From the thinnest among us

Been thinking, lately, about issues women have with poor self-image. This includes myself, on occasion, but there are some women I have met who have very serious issues with this. The ones in mind happen to be some of the most thin, beautiful women I have ever met. I was reminded of this, recently, when one of them confided in me that she felt as if her ass was protruding out of her pants to the extent of being mildly inappropriate due to eating a few extra pieces of candy last week. Of course, this wasn’t at all the case. While she was telling me this, I kept asking myself: why is SHE thinking like this? She’s the size zero on the women’s rack of jeans. I could fit her entire ass in my pocket!!! I simply responded that she was not protruding inappropriately and that she was, in fact, tiny and shouldn’t worry about it. But, I could tell this thought was really bothering her.

Then I remembered a close friend I had in college who was an uber-thin, six-foot blonde (yes, a model) who, on a daily basis, insisted that she was fat. I desperately tried to explain to her that for her to keep thinking this out loud, even if she thought it to be true, was one of the things that made other women hate her. It wasn’t until we were riding an escalator in a department store after having tried on clothes, and she was talking out loud about how fat she was, that a woman behind us overheard and ripped her a new one right there on the escalator. The woman all but flogged my friend with her handbag at the hearing of her self-deprecating comments about her alleged ‘weight problem.’

“See, what did I tell you? Don’t say that out loud in public. It’s rude.” I told my friend, after the confrontation.

“I don’t understand,” she replied. “I never said that SHE was fat; I was talking about myself.”

“Yes, I know, but you’re a fucking model! What you need to understand is that if YOU are FAT, then that makes the REST of us CIRCUS FAT, and that’s pretty insulting.”

“But you’re not fat.” She replied and she meant it.

In hindsight, I should have told her to stop hanging around her gay, male friends and get some real perspective about what fat really is.

Poor self-image is a real issue for many women. Apparently, it’s largely an issue for the thinnest among us. How twisted is that?

I am reminded that I'd rather have my body and a decent self-image, than a model's body and a poor self-image any day of the week.

"Let them eat cake."
-Marie Antoinette