I grew up in the South. I remember the days of table manners when spending the day with my grandmother. In reality threatening to put napkins under your arms to make sure your elbows aren’t sticking out is only devastating to a competitive 6 year old. In the south there are certain unspoken rules, or at least there were while I was growing up. You never asked a lady’s age or weight, and politics were something that stayed at home. I remember my mom telling me once she wasn’t going to tell me who she voted for.
It seems the rules are changing. Political discussions spill over all over the place. The thing that has bothered me the most over the past year is the emphasis put on a woman’s weight or size. In today’s age of airbrushed magazine photographs, and internet anominity people seem to say whatever they want about what a “healthy” woman looks like. My entire life I’ve heard “you’re so skinny” like it’s a bad thing. I was even told once not to become anorexic because of my size. Believe me I am no where near anorexic. While talking to co-workers several weeks ago I actually discovered I weigh more than all of them. At some point being perceived as skinny is just as bad as being over weight.
While I train for marathons, and workout on a regular basis I am far from skinny. I am strong and healthy, something I’m quite proud of. I just happen to be lean. It’s time to stop judging everyone so much. Just because there are pictures in magazines of thin woman doesn’t mean that we all need to aspire to be them, or something we’ve found on Pinterest. All you have to do is strive to be the best person you can each day.
runningviolinist 