Skinny shaming

You know what I'm getting tired of seeing?

This:

This:

And this:

Seems "skinny shaming" is a thing. For some reason I'm really noticing it at the moment. I see stuff like this in my Facebook news feed and quite frankly it's annoying...and hurtful. In my mind,  skinny shaming is just as hurtful as teasing someone for being overweight.

I guess you could say that I'm skinny. I find it hard having an objective viewpoint on this due to the fact that achondroplasia makes it look as though I have "junk in my trunk" no matter what I do, but I do know that I am lean because I work out regularly and eat well. I work hard at maintaining this level of fitness. I'm not going to deny that. It takes commitment and work. I get up at the crack of dawn two mornings a week to go swimming, I lace up my running shoes a minimum of twice a week to go running. I push my body to test it's limits, but I do it because I enjoy being healthy. My drug of choice is that naturally high feeling after I've completed a good run, a decent number of laps in the pool or a session of yoga. I love the feeling of vitality and energy coursing through my body. It's worth it! 

The only down side to being lean is that I've lost curves and I'm flat chested - but I'm OK with that. I've learned to be happy in my own skin. 

Looking back, I've never had a problem with my weight and, apart from pregnancy, I've always been on the leaner side. Good genes maybe? I remember my mother saying when I was a young teen that if I was average sized I would possibly have the same body type as one of my slender sisters. At the time I heard that with the ears of someone who was struggling with an eating disorder and my mind turned it around to mean, "You're fat". She didn't mean it that way at all, but my illogical mind took it that way.

Silly goose.

Good metabolism? Possibly. I've always been interested in and committed to being as physically healthy as I can possibly be, maybe that's it? I'm committed to being active. I walk a lot. I choose the stairs at train stations and in shopping centres rather than escalators. I like to move. I don't like eating junk or drinking soft drinks (soda). It's both a preference and a choice. Maybe my metabolism has adjusted itself according to these choices. 

I have been called a bitch because I am lean. That was kind of hurtful. I didn't really know what to do with that comment when it happened. Being a bitch for being lean and healthy? I didn't get it at the time...I still don't get it. Why?  If you're not happy with your own body and wish it were different, then the choice is yours. DO something about it, but don't call me (or anyone else) a bitch in the interim. Please. 

I wouldn't dream of insulting someone because of the body shape they inhabit - whatever shape it is. I feel concern for people who are unhealthy but to make personal remarks or insults is just not on! That WOULD make me a bitch.