Before you groan and ask, “Ugh, what struggles could skinny girls possibly have in this bleak, fat-shaming world?”, let me just say, I know. I know what you’re thinking, and I get that the words “skinny” and “struggles” don’t immediately go hand-in-hand in most people's minds, but this Buzzfeed video shows you exactly how annoying it can be when people poke and prod at your stomach and tell you to put “a little more meat on your bones.” Like no girl, I will do whatever I want with with my bones. You don’t know my bones!
In high school, I was pretty skinny. Friends used to ask me what I ate and if I ate. My grandma would pinch my wrists and hips and tell me I’ll need to start eating so I could look like “a real woman,” and everyone just assumed I worked out or played sports. While it didn't really feel like bullying to me (everyone is different, though), it was definitely aggravating, especially since it’s not like I strived to be super thin. I was just a lanky 15-year-old who was still growing into her body. I ended up gaining more weight in college and now I’m “average,” and that’s cool with me. I don’t really put much stock in my weight, because I feel like overall health is more important, and can be determined by a bunch of different factors.
But as a former "skinny girl," I really feel these ladies on a spiritual, deep level. Watch as they sit on their friends’ laps only to hear things like, “Oh girl, you’re a little bony though, huh?” When people grab their wrist and exclaim, “Your wrist! It’s so tiny!” as though they were holding a tree branch, and when they're asked the question, "How do you even stay warm in the winter?" I'm not here to claim that the criticism skinny women sometimes receive is anything like the tidal cultural forces that diminish and dehumanize anyone deemed "fat" which is a label that could be attributed to a wide range of people per some pretty insane standards. I'm not arguing that skinny women aren't inherently, unfairly viewed as healthier and hotter. This video is admittedly full of #PrivilegedPeopleProblems. But all that said, it still sucks to have anyone gawk at you for your looks, regardless of whether you’re thin or overweight, OK?
Image: YouTube
