Incestuousness
Just because I found this post through my referral logs, and just because miss ess is a commenter on this very blog, and just because this post mentions Big Fat Deal, doesn't mean it's not worth linking to and thinking about!
"I wish that this girl did not have to feel that pressure to be thin, to conform to her classmates ideal of what is acceptable or not in terms of body shape and size. But it is not ok that she is only 16 and facing a life of serious illness if she does nothing, if she just sits back and says, I'm happy with the way I am."
I think she really does encapsulate something we all struggle with. We can't pretend overweight doesn't have health ramifications, but we also can't stand all the emotional baggage, judgement, and so forth that comes along with it. It's quite a line to walk, isn't it?
"I wish that this girl did not have to feel that pressure to be thin, to conform to her classmates ideal of what is acceptable or not in terms of body shape and size. But it is not ok that she is only 16 and facing a life of serious illness if she does nothing, if she just sits back and says, I'm happy with the way I am."
I think she really does encapsulate something we all struggle with. We can't pretend overweight doesn't have health ramifications, but we also can't stand all the emotional baggage, judgement, and so forth that comes along with it. It's quite a line to walk, isn't it?
posted by mo pie at 11:14 AM
5 Comments:
Wow. Thanks for the shout-out, Mo. And for getting what I was trying to get at with that post.
As someone who has been struggling with this all her life, I think the point should be to focus on the health issue. Starting with, thank God I can WALK and celebrate the power by WALKING. Because you could lose even that simple capability. Find a sport, cultivate an active pasttime you love. For me it's cycling and XC skiing. Everything else falls into line if you're training for something.
Otherwise, yeah, you're always working on a negative, trying to NOT eat so much, backsliding, and moaning why oh why couldn't I look more like what's her name, and digging yourself into an emotional hole. I'm now 57 and have been maintaining a nice healthy but not skinny weight for 5 years now. Health. HEALTH!
I think that for a girl like the 16 year old pre-diabetic, focus on HEALTH over and above weight is much more important. Lots of people are more overweight than she is, and not at risk of becoming diabetic, lots of people who are barely overweight become diabetic. My first instinct is to say that she's probably getting horrendous nutrition from what she's eating, not that she needs to lose weight neccesarily, but that she desperately needs a "diet" of whole grains and vitamin-laden foods to nourish her body. She's PROBABLY lose weight from this change, but the main issue should be that her body chemisty is unbalanced.
It's that old problem of using fat as a health indicator, now we're fixated on the fat more than the health.
I wish it were possible to frame this as though it were something like "you're a little anaemic dear, lets get you eating some spinach and a multivitamin daily, that way you'll be getting the iron you need and you'll feel a lot better". But because it's DIABETES which has become a disease of LAZY FAT DONUT EATERS, there's all the moralizing and breast beating thrown in.
I loved the original post and what you brought up, and I agree with what LME says: I love reading your blog because you manage to navigate the murky waters of being overweight yet not buying into the patriarchal subliminal message that being overweight makes you a LESSER person.
I struggle with weight loss because as a very rebellious person, I hate to think I'm doing it to "Fit In" to some culturally acceptable ideal and to justify my existence.
However, my rebellion hurts no one but me. The Patriarchy hasn't crumbled because I am a size 22.
It's my health on the line, especially since being at the low end of "middle aged" things are creaking and squeaking in this body of mine.
I really love all the weight/body image blogs I read because they help me navigate these waters, too.
Ladies, thanks for summing up why I love to hang out here.
Post a Comment
<< Home