You Don't Get to Comment on My Body

I'm a little scatter-brained while writing this particular post, so bear with me. I may go off on random tangents, but the overall theme of today's post is that you shouldn't judge another person's body.


I am not a stick-figure girl. Trust me when I say that I am well aware of that; however, this does not mean that I am fat. A friend of mine once described me as THICK: curvy in all the right places. I have boobs, I have a butt, my thighs are thick, and I have a bit of a tummy. I'm okay with all of this. But that does not mean that you get are allowed to say anything about my features (especially in a negative way).

I don't care if you're a size 0 and think me and my size 12 self are too big to be shopping in a particular section. Keep it to yourself. I don't want to hear it, and you really don't want to hear my response. (Yes, this has actually happened to me.)

It doesn't matter that you are one of the students I tutor. You can't say that you talked your best bro out of dating some chick because she was too big to handle, kind of like me. No. That is completely unacceptable.You say something like that to me, and I hope you fail your big test that we were working so hard on. 

It makes no difference that you consider yourself a ladies-man when you waltz up to me and tell me that "I'm stretching out those jeans to the max, and you'd love to get a handful." Seriously? Seriously?! Has that line ever worked? What makes you think you could say something like that to me, and not walk away with at least an earful (and you're lucky if that's all you get.)

So my body type isn't the fashionable style. So I have trouble buying clothes because I'm not teeny tiny, nor am I huge (I'm that awkward in-between size). So what if you don't like the way I look. My body was not designed to fit your frame. I am a healthy, happy, beautiful, and confident woman. You don't have to like the way I look, but you do have to respect me.

"We know how beautiful we are. Men know it too. It's the fashion houses that have to catch up." 

Make no mistake, this rule of not judging a body applies to everyone. I will not comment on your body and try to tell you how to take care of yourself physically. On the contrary, I might get obnoxious when asking if you want another cookie, but that is just because I really like cookies and want everyone to enjoy them as much as I do. (There is one exception to this say-nothing rule: If I seriously think you have a disorder (such as anorexia, bulimia, etc...) I will mention something to you. I just want you to be healthy, no matter what size you are. If you think you have to starve yourself in order to be "beautiful" then there are issues that need to be addressed. And I would expect someone to do the same thing to me if they honest-to-goodness thought I had an eating disorder.) 


Having this body type since I was 13 years old, I know from experience that it is not always easy to feel confident about yourself, especially when it concerns your physical appearance. For those ladies out there who feel self-conscious about the way they look, I am here to tell you that there is no reason for that. Kellie Pickler said it best in her song Don't You Know You're Beautiful with the lyrics "Now I know you'd give everything just to fit it/ but your worth aint on a pricetag/ it comes from within.. You are a beautiful person, no matter what the rest of the world says. I know that kids (and even society) can be ruthless when it comes to appearances; know that you are better than that. You don't have to fit their model of what makes someone attractive. As long as you have confidence in yourself, other people will see that and find you attractive because of your personality. Besides, there are far more women out there who are "Plus Size" than there are size 2s. Trust me when I say that having curves is not a bad thing. It is not hopeless. You may get frustrated when trying to find clothes that you fit you properly while in the department stores, but there are other places that cater to women with hourglass figures (such as www.pinupgirlclothing.com )



What do you all think? Am I being too defensive about my body? Should I welcome other people's criticisms and use them to improve myself? Should everyone try to fit into the societal view of stick-thin beauty? Did you have body-image issues when you were growing up?  As always, let me know what you think about this post (not about my body, about this post...)