Let's Talk About Thin Privilege. I am five-foot-four, 125 pounds.
My measurements are 36-28-38. I wear size medium shirts, size seven jeans, and (in case you were wondering) size eight shoes. I have never walked into a clothing store unable to find items in my size. I have never been asked to pay more for a seat on an airplane. But Are You Thin? At the age of 16 Taylor Townsend was the top ranked junior girls tennis player in the United States.
At 15 she had beaten a player twice her age in her first pro win. She won the Australian Open juniors title in both singles and doubles, and the Wimbledon girls’ doubles title. She was headed to the US Open when the United States Tennis Association pulled her funding and said that they wouldn’t fund any more tournaments until she lost weight because they were concerned about her fitness. One would think the fact that she was the top ranked junior girl would be proof enough of her fitness, and maybe even help people to realize that fitness and body size are not the same thing, but not at the USTA. Townsend’s mother paid her fees, Townsend finished in the quarter finals, and the public went into uproar.
Townsend’s story has a happy ending, well at this point a happy middle. As fat people in a fatphobic society, refusing to hate ourselves is a defiant act of revolution. Like the blog? 5 Things I Miss About Weighing More Than 300 Pounds. I used to weigh more than 300 pounds.
I smoked like a house on fire, I drank like a blues guitarist, I ate whatever I wanted whenever I wanted, and I never, ever exercised. In 2003 I lost more than half my body weight. In 2007 I started a wildly successful personal training career. Today I’m fit enough to run (though I usually choose not to), and thin enough to comfortably wiggle my butt into size 6 jeans (though I usually wear super-stretchy workout clothes). You might think that when I reflect on my 300-pound self that it would be with disdain or pity. 1. Being fat gave me natural physical strength. 2. At bedtime I lie down in a sea of pillows. 3. 10 Struggles Of Being Not Fat, But Not Skinny Either. The Fantasy of Being Thin. A while back, Joy Nash provided us with this excellent quote of the day: Obese patients are often encouraged to believe that weight loss is an appropriate way to combat depression, save a failing marriage, or increase the chance of career success.
The irrationality of hopes pinned on weight loss is so striking that dieting might almost be likened to superstitious behavior…. Passing from childhood into adolescence, leaving home, marrying, starting a new job, having a baby, experiencing marital difficulties, adjusting to children leaving home, and growing old — all these life situations may become unexamined reasons to diet. In other instances, concerns over weight mask even more serious problems.” -Wooley and Garner, from “Obesity treatment: the high cost of false hope,” published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, vol. 91, no. 10, 1991. My embarrassing picture went viral. I logged onto my Facebook one morning to find a message from a girlfriend.
“You’re internet famous!” It read. She sent a link to a very public page whose sole purpose was posting images that mock people’s appearances. There I was in full glory — a picture of me dressed as my hero Lara Croft: Tomb Raider for Halloween — but written over the image were the words “Fridge Raider.” Funny enough, I wasn’t even angry at first. I don’t generally view my body size as positive or negative — it simply is. None of this played into my decision to dress up as Lara Croft, one of the most kick-ass female video game characters ever. Cosplay and Real Life: Size Doesn't Matter.
Very recently, I attended my first ever Anime Expo, which, is in fact, the largest anime convention in North America.
It was my first anime conventions since Chicago, where I attended Anime Central, cosplaying as my favorite anime character, Kan-u Unchou of Battle Vixens (AKA: Ikki Tousen)– (Yes, it’s a wig) But that was almost three years ago. So, naturally, I’d fallen out of the cosplay scene for a minute. However, there was one cosplay I’d absolutely wanted to do for a long time, and by Jove, I was going to get it done and debut it at Anime Expo.
Any Tekken fans on the house? …And decided to get bold and do her other, wildly impractical costume. Because why not, right? Cosplaying Christie (in this particular way), taught me two valuable lessons: 1) How much I hate wigs and will forever stick with my happily shaved head. 2) Size and body-shaming/slut-shaming will forever be a staple in the con community, much to my total disgust. “All she has to do is sit on you and she’ll win!” Now.