Opinion | What’s More Important, Weight or Character?

Take a good look in the mirror; do you like what you see? Does society find it acceptable? I’m sure they don’t. When I look in the mirror, I see strength, beauty, kindness and independence; I also see a body that society doesn’t deem “acceptable” I’m not a size two, and I’ll never be one.

Growing up, I battled with weight issues. All through middle school I was clearly the “chubby” kid. The first indication was always trying to not run the mile course in middle school. No such luck. Obviously, high school was a joke too, always comparing myself to other girls. The stigma on weight and size starts at such a young age now, and I wonder how I made it through with an “I don’t give a shit attitude.”

Wherever I look, all I see is sexy, photo-shopped beauties gracing the pages of magazines. Many times I wish those girls would just eat a damn cheeseburger without possibly feeling any guilt. When did we allow society to justify what is beautiful and acceptable?

Both genders face criticism when it comes to our body size and type. It shouldn’t be that way. I’ve been told, on multiple occasions, “You would be so pretty if you just lost 30 pounds.” Excuse me? Am I not pretty now? Why should my weight determine my beauty? Much of society looks at people who are overweight and characterizes it as a flaw. Our “flaw” should not be a determinate of our beauty or character.

I’m not saying throw sympathy at the overweight people of the world, but we need to reevaluate our societies standards of what “acceptable” is. A lot of people assume that overweight people could not possibly be happy with their lives with the “condition” they are in. That’s not true. What is true is that some people place more value on the size of a person than they do their character.

For my age, height and size, I am considered morbidly obese. Thanks a lot BMI chart. Too many men and women suffer from the distorted perspective that society places on size and beauty. Weight is not a negative aspect of a person. It is merely a physical trait of each human being.

Take a look in the mirror; look deep into your soul. If for one second you think that your size is the only indication of who you are, you are wrong. There is more to a person than the size that a small, white tag on your clothes says. If fat is really the worst thing someone can be called, then by all means, call me fat.