Bite Size

Let’s have a show of hands. How many of you out there have had body issues, however big or small? I’m going to make an educated guess and say all of you. It doesn’t matter how minute, how shallow, or how seemingly insignificant it might have seemed to you, but it’s just the way we process as people. We all have a certain body part that we don’t like to look at, we all have hang-ups, and it’s perfectly natural and acceptable to feel this way about yourself.

 

The reason I ask this is because I find it quite disturbing how many memes (for the uninitiated, a meme is, as defined by The Bible Of Life, or as some refer to it, Wikipedia, as ‘an idea, style or action which spreads from person to person via the Internet) there are of, to be frank, disgusting views on what is an acceptable body shape in society. Let’s have some examples, shall we?

 

Now, please don’t get me wrong. I am not saying by any means that these pictures are totally incorrect. Size has always been a complicated subject that has to be approached with a certain level of caution. A lot of women are sensitive when it comes to talking about their weight, and for a good reason as it’s a personal topic, and everyone’s feelings should be respected about it.

However, are these pictures not attacking women who might be naturally thin? Let’s be honest. It has become socially unacceptable to refer to a large lady as ‘fat’, because that would be offensive. Why, she could have a glandular problem. She could be a food addict. She could have had a serious accident in which she can’t walk without help. There are a thousand different reasons.

On the other hand, people have no problem with throwing the word ‘skinny’ around, as if it’s become commonplace. Surely it’s not me that finds that offensive to the extreme, not to mention breathtakingly hypocritical? What if the woman in question has an eating disorder? Or, what if it’s simply her metabolism? Does a woman deserve to be sneered at and told to put some weight on because of the way her body naturally is? Why is it that fat women are seemingly let off the hook, just because it’s far easier to insult someone else rather than look at yourself?

We’re all encouraged to love ourselves the way we are, and there’s absolutely no problem with that. No matter what size you are, it should be embraced. We’re all beautiful. Size 6, size 16, size 26, it doesn’t matter. But support each other. Don’t take the easy route of criticising someone else because really, all you’re doing is following a lynch mob. The kind of lynch mob you might have been battling all your life. You’re in this war together, ladies, so go down smiling.