When We Call Little Girls 'Fat,' We Kill Their Dreams

“She’s fat,” my daughter’s 8-year-old friend said in her sweet voice as she hopped into our car. She was referring to another 8-year-old. I peered into the rear-view-mirror to see the friend’s innocent grin. It was as if this cute little girl had unknowingly clasped my throat with her second grade hands. I choked. I knew I had strong feelings about body image. I knew that I hated the word “fat.” But I didn’t know how those words “she’s fat” could yank me so rapidly and securely back to a painful throb in my thighs, my butt, my boobs, my waste, my cheekbones. I didn’t know that these words could take me to shame, to messages and images stored as a slightly pudgy 7-year-old, an awkward 10-year-old, a more awkward 13-year-old, an average 18-year-old and eventually a somewhat petite, fat-conscious adult. I didn’t know how quickly I could recall the self-hating talk, the wasted time in front of mirrors, the diets, the diet pills, the feeling of a finger down my throat encouraged by teenage friends who joined in the purging after we’d all eaten too many brownies. My pediatrician once called me “large boned.” Now the doctor tells me I have small bones. It’s funny— I’m pretty sure that bones don’t change, but people’s perceptions, their words sure can alter lives. These words “she’s fat” took me back to college where I met girls with real eat...
Source: Healthy Living - The Huffington Post - Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news