A topic that comes up from time to time at our house is: in our politically correct world, what seem to be the few things that are still considered "okay" or normal to poke fun at? Hillbillies being one, along with Christians and my biggest peeve - thin people.
I am tall - nearly 5 feet 9 and my normal weight fluctuates between 115 and 125. I was 108 when I got married 14 years ago. Two kids later, things have changed....shifted, but that's okay. I never put much stock into those numbers. I am built the way I am built. I guess I have a pretty high metabolism, because I eat like a normal person, I eat what I feel like eating and still stay in my range.
I consider it to be a part of me, like the birthmark on my foot or my black hair - which these days does come from Miss Clairol, but it's darn close to my natural color.
It's been interesting the way others relate to me. I've had total strangers ask if I was anorexic. (If I was, would I admit it, I wonder?). I'm not. I'm not bulemic and I'm not a calorie counter. Never have been.
After my first c-section, the nurses who were tranferring me from OR table to gurney talked as if I weren't there: "She's not as big as a minute." I could almost hear her tongue cluck. After my second c-section, one nurse asked me "Do you eat at home?" Honestly. Would I ask a plump person what they ate to stay zaftig?
Another favorite: What do you do to stay so thin? Sometimes, if I'm feeling gregarious, I say, "Do you want the popular answer or the truth? The popular answer is I work out constantly and watch what I eat. The truth is nothing. I just have the metabolism of a humming bird. " Which is then followed by, "Lucky!" and I say, "I guess." I mean, what am I supposed to say? I didn't pick it, although I am glad for it.
Every now and then, I'll get asked what size I wear! No shit. Unbelievable. And, most of it comes from total strangers or people I barely know.
Some folks seem to think my personal body shape is all of their business. I just don't get it. They wouldn't ask the same types of questions to a person with seriously bad acne or a stump for a leg. I wish I could come up with some non-offensive repartee, but thus far, I just shake my head and try to laught it off.
The moral of my story? Thin people have feelings, too! ;-)
Oh! I get the flip side!
ReplyDeleteI was told, at AGE TWELVE, to be thankful that I had "great birthing hips and an ample bosom".
I am regularly asked how much I weigh OR what size I wear.
My answers? I weigh more than a chicken - but less than a hippo.
Or 'much lower than you'd expect for a gal with multiple personalities'.
And I ALWAYS wear whatever size fits me.
Feel free to use my answers.
I like Renn's answers, but she is not as big as she would have you believe!!
ReplyDeleteI was 118 lbs. and 5'10" at age 22. I stayed at about 120-125 until I was 39. I quit smoking when I was 38 and put on 20 lbs. the first year and 20 lbs. the second year. I now weigh 60 lbs. more than I did at 22, and I am still not fat.
I was so skinny that people called me Olive Oil, slat legs and other awful stuff. I just considered they were jealous! LOL
The loving wife weighed the same the day after giving birth the first time and only five pounds more after our daughter was born.
ReplyDeleteShe is and has always been thin. Things people would say to her were as bad if not worse than what people say to the overweight. She too has a high metabolism and would eat non-stop and whatever she wanted.
She has finally had to slow down the last couple years. Some changes started at around 45.
Dude! That's just rotten. I have a pregnant friend who was just commenting yesterday on the liberties total strangers take, rubbing her belly as if it had an invitation printed on it.
ReplyDeleteRenn's good with the comeback. It's tough to make a point without making some ignoramus feel like poo, but someone has to do it. Sometimes they have it coming...