Things No One Will Tell Fat Girls by Jes Baker Read Free Book Online Page A

It’s a combination of thin, but not scary super-thin; athletic, but only the kind that looks like you do yoga; strong but not too muscular; feminine; having a “thigh gap,” but not the “heroin chic” kind from the ’90s; curvy, but still perfectly proportional; sexy, with boobs, but dear god not like Pamela Anderson (have some class already); poreless, but naturally so; and with a fit body that we see everywhere. Our society places the most value on a body that, without speaking, screams: HEALTH, VIBRANT HEALTH AND WELLNESS IS WHAT I EMBODY.
    I’m here to propose something that I believe too few of us realize: “Health” is our new “beauty myth.”
    Health, and, by extension, fitness and wellness. So says the super fat chick who loves cronuts , many will scoff. This is most certainly not a popular opinion. Culturally, we tend to believe all diagnoses, opinions, and commentary from all medical “professionals.” We don’t fuck with or question anything about health and medicine, including our infatuation with it. This, dear friends, at the very least , deserves questioning. And the reading of Chapter 5 .
    In the last few decades we, societally, have created some space to unpack the issues around body image. We’ve now had the conversation about how extreme eating disorders like anorexia nervosa aren’t healthy so many times that some countries have started banning “unnaturally thin” bodies of a “skeleton” nature from runways, movies, and fashion spreads. We claim to be offended when this type of body surfaces and have no hesitation judging those bodies against the same ruler we use for fat bodies. Today, everyone seem to say: “Fat is horrifying, but so is the extreme opposite . It’s important for EVERYONE TO BE HEALTHY!” This, my friends, is a perfect example of how health has become one of our main obsessions.
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    THE
    FAT
    PEOPLE:
    do all the things!
    CHALLENGE

    Â 
    #2: SWING.
    Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  I did this challenge, and I REALLY enjoyed it. It was a beautiful Tucson day, and I walked to a nearby park for some swinging. It is fucking awesome to see how high you can get. Did the swing set break? Not even slightly.
    Your challenge: Find a swing set near you! Anyone (there are no size exclusions) can join in. Bring a pillow for comfort if needed, because let’s be real: That plastic isn’t cozy.
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    Now, preoccupation with exercise and healthy living isn’t anything new. Not even remotely. Remember the ’80s with aerobics, toned supermodel arms, and the wearing of sneakers with a dress suit? We’ve always valued health and wellness to an extent. After all, we’ve always had bodies that need maintenance, and we on a fundamental level want to take care of them! So, then, what’s the difference? The difference between then and now is that our obsession with worth in relation to health is at an all-time high. Never before have we judged people’s value, morality, and meaningfulness by their medical charts and their ability to run marathons.
    This can be starkly highlighted by an Instagram account with over sixty thousand followers whose name and message is literally, “Healthy is the new skinny.” This is EXACTLY the issue. Plus-size workout companies also push this concept. Hard. We have replacedFen-Phen, Slimfast, and melba toast with the Paleo diet, CrossFit, and juicing. Now, don’t misunderstand. There isn’t anything inherently wrong with “clean eating,” strengthening exercises, or juicing. No way. It is our worshipping and utilization of them in order to become the ideal and “worthy” body type (and the guilt that comes if we don’t) that is the issue.
    It’s fascinating how we’ve been fooled into feeling like we’re reclaiming power by saying DON’T WORRY ABOUT YOUR SIZE, ONLY YOUR HEALTH! But really, what we’re