Fat discrimination is my personal bugbear. Just today I worked through some poor treatment I received recently. It was the usual type, you are not as good, valuable, intelligent, fast as everyone else here. In my first job, I was told that obesity made me think slower than others! Where is the logic in this thinking?
In the past I have fought the discrimination. Nowadays I don’t bother because I know no matter what I say, it will not be heard. It is impossible for one person to change this mindset in a society which worships small.
What about those of us who have a weight problem, excess skin and flesh or are just big boned? When we are being bullied, we start thinking that the whole world sees us this way, and if we are not careful, we begin to believe it of ourselves.
My advice is simply this: those who judge us in this way are not our people. Hear this again, if you are bullied, ignored, judged or rejected, by anyone, they are not part of your tribe. To be part of my life is to accept me as I am. In my interactions with others, only about 20 per cent of the population think in this discriminating way. That leaves a lot of people for my tribe.
Why have I chosen this picture? Despite losing over 100kg, I focus on the weight that is left because bullying has left a scar on my soul. There are those who will only see this weight. You may think that if you lose weight, you will be accepted. But there will always be someone who does not like something about you.
In my journey I have learned to love myself and, in the process, lost weight, undergone surgery to remove the excess skin and flesh, studied to get an MBA, have some truly intelligent and gifted friends and I am no longer unhealthy or considered medically overweight. But this is not enough for some.
You will never be acceptable to everyone. And that is okay, because those who matter do accept you. If this strikes a chord with you, message me because I understand.
In love, Jenny
