Whenever you see a heavy person struggling in carrying loads of stuffs including shopping bags with one of them showing crispy fries, large plastic cups of coke, and a delicious cake, how does that make you feel? Do you become sympathetic to the bags? Or to the food? Just kidding. Do you feel like helping? Or do you wonder how many calories of food can that body hold and just can’t keep your opinions to yourself?

What does fat-shaming mean and how does it affect those who have received the brunt? Fat-shaming is obviously a combination of two words that can be simply understood as embarrassing or making fun of someone who is bulging, oversize, and obese that breaks their heart. Oftentimes, it is done without malice. (Please read back to the first paragraph).  It is happening around family and friends for many years. You may actually be unknowingly hurting another with careless comments on how his clothes don’t fit. Why have this seemingly innocent practice and its unfavorable repercussions come to light?

Recently, there’s a viral post of a young lady who narrated in her socmed account how she reacted positively to a hateful opinion as she was buying sweets from a local bakery. She was patiently waiting for her turn to buy six cupcakes when the impatient buyers on her back said their thoughts aloud about how they hoped she would spare them what’s left. Instead of paying for what she initially wanted to buy, she ended up getting everything and sharing them with her loved ones. That’s how she stood up to those who made the mistake of associating her size with her appetite, and not her heart.

People praised her for how she responded with grace to a bad situation but there were also some who had opposite reactions giving the defense that it’s unhealthy to be fat. They are correct in saying so but what some don’t realize is that people always try to present their best to the outside world. They may have become fat because of unhealthy choices, they may be that way because they’re happy with who they are and have not cared to please or meet some beauty standards or simply, they stay big no matter how much they want to lose weight because they can’t help their genetic makeup. Be that as it may, it is not beneath someone to have a kind word – because words speak loud.

If you take one look at someone and place him in a box of categories like a geek or a crass or a junkie, wouldn’t it be unfair to you if you were in the same boat? You would fight to the death to prove otherwise and hopefully, you’d have the same voice for another, too. If the world has to rename someone, let he be recognized for how much he loves his family and those around him, how he dedicated his life to his business in the community, and how he strives every day to conquer his fears and live a meaningful life. Everyone deserves to be known for his goodness and steadfastness in contrast to this ever-changing but perfectionist society. Mother Teresa agreed believing, “If you judge people, you have no time to love them.”

By Jin

Source:

Hosie, Rachel. (2018, April 5). Teenagers response to woman who fat-shamed her goes viral. The Independent. Retrieved from https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/teenage-girl-fat-shamed-bakery-woman-response-viral-cupcakes-vega-blossom-indiana-facebook-a8289601.html