I am proud to announce that in 2017 I have leveled up my Rebellion Against Societal Expectations Skill. I have worked hard to increase this skill, doing radical things like accepting myself as I am, and telling the dieting world where to go.
As the weather got warmer, however, I faced another hurdle. This is a hurdle that I have struggled with since my late teens / early 20's. Even as I began entering the body positivity world, this issue haunted me. I was talking a good game, but there was a niggling doubt in the back of my mind that I wasn't truly walking the walk yet. How long could I continue to pretend that this was all right? How long could I maintain the charade that I was comfortable with myself if I kept this secret?
But now, now I have conquered that challenge! I have prevailed in the next step toward complete acceptance of myself! IT IS DONE!!!!
What is this horrible secret, you ask? What is it that I've done to take this important next step?
Are you ready for it?
Really?
I...
have...
been...
wearing...
TANK TOPS!
That's right! I have been letting my upper arm waddles swing in the breeze freely! No more trapping them inside sleeves when it is 105 degrees out!
I know, there are a lot of people out there who think that this is no big deal. When it gets hot, you wear shorts and tank tops. Everyone does, right?
If you WERE just thinking that, I have to tell you that you are caught in what is most likely unintentional acceptance of societal thin privilege. We're taught to think that way, you know, from when we are small. But it is true all the same.
Fat people aren't allowed that freedom, you see. Society expects us to hide our bodies from view. It's as though people are afraid that by looking at our upper arm waddles, our rolls, and our roundness, they will accidentally get infected with The Fat Virus. Then, the next thing they know, they will *gasp* be...be...FAT! *clutches pearls*
The thing is, this damaging view of life isn't restricted to the fat world. I know many people who would fall into what society considers to be the 'normal size' range who still fret at revealing their upper arms. They worry that their arms will somehow be seen as grotesque or disgusting. And so they, too, feel the pressure to remain as physically perfect as they can, hiding what many consider to be a flaw by wearing sleeves long enough to cover their upper arms at the very least.
It's sad that anyone feels that they need to hide part of themselves just so that other people won't be discomfited. We are who we are, and no one has the right to tell us that we should be different. If we decide to make changes in our lives, that is completely our own call.
Thus I decided to face my own next demon. Much to my pleasure, the world did not end. No one has made an effort to go out of their way to point and laugh, or to mock me. As a matter of fact, no one else even cared that I didn't have sleeves. And I get to enjoy feeling one less layer of clothing, and one less artificial constraint.
Rebellion Against Societal Expectations leveled up to Body Positivity 6!
