Friday, 1 February 2013

"You look like a skeleton!"

"Oh, don't lose any more weight!"
"You look ill :("

"Eat a burger, you're too skinny"
"Ew you look anorexic"
"Ha, you gonna throw that up when you get home?"

Above are just a few of the things I see and hear being thrown around pretty regularly to both me and friends of mine. I've had (maybe well meaning) people who I barely know tell me I look painfully thin and maybe I should think about eating some more. A friend of mine posted some pictures after losing 3 stone (19kg) yesterday and amongst the comments of congratulations and cheers, there were some of the above quotes,. For the record, my friend is a UK size 8-10 top and 10 bottom (US sizes 6-8 and 8 respectively). She's 5'6 (167cm). She's 123lbs (55kgs). Hardly Isabelle Carro! 

"You look like a pig!"
"Oh, don't put on any more weight"
"You look ill :("
"Eat a salad, you're too fat"
"Ew, you look morbidly obese"
"Ha, you gonna sneak some more food in when you get home?"

What's the difference between the first set of quotes and the second set? Maybe the second set is more offensive? The first set are more positive (i.e. you're worried about someone's health)? It's OK to say that to skinny people but not fat people?
Nothing. There is absolutely nothing different about the two sets of quotes, other than you hear the first set more. They're both rude and they're both being aimed at someone because of what they look like.

Why? Why do people think it's OK to tell someone they look like a skeleton, but not a fat pig? Why is it OK to make jokes about people throwing their food up, but not OK to make jokes about them eating more? 
It's not. None of the above are OK  no matter who you are or what you look like or who you're talking to. And yet it's not uncommon to hear people saying the things at the top, as if it's somehow OK, they're trying to help, they're being supportive. 

It's all downright rude. How dare people think it's OK to comment on someone's image that way? 
Being told you look too skinny is just as hurtful as being told you look too fat. Someone who's taken their life and their body and their health into their hands and done something that they're proud of, whether it's losing weight, gaining muscle, becoming a body builder, has done it for themselves, not you. They've not done it to please/disgust you. So don't feel like you're justified in telling them what they should and shouldn't do to their own body. 

The next time someone tells me I look anorexic, I'm going to reply that they look like a comfort eater and watch their reaction. Hopefully it'll make them think about what they're saying.
Oh, and don't even get me started on the "real women have curves" thing. Skinny women aren't imaginary.


  1. Great post Hannah.These sort of comments are mainly by jealous lazy people who rather than do something about their own lives set out to put others down.
    Yes apparently since I don't have curves I'm a fake women, don't know how I had 8 children

  2. Absolutely agree -it's so strange to me that my shape/weight/appearance should be dictated to me by anyone else.

  3. Thanks everyone, I'm glad you like the post :)