Mar 24
Unsolicited Remarks
Last week I was standing in line to get a pretzel. Yes, I know that’s not on my list of diet-approved foods. So shoot me. Anyway, one of the men who was also in line said to me, “You know, those are fattening.” I gestured to my more than ample figure and shot back, “Honestly, do I look like I care?” The people within earshot laughed. At him, not at me.
But that incident really burned me up. How dare a complete stranger take it upon himself to 1) Make judgments about what I should and shouldn’t be eating, and 2) Share those judgments with me? How rude can you get?
It reminded me of my days in college when frat guys used to gather on the sidewalk and rate the bodies of the women walking past them. Back in those days, I actually had a pretty decent body, and friends would ask me why I complained when my ratings were high. I replied that it wasn’t the rating itself but the principle of the thing, the idea that some stranger would make unsolicited remarks–positive or negative–about my body.
Of course, I’m sure nobody reading this blog would ever dream of doing such an insensitive thing. But just in case you’re ever tempted to “help” someone by making a comment about their size or attractiveness, remember this: People who are fat know they are fat. We don’t need to be told. We certainly don’t need to be instructed about healthful eating habits by someone we don’t even know. In these situations, silence isn’t just golden. It’s mandatory.
