I have a friend I haven't really seen in a while. I saw her this week and noticed that she has really lost a lot of weight. She didn't need to lose any weight by any means. I heard someone say to her "You have really lost a lot of weight is everything ok?" and there was some discussion about stress and her not eating and working out too much at the gym and long walks was how she was trying to deal with the stress. We all nodded and that was that.
I am worried about her stress and how thin she has gotten. I was there once.
Then I begin to think... What if it had gone the other way. What if she had gained maybe 20-30 pounds? Would someone walk up to her and say "You have really gained a lot of weight are you alright?" and her response maybe "I am under a lot of stress and I have been eating to much to deal with it" we all would have nodded. But the fact that anyone would have said to her "You have really gained a lot of weight" would have been shocking and appalling. We might have gasped in disbelief that someone would say that!
No one would have said that.
No what I mean?
2 comments:
Society thinks if you are overweight, it's bad. If you are thin, it's good. That's it, bottom line. It's completely a cultural thing. The truth is there are some overweight people who are healthier than some thin people. It's all visual though. People see 'fat' on a person and think, oh you don't take care of yourself, eat all the wrong foods, I would never let myself get that like blah blah blah. They instantly assume that if you are overweight, poor you. When maybe they should not be judging because that person might be (and I say MIGHT) healthier than them!
No judging America! Just say no. People have feelings. For example, I have been 'overweight' for almost all of my adult life. I got more so when we had a very difficult time in our lives. More than ever before. It is all off now plus some but still I weigh more than the Doc would like me to. But guess what? My cholesterol is fine, my heart is fine, my blood pressure is controlled with medicine (since the hard time but not before and I was overweight before), and not that I'm in shape but I can run up and down the stairs in our house all day long and be fine.
It's visual. It's stereotyping. It's sad.
Sorry folks. I'm having a bad emotion afternoon so I'm feeling rather opinionated today. Please excuse.
Amusingly, Japanese, for example, have no cultural inhibitions about telling someone if they are overweight or gained a few kilos. In the same time, they are incredibly shy and circumspect about relaying simplest wants. I'd rather skirt the girth of my friends. At least if you want to know truth about your weight here, you can ask a professional.
Post a Comment