This blog post may be a bit sensitive for some, but I can’t hold in my view on the subject any longer.
Perhaps you’ve seen the T-shirts that read, “I beat anorexia,” or have been asked on occasion about losing weight. Whether or not you or someone else did actually have anorexia is not why I’m steaming. It’s the fact that there is even a T-shirt with these words being sold in plus sizes (and regular sizes too I’m sure) as a joke and the fact that people so regularly comment on the weight of the thin.
Even if someone does have anorexia and is underweight, what gives people the right (besides freedom of speech) to comment so openly on the weight of the perceived slender individuals in this world? And what gives people the right to publicly make fun of those who have a serious mental illness? I don’t know about you, but I wouldn’t walk up to someone who has gained weight and say, “Wow, you’ve really gained some weight. Have you been eating more?” Nor would I post jokes on a social networking site about mental. illness. Not all thin or underweight people have an eating disorder and if they do, take their hand and help for crying out loud…
I am defensive about mental illness because someone NEEDS to be.
My goodness people, why does someone having an eating disorder or being naturally slender permit the rest of us to comment so darn freely on how his/her weight appears??? You will never see me wear a T-shirt with the words, “I beat anorexia,” even though I truly have beat the illness.
Humans are more than a number. We are more than an appearance or a size or a hairstyle. So please, let’s all do the world of favor and unless we are being sincere and not inquiring just to inquire (or because we’re jealous), let’s stop with the weight talk and move on to life’s more important things.
While we’re at it, let’s stop all the trash talk and jokes about an illness that kills more than 20 percent of sufferers.
It’s no laughing matter…
This Side of the Creek 