Fat shaming is not okay

Here’s the thing - the bullying doesn’t stop once you’ve left school. It takes on a new form and gets a new name.

They call it fat shaming.

I remember being teased at primary school.

My classmates would run around the playground calling me “Mount Everest”.

They thought it was funny. But here’s the thing, it’s no longer a joke when it’s a personal attack on someone.

Mainstream media have taught us that being beautiful means having glowing skin, being blemish free; having a thigh gap; being a size 8 and having straight hair.

That’s not me. 

I’m a size 40. I have acne. I don’t have a thigh gap. And my hair is frizzy.

In medical terms, I’m morbidly obese.

I can list more than a handful of instances where I was bullied about my weight.

No one stopped to think that I could have a medical condition which makes it far more challenging than usual to shed the kilos.

I have Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, better known as PCOS.

It’s a hormonal imbalance. It means you have irregular periods which can either last for two weeks or pay you a visit every other month.

It means you have unsightly hair in all the wrong places – facial hair, arm hair, hairy toes and fingers.

It also causes small cysts on the ovaries.

Mind you, it can be fixed with a change in one’s diet and exercise.

It’s just extremely discouraging when you spend two months in the gym and completely change your diet and lifestyle, but still see no results.

This is what happened to me.

It’s discouraging to say the least.

Needless to say I haven’t been back to the gym since.

It takes a great amount of determination and I have to admit that I lack that at this stage of my life.

I do know that once I put my mind to it and fully commit, it will change.

So next time when you feel like judging someone, take a moment to think first.

Think about why you feel the need to judge someone, but then also ask yourself if there aren’t any other factors which have led to a person finding themselves overweight and obese.

Mainstream media have taught girls that to be a lady means to not raise your voice, to not swear and to laugh, or at least smile politely. 

It’s not easy loving who you are when the world has conditioned you to believe that you’re just not beautiful.

Teach your children that beauty comes in all shapes, sizes and colours.

Teach your children that love has no bounds and knows no limitations.

That is how we build a nation that is free of discrimination and intolerance.

Yes, I could do more to shed the kilos, but that still doesn’t give you the right to pass judgement on my weight!