06/24/2024
A few weeks ago I took my 13 year old daughter to the doctor, where they took her height and weight as it had been a while. The female doctor asked if there were other people in our family with the same thin, tall build (COUGH- no offense taken as the biological mother of this very tall and thin human). I said that yes, her dad is also very tall and thin. The doctor then looked at my 13 year old and said, "you're so lucky. You can fit into any clothes you want." To which I replied, "ACTUALLY, everyone gets to wear clothes that fit, regardless."
I know that I have thought something similar to this about people and even myself before. But when a doctor says it to my 13 year old daughter, it hits differently. Can we stop talking about people's bodies like this? I'm certain this doctor meant it as a compliment - but she's really backing herself into a corner. What is she going to say when Dinah's body changes and she gains weight, which she most definitely will - sucks to be you? Enough. Stop praising the thinness as it absolutely and directly judges everything and everyone else, and is another reminder to my daughter that she better stay thin or her luck will run out!
In honor of this incident I bought myself new clothes that fit my current body. I had been holding onto some clothes from another time in my life, and they only "fit" because they have stretched along with me. But now I have clothes that fit ME in the strong, tired, useful, body that I animate. This is not a call for compliments on my awesome new shirt, but a reminder that everyone gets to wear clothes that fit.
