How Did I Miss Fat Shaming Week?

I’m not sure how I did it, but by the time I found out about Fat Shaming Week, it was over. This glorious and affirming week was held by an online men’s group that goes by the name of Return of Kings aka ROK.  I am very purposefully not including a link to their site because I do not want to enable anyone’s visit there.  However, I will say they’re not hard to find, and apparently ‘FSW’ was a huge, or in their words “corpulent success”. Hurrah for them!   The link I will provide, is a link to an article about the whole event that merits a read.  Although I find their site, their philosophy and their self-delusion offensive and demeaning to almost everyone, I would say that hosting a week of Fat Shaming is really missing the point.  Though their 5 reasons why fat girls don’t deserve love almost brought me to tears, and their meanness is well, just really mean, there doesn’t need to be a special week for fat shaming; it’s every week.

Like everyone, I know people of all different shapes and sizes. Most everyone I know, and certainly just about every woman I know struggles with how they look.  Some are obsessed with their noses, some their asses and on and on.  Most of us feel fat at some time or another, some of us actually are fat.  Even those highly enlightened beings who love themselves at any and every weight, and have found blissful self-acceptance, still sometimes wish they could fit into those skinny jeans, or wear a sheer blouse with a really sexy bra underneath, and look fabulous, even from the back.

Also, like most humans I know, I don’t need help feeling shame about my flaws, imagined or otherwise.  Thanks very much, but I’m doing just fine without your help ROK ! They claimed that the reason for doing this was to inspire all women to want to become thin and beautiful enough for these arrogant, self-important men to glance our way.  I think this is the saddest part of all.  Not only do they want me to feel even worse about myself, they think that by doing this for me I will make them feel better about themselves.  Count me out!

Part of the journey for all of us, and certainly for me, is to seek, recognize and acknowledge our own beauty.  The beauty that makes us individuals, that make us who we are both inside and out. The beauty that makes us special to those who do love us, as we to try to see ourselves as they see us. Though I struggle with it, I know that there are people who think I am beautiful and worthy of love and care and friendship and respect because I am me, and because I love and care for and respect them.