Why one size doesn't fit all

Being fat - overweight or obese -- is not a bad thing. Many of us were born this way, just as you were born short or with blonde hair. Are we to change our DNA? Are we expected to curse our genes, our parents, or grandparents?I am fat. I do not ask for your hatred. I do not ask for your rude remarks. I do not ask for your judgment. I do not ask for your outrageous demands, nor for your attempts to make me skinny. Yet I receive them anyway. Why? Why is the world seemingly thin-obsessed?

Why do we live in a world where fat is not tolerated? Why are we assumed to be lazy, sloppy, smelly and unable to control ourselves? There are plenty of thin and average sized people who have these same characteristics, yet they get no reprimands. What makes us less worthy than them?

It is time we start accepting people of every size. It is time for fat acceptance. I should feel encouraged to wear a bathing suit - even a bikini - to the beach and not worry about parts of me showing, or what other people might think.

You, the sizeist, assume we have no feelings. You assume what we all need is a sparse meal, a rigorous exercise regime and iron will. News flash: This doesn't always work. Some of us are destined to be fat. Some of us are healthy; some of us aren't, just like thin people. Yes, it would be a good thing to eat right and get at least an hour of exercise a day, but some of us will remain this size.

If you want to encourage healthy living, that's fine. Encourage a positive attitude and healthy choices. But don't shame us into self-hatred. Don't tell us we're worthless because we do not fit in your skewed sense of beauty.

Some weight loss commercials sell ways to ignore hunger. You know what that could lead to? Anorexic eating. Eating is a necessary and vital thing. If we do not eat, we will die. Are you, the sizeist, suggesting we starve ourselves, possibly develop eating disorders and years of self-loathing to obtain your warped body ideals?

Understand this is not thin-bashing. If you are born thin, bully for you. I don't ask you to pack on the pounds to fit my idea of beauty. That is unethical and ignorant. When fat women are portrayed in the media, often in magazines, they are proclaimed as "real women." While it is true most women do not look like supermodels, this does not mean thin women are any less real than fat women.

How can we fight fat hatred? First, change your own thoughts. If you stop thinking of fat as something to be hated and feared, your entire paradigm will evolve. If you hear someone make a rude comment or a mean joke at a fat person's expense, speak up. Tell them you won't stand for that. Every revolution has started small.

I am not a scholar. I am a student. My plea is simple. The next time you see a fat person, save your judgment and simply smile.