Post Classifieds
Like food, people come in all sizes
By Jennifer Waters
On November 14, 2012
My order was a large coffee, hold the criticism.
Many times recently, while getting sustenance from the trough in retail dining, I
have been served a bountiful helping of commentary from the workers regarding
what I ordered.
Little things like, "You sure you want whipped cream?" or "You ordered a quesadilla
and nachos?" are not only unwanted, they're quite rude and potentially offensive.
I'm not criticizing the speed or quality of the slop I'm being served. I am merely
saying that I don't appreciate feeling like I should excuse myself from the line to go
sign up for fat girl camp.
I have always had a "healthy appetite" and I don't try to hide it. If I'm hungry I'm
going to order what I want and I'm going to consume as much as I want.
More girls should receive positive reinforcement when they actually eat a solid,
balanced meal as a way to ward off the possibility of self-esteem issues or an eating
disorder.
This is not to say that I'm sensitive about my weight and the comments I received
sent me crying into a tub of Rocky Road. I'm actually quite comfortable with my
body.
But those making comments need to be aware of how their message affects the
receiver.
According to the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated
Disorders, in a survey of 185 female college students, 58 percent felt pressure to be
a certain weight.
Of those 185 students, 83 percent were currently dieting and almost half of those
women were already of normal weight.
This statistic shows how skewed women's body images have become. Instead of
thinking a size 8 (like '50s sex symbol Marilyn Monroe) is beautiful, American
women averaging a size 14 are walking around feeling the need to be a size 6.
There seems to be one floating figure haunting women that dictates what we all
should be whether this is an attainable goal or not.
Every body is different.
Different sizes, different shapes, different dimensions.
So why should we strive for the "perfect image?"
A woman's size does not determine how healthy she is.
It also does not mean that a smaller woman is necessarily happy with her body.
Some women actually have trouble gaining weight because of high metabolisms or
more serious metabolic disorders. So don't assume that just because a woman is a
frail waif, she's not eating right.
Men are not isolated from these issues either.
I have known men who feel ashamed of how much they normally eat and to avoid
being embarrassed in public, would consume entire meals before joining a group for
dinner at a restaurant.
In high school, I had a guy friend who suffered from anorexia nervosa and recently
passed away after nearly seven years fighting his disease.
The tragedy is not nearly in the influences of society and the pressure we all feel to
be something more perfect - it's in the fact that we are never satisfied with who we
are.
Rather than looking in the mirror and seeing what you dislike, focus on the positive
aspects of yourself. Perhaps it's your waistline, or maybe something as simple as
freckly shoulders, but positive thoughts will breed more positive thoughts.
And if you want to eat nachos and a burger and a slice of pizza and finish the whole
meal off with a cream cheese fudge brownie, eat it.
Maya Angelou once said that starving the body starves the soul's ability to dream.
If you dream of a hot fudge sundae then it shouldn't be of any concern to the person
handing you your dreams.
Jennifer Waters can be reached by email at waters.record@live.com.
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