Last week I posted on my Facebook wall about my last article. The article was about how a Balenciaga designer started the size zero trend for runway fashion in the early 2000s without even trying to create a fad, because he did not use fit models and his designs just turned out very small. This obsession with thin models has been harmful to our culture and women's body image, and studies have proven it. I'll redirect you to my 16-page paper on the subject if you would like to look over my sources.
In response to that post on Facebook, I got a response that I did not expect. A girl that I barely knew accused me of shaming size zero women, which was never my intent. I would never support such girl-on-girl body shaming. From my experience, talk like this will get women nowhere. In middle school I knew of girls who bullied and teased everyone they thought was below them to make themselves feel more in power. In high school, my health teacher glared at me throughout lessons about eating disorders and I could tell that she thought that I had one because of my small frame. I didn't have one—but that didn't keep me from feeling like I was being put in a box because she thought that I had the appearance of someone who had anorexia. I have listened to girls talk so critically about themselves that I have told them outright to stop it (my roommates can vouch for this one, I'm sure it annoyed them). So because of her response, I was surprised that I was being accused of participating in things that I have been trying to fight for most of my life.
The reason why I found these comments so derogatory was because she was championing a cause that we are both trying to fight. Neither of us want women to put others down because of their size, but I considered her comments an attack on me because she tried to put me in a box that I was shaming other women or trying to put anyone down. I was not. I am grateful for free speech, which is why I did not delete the comments on my page. I like that we can have a conversation about this. But I think our time would be better spent championing the cause, rather than pinning scarlet letters to other women's chests.
The fight to help women believe that they are beautiful is not an easy one. It is not one that can be solved by one solution or one change in the fashion industry. It is so ingrained in women in our country that it has become a cultural convention to be completely obsessed with our appearance. It has so many factors that we may never solve it completely, but that will not keep me from trying—one issue at a time. I felt hurt after these comments and wanted to strike back with playground tactics, but I decided that my time would be better spent addressing the bigger issue.
Let's fight this together. I apologize if my words were taken in a way that I did not intend. If you want to discuss such an important and personal issue with me, I do not mind if you talk about it with me on social media. But I would much rather have lunch with you and we can sit down and use our reason and research to talk about it in a more dignified way than two women hiding behind their computers and having a flame war on the Internet. I do not want people to think it is my agenda to just fight in comments about my beliefs and I do not want them to think that is what we are doing to further our cause.
Kristi
