I was out last night with my wonderful friend, Lena. We share a passion for social justice and enjoy discussing the political issues of the day, so we certainly have much to talk about!
Lena is taller than I am and weighs about 110 lbs. on a good day. She loves eating a good breakfast and enjoys what she considers a “hearty” lunch during her workday. But when she gets home at night, she simply doesn’t feel like eating. Dinner is just not her thing! She relaxes and unwinds but she doesn’t care about eating much in the evening. Last night, I ordered us a veggie and hummus plate and she picked a bit but not much.
Lena’s always been a very slim person. She always will be. Is it her chosen habits? Is it her biology and genes? Why bother to figure it out. She’s healthy, she’s happy, she’s Lena.
If fat people supposedly eat out of causal emotion and “demons,” what makes a person not want to eat? After all, eating is a natural instinct. Is there “something wrong” with people who don’t care much about food and even less about eating indulgently? If a person eats so little that they are very thin, are we to believe that they “hate” their bodies and walk a fine line to body dysmophia?
Our society generally accepts that some folks are naturally thin. We’re even envious of them! Thin bodies are society’s ideal; even very thin bodies get a pass. I believe deeply rooted in this acceptance is the fact that we make few judgments on the lifestyle and eating habits of thin people. In my book, I make the point that much of society’s prejudice against fat people is based on critical assumptions about their lifestyle choices with obesity considered to be the justifiable “penalty” for these choices. Society does not criticize a thin body, therefore, we make no critical judgments on the behaviors and choices that might contribute to it.
We lose the ignorant rationalizations for bias and prejudice when we let go of judgment. We have no basis for judgment when we accept that body sizes are created by the confluence of a vast range of factors, including the factors that underlie and drive certain behaviors and habits.
Are you re-thinking your body? Are you letting go of society’s prejudices that you made you question and judge yourself?
