Jolly Ol' Fat Lady

Debby wrote the blog, Body Impolitic. This blog had many truths to it. Debby’s main subject is the “ Fat Women”. He has some very opinions about how the heavier women today are treated. These women are not taught to love themselves as they are, but are told that they need to be another way.

Being a “big” women herself, Debby understands that the phrase “ Fat Woman” only tells you two out of a hundred things about the person. One is that they are heavy set, the other is that they are women. The traditional stereotypes of these women range from the fat lady in the circus to the jolly fat aunt. Today obese women are figures of fun and a bad example of someone with low self-esteem and no control. Heavy set women can be rich, poor, of African, Asian descent, lawyer, mother, and so on. Being fat is important to give fat women a set of shared experiences and shared pains. She feels like “ big” women are bombarded with letters and magazines showing the very beautiful, thin girl.

I really can relate to this blog. People are so quick to tell you what you should and should not be. Being fat is one of the do not’s, and continues to push the really skinny girls in our faces as if that is the ideal girl. It is really not fair to compare one type of person to the other. The skinny girls may be pretty but they can also have nasty personalities. Just like fat women can be very beautiful, intellectual, and athletic. The difference in weight does not determine who the person is. The most important thing is to know the person as a whole, and not judge them by their weight. When Debby lists all the things obese women can be, she made a very strong point. You would not be able to understand a person by just labeling them. She continues by saying that fat women have been labeled and frequently poked fun of. Which is true, I have learned from experience. People can be very close minded. I was the chubby girl on the play ground. I was ridiculed everyday by my peers and family. My dad pointed out that I would turn out as fat as the lady on the street. Mind you this lady was huge, and the fact that I starved myself so that I wouldn’t end up like her, is very sad. I was taught at a young age that being fat was like the biggest sin ever.

Because of this, I now realize that image means everything to some people. The harsh words that are supposed to be used in good fun, can really tear someone’s self-esteem. As Debby pointed out, no one wants to be called a jolly fat aunt. Harmful words can be the dagger used to kill one’s soul permanently. Who ever said, “ sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me,” was wrong. No matter how strong you think you are, words can find a way to get to you. Weight issues have been going on for years. This time people are taking drastic actions like: purging, starvation, or binging. Because of these labels, we now have eating disorders. And this disease has spread everywhere like an epidemic. Teenagers as young as fourteen have eating disorders. They want to be beautiful and desired. And the only way to be desired by the opposite sex is to be thin.

I’m not trying to say that the majority of teenagers and adults have an eating disorder. I just want to point out that body image is everything to some people, and growing up in a society where you are constantly told to be thin creates consequences. I
was always told that if you were thin, you would get all the boys drooling at your feet, but if you were fat, you were the ugly duckling, the outcast.Which brings me to the point that as a society with high morals, we sure can judge people. The definition of beauty is not thin. We have generalized these two things. That should not be the case.