Skinny is a Bad Word
“Skinny is a bad word!” Are you shocked I said that? Well that’s how I feel these days. And Fat is also a bad word, in my opinion. I’m sure you aren’t as shocked about that one. With our American culture, we have given too much power to both the words skinny and fat. And it’s time for a change! I definitely think we are moving in the right direction, but habits die hard. And until you hear someone say something like “Skinny is a bad word” you don’t realize the power you give it.
I was at an event a few weeks ago and one of my husband’s friends said, “Nad looks skinny”. I quickly said that’s a bad word in our house. He looked at me strange…thinking he just passed out a compliment. He probably thought I was crazy. I went on to explain that in my profession, there is so much attached to body image and the words we use to describe our bodies. We are giving too much power to words like skinny and fat. It should be more of a neutral mindset and we really should shift to say things like “you look really healthy”.
A friend recently shared that she learned her lesson the hard way in saying “you look great, you look skinny”. The person she said that to then proceeded to cry and tell her how her boyfriend broke up with her, etc.
I’ve also noticed when friends and family members have gone through divorces, they also lose a lot of weight. It’s a very stressful time!!! So can you imagine if you said, “you look great, you look skinny?”
You also never know when someone is dealing with a chronic illness. A dear friend of mine has been dealing with tons of health challenges and as a result has lost a lot of weight. I know some people have commented, oh you look great! They literally have no idea that the pain she has been dealing with for a long time. “You look great, you look skinny” doesn’t seem appropriate in this example.
With the popularity of Ozempic, so many people are losing a TON of weight. And no doubt in the world we live in, they are getting praised…”You look great! You are so skinny.” These comments continue to fuel our American Diet Culture to do whatever it takes to look skinny. I feel like I can’t go anywhere lately without seeing someone drastically change in size. And as someone told me recently, Ozempic is the new botox…it’s popping up everywhere!
We started #LOVEYourself 5 years ago to shine the light on women that have a positive body image. The ones that aren’t necessarily perfect at this or have it down 100%, BUT they are focused on shifting their mindset around this topic. #LOVEYourself doesn’t mean you are striving to be skinny, but yet striving to be healthy physically and mentally. We need more women like this as role models to show us a new way and to shift our mindset around body image.
As the year comes to a wrap, I wanted to share something that has been heavy on my mind and heart. If you know me well, you know that I always want to be authentic and honest with you. While I normally like to wrap up the year by sharing gratitude with all of you, I’m sharing a bit of a different message this year. It’s really more like planting a seed to invite you to shift your mindset just a little bit. Small shifts add up and can really make a change. You all deserve to receive a positive mindset about yourself and about others. I want to spread LOVE and light through conversations like this that appear to be superficial, but really they are deeply rooted in how we feel about ourselves. You all are special, unique, interesting, and LOVED human beings. You have so much to give the world. Stop letting negative talk hold you back from all the greatness you have to give.
I LOVE you all!
Thank you from the bottom of my heart for being part of my community!
with LOVE and grace,
Elizabeth