I passed along EDSA the other day, and after being saturated with chiselled abdomens and half-naked girls, I came across a billboard of a slimming company that had two photos on it: BEFORE AND AFTER.
I couldn’t help but scoff at the context being presented by the advertisement. The fat woman on the before photo looked so shy and ashamed, dressed not so stylishly as the photo on the right, with her hair tied back in a ponytail and her eyes full of despair. Then there was the after photo, all glammed up and obviously thinner than the previous one, with eyes full of victory, confidence and glory.
Here comes the BIG question: WHY IS FAT OFTEN ASSOCIATED WITH SADNESS, SHAME AND DISCONTENT? I was annoyed, until the light bulb lit up and the situation instantly gave me a topic to blog about.
So many women I know, who are corpulent and plump, are often too conscious about their bodies, feeling so offended and shameful about themselves. I am confident and very sure that the media and the images they send out the society is ONE HUGE FACTOR why this is so.
I really hate the association of fat with depression, self-pity or an unfortunate circumstance happening in one’s life. I’m not saying it doesn’t occur; yes, weight gain may have been the effect of such things, but what gives any person the right to judge another, based on his/her turning to food for comfort? Before I digress, let’s go back to the point: Why is fat more often than not associated with terrible things?
Fat to me means happiness, celebration and wealth. I’m not saying you have to fit the description in order to feel so. NO. It’s not that. It’s just that weight gain MAY ALSO occur after a season of celebrations, feasts and good times, not just after a season of sadness, despair and depression. It maybe after giving birth to your first baby, or maybe after a season of endless gastronomic dates with your new found love. Perhaps it's the effect of eating more without the guilt and self-pity (or sticking down a finger down your throat), when you have looked at your body, learning that you are supposed to be different. I loathe how the media makes women feel so guilty about weight gain. They make it seem like it’s a personal failure of some sort.
Fat is happy! When I started loving my body more, I look back at the moments I have tremendously enjoyed the laughter and awesome memories I have shared with others that inevitably came along with the feastings. My size right now is the accumulation of wonderful, exciting and delectable moments with the ones I love the deepest. Most of all, it's the result of the decision I have made to be honest with my body and more importantly, with myself.
Just like every other woman out there, I used to believe that I couldn't be happy in the shape I was in. I felt like every girl in her before photo-- sad, ugly and unsatisfied. This is why I find it so freeing to accept that my body is beautiful, and that I CAN AND DESERVE TO LOVE MY BODY NOW, without the pressures of having an after photo. Sure, there may be days I want to have an after photo, but I definitely will not let that take away the joy I have with what I am now. I am still on the journey to TOTAL body acceptance.
To me, fat is beautiful, it's worth celebrating, flaunting and being comfortable in (I find it totally hilarious that some people get uncomfortable with how comfortable I am in my skin). Fat is worth dressing, styling and gussying up.
*THIS IS THE MOMENT I FLAUNT LIKE A FRISKY KITTEH (cue music: I'm too sexy by Right Said Fred)
