Breaking stereotypes about fat girls

What's a stereotype?

Cambridge English Dictionary describes stereotype as "a set idea that people have about what someone or something is like, especially an idea that is wrong".

Today I wanted to focus on fat girls only. As a fat girl I've heard so many things about my health, my looks or my future that made me laugh out loud. They were so ridiculous I couldn't even believe that they exist. Stereotypes that were created so neatly over the decades are stupid and not true. Let's jump into breaking them into tiny little pieces.

1. Fat girls are eating all the time.

The one thing that I hear everywhere - big girls eat all day long and never stop. I even heard that we always eat fast food and only unhealthy stuff. Wrong. We all are eating like a normal human beings. And no, I'm not nibbling on crisps or candy when I read or watch a movie. At least not all the time, like you think I do. And I know what vegetable and fruit is. I eat them a lot and I do have a healthy diet. Sometimes I will eat a piece of cake or a pack of crisps. But it's not everyday, not even every week. It's once in a while. So stop assuming that I am a fat cow stuffing my face with food all day.

2.Being fat means we're unhealthy.

It's a common thing that have been said all over the world - big girls must have some health problems connected to their weight. Well, guess what? We're not the wracks of human bodies. I understand that being overweight can increase the risk of multiple diseases such as heart disease or diabetes but it's not a guarantee. So, please, don't assume that I'm suffering from something just because I'm fat. I might be fat because of different reasons like hormones, depression, anxiety - the list is endless when it comes to what can cause being fat.

3.Exercising is just a dream for us.

Many people also think and assume that I don't exercise at all. It's like I'm just letting my fat grow and I am not bothered by it. Well, I am not bothered by it (at least not as much as other people are) but again, not true. Just because I'm not going to the gym five times a week and you won't see me outside exercising my ass off it doesn't mean I'm not doing it. I am active from six in the morning until six in the evening - I have two cats that need to be fed, I work with kids full time, I go to work walking, I come back walking. I do a lot when on weekdays. On the weekends maybe not as much but I will still try to exercise at least 15 minutes. We're not inactive. We're busy. You can't assume that I'm lazy just because the gym is not on the list of my hobbies.

4.The need of pointing out our weight.

Many times I've spoken to people, creating casual conversation, and I could see them observing me and scanning my body. I've seen weird moving around and words stuck in their mouths until they say it out loud. I've had multiple people in my life (including some members of my family) that have had the need to point out to me that I'm fat. Sometimes it happens directly, sometimes it's just a little hint in the casual conversation. I believe we really don't need people to tell us we are overweight. We own mirrors and believe me - we know.

5.Thin people's fishing.

Being fat and seeing thin people "fishing" for compliments is making me quite angry. Ever was in the situation where someone clearly thinner than you was ranting about how they are putting on weight? "Oh, I wish I looked like you, you're not fat at all" - that's what they want to hear. Well, let me tell you something. I love myself and I don't care if you're skinnier than me. I'm not going to spend whole day comparing myself to you. We're not jealous of you. And we never will be.

6.We aren't happy.

I'm currently size 20. It's the biggest number I've ever had in my entire life, but you know what? I like it. We don't have low self-esteem. We are not crying at night, thinking about how fat we are. We are pretty happy people. What people find attractive these days vary a lot. The only person I care about being attracted to me is my boyfriend and, hell, he's not complaining. So stop trying to make us feel better by creating those "compliments" you think will make us feel better.

7.We can't keep up with out hygiene.

Just because I have more fat in my body doesn't mean I'm not washing myself properly and will stink up the room. We all dress in a fresh clothes, we have bathrooms and we use deodorants. Why would someone think that if we're fat we must stink of sweat and dirt? Or is it because you think we're lazy so we won't care about cleaning ourselves up?

8.Fat people are always funny.

Yes, I am funny but it has nothing to do with my weight. I'm just funny because it's part of my personality. We're not trying to hide behind our humour. Being funny is a trait. You develop it when you grow up. It's not because we're fat so we have to have something nice about ourselves for people to like us more. Not at all.

Being a fat girl now I laugh about all of those little points. It's funny how some people find it so easy to judge bigger person by the way they look. We assume they're ill, they're dirty and always jealous about people that fit in size 6. But isn't assuming rude? So maybe start looking at yourself, love yourself and be happy with yourself. Stop creating problems where there is none. Just focus on yourself. Stop hating, start loving.