Is the model on the left too fat – or is the one on the right too skinny?

January 5, 2018 Ashley 0 Comments

When are we finally going to quit doing this?

We take a photo of a female with a bit of extra fat on her body.

And we put it next to a photo of a female with far less fat on her body.

And then we let the social media vultures vitriolically eviscerate it – and each other – one key clack at a time.

But… why?

Well, because, these women reflect a great many of us. We live in a society of extremes. One minute it’s the “I’m gonna starve myself to fit in that spring break bikini” resolution. Then, the next moment, we’re morphing into that meme about chugging boxed wine and binge watching T.V. Moderating diet or consistently hitting the gym’s not funny, so it doesn’t get spread across the web the way jokes about overeating and being lazy do. Likewise, it’s not shocking the way a skeletal celebrity is – which often garners just as much attention.

But what if we stopped focusing on the way they looked – and started asking other questions?

Because the truth is – I’ve met both these body types before. I know a chick who’s just a thick as the chick on the left. And you know what? She can out-lift me at the gym any day of the week and is an absolute badazz at rugby. Meanwhile, another woman I know is even slimmer than the model on the right. And that girl’s got energy and strength for days, too. In fact, she rows crew, hikes, runs, lifts, and probably saves Gotham from villains by night.

The point? The point is this: sure, everyone’s lovely in this picture.

But what I care about is (and you should too – especially if you identify with either’ve these ladies) how do you feel? Not look – but feel? Truly? In your day to day life? Can you run a few miles without dying or chase after your kids without wanting to pass out? Can you moderate your food without over or under eating it, due to some emotional deficit? Is an excess of fat causing joint pain and inflammation? Is being underweight coming with signs of malnutrition like weak bones, hair loss, or anemia? When the audience falls away and it’s just you – you being honest with yourself – do you truly feel that self affirmation that comes with living a legitimately fit life? That’s rhetorical. No need to answer to me. This is about you, girl. (Or dude, if any menfolk are reading this.) Because if so, high five. And if not? Then that’s okay. It’s just a sign that you need to change something. Either way, you don’t need reader validation to vote that final answer into existence. Your life’s not a game show. The problem is, most of us already can hear that voice of reason pleading with us to make a change. But change is hard. We’re afraid of the unknown. It might hurt or be hard or cause some other form of discomfort. It might mean changing our identity. So, instead of taking action, we ask the fallible masses to tell us what we wanna hear. (That we should just stay the course – whatever it may be.) So, the clothes come off (as in this ad), the Emperor’s New Clothes come on, and before we know it – we’re more worried about what everyone else thinks instead of that now silenced wise voice inside. Maybe if we all quit fishing for digital approval, we’ll be better able to hear that voice again… Instead’ve what the voice of fear wants to hear.

(Where my praise hands emoji at?)

Just remember: making a change doesn’t mean hating who we are.

Contrarily, we work on our bodies because we worship and wanna preserve them.