“You look great! Have you lost weight?”
“Do these jeans make my hips look huge?”
“That dress is way too tight for her figure.”
“I need to lose 10 pounds.”
Imagine a girl like this, with so many opportunities ahead of her for empowerment, for education, for happiness. But what if you saw her being hurt, time and time again—not only by strangers, but also by the ones she loved? By her friends? Even by you? It’s happening right now, all around us. The impossible expectations, the unhealthy habits—the endless pursuit of the thin ideal. This is called “fat talk,” and it’s destroying young women’s self esteem.
1 out of 8 teenage girls are starving themselves to lose weight.
40% of Mom’s tell their teenage girls to diet
85% of college females believe they are slightly or seriously overweight
70 million people worldwide suffer from an eating disorder
It’s time to put an end to this fat talk.
October 16th-22nd is Fat Talk Free Week, a national campaign to eliminate language that is damaging to women’s body image. The campaign’s motto is “Friends don’t let friends fat talk.” As an extension of Reflections: Body Image Program, a national program sponsored by Delta Delta Delta, Fat Talk Free is designed to engage members, campuses and communities in the conversation. Delta Delta Delta National Fraternity is leading the way, taking a stance and declaring that it’s time we take control over our own destinies, our own bodies, and our own inner dialogues.
The anti fat talk campaign is designed first to help people identify the “thin ideal” that is perpetuated by the media and pop culture, and then learn how to reject it in favor of a healthier, more realistic attitude. As college women, we have more pressure than ever right now to look attractive, dazzle with our appearance, wear all the right fashions and strive to look like the women who grace the covers of magazines. While we’ve undoubtedly thought this was normal, it actually has a very damaging impact on us.
You may be asking yourself, well, how can we stop fat talking?
§ Correct yourself if you fat talk—replace those thoughts with something positive
§ Don’t compare your body to others
§ Appreciate and take care of your body
§ Turn a negative into a positive
§ If you don’t fat talk in front of other people, it will eventually stop
§ Remember, guilt is internal fat talk. You aren’t going to gain weight from eating a big dinner, indulge in that dessert every once in a while!
Believe me I know, we are all guilty of fat talk. We probably use fat talk so much that we do not even realize what it is! This is in no way to make you feel guilty reading this—this is a plea to end fat talk. Take the pledge, make it happen, and change the conversation! This may be a week long event, but this pledge lasts a lifetime. As young collegiettesTM , I ask you to join this campaign for change and spread the word on this important cause. If there is something about your lifestyle that you want to change, be proactive and CHANGE IT. Join me on the quest to eliminate Fat Talk in all its nasty and evil forms from our lives! Remember, it starts now… and it starts with you.
Sources:
http://endfattalk.org/