your sweet bippy I would have confronted her about it.
I am completely and utterly done with letting people get away with body and fat shaming in any form. I am done sitting silently by when advertisers, the media, Hollywood, and people on the street say and do things to make me feel crappy about my body. Case in point? The other night there was a handful of fat-shaming “jokes” on a TV show I love – so I immediately contacted the writers of the show to tell them to stop. I email retailers and advertisers to express my disappointment in their products. I post comments on the internet. I talk to my friends and family – and to you – about these issues, so that maybe others will start speaking up, too.
It seriously astonishes me that there are so many people in the world who think nothing of loudly and publicly shaming someone else’s body. The drive by is a popular form of this, because someone can yell at me from the safety of their moving car. So not only are these people rude, they are also cowards.
Yes, we live in a society where we are constantly reminded that fat is a choice, and that all fat people are lazy and gluttonous and should therefore be shamed and ridiculed. But… didn’t our parents teach us better? Weren’t we taught to do unto others? Weren’t we taught to be kind, to be polite? I guess for some people, respect and courtesy only apply in certain situations.
The girl who probably shouted something rude to me at the gym the other day will never see this. But you’re seeing it, and you can do your part in making sure that people like her do not get away with behavior like this. No matter what our bodies look like, each and every one of us is deserving of respect and courtesy as we move through this world. Use your voice. Speak up. Shout back.
