What Do Real Women Have?

"Real women have curves!"

So what do I have?

I am fully aware that people may call me ignorant and privileged after the following statement but I hate when people suggest that slimmer women are not "real" women.

I am sick of being denied my femininity because of my size. I'm aware that thicker women catch a lot of strife from the media. They are being constantly told that they are too big or not as good as the emaciated models plastered all over magazines. I get it. However, I don't think launching a campaign against the "size 2" is the answer.

Monique, I'm glad you're proud of your curves but I'm not evil.

Curvy girls, I understand that you've caught crap for your figures but I am not the enemy.

Thin is in? Maybe for white girls.

I say all of that to say this, it hurts when people try to convince you that you have flaws because you don't have the features they perceive to be perfect. I maybe small, but I have brown skin and nappy hair so I am no where close to being the ideal.

I am not to far removed from my teenaged years. I remember the self-esteem hits I took because people poked and prodded at me. I remember wearing jackets in 80-90 degree weather so no one would see how small my arms were. I remember the questions about my weight and if I had an eating disorder. It hurt and I'm sure it would have hurt just as much if I was larger.

But, I'm not posting this to tell a sob story. I just want people to start trying to celebrate every type of beauty. No woman should be made to feel less than because of her size. If anything, the media and society needs to stop placing so much emphasis on a woman's looks. We need to figure out why our daughters go from being happy well adjusted children to depressed adolescents with low self esteem. We need to tackle the sexist standards that's behind all of this trouble. I guess that's all for another post.