Zero is a Size

I am that person most girls, and people in general, hate. I am 23 years old and 5 feet 5 inches tall. I eat anything and everything I want and I exercise very little. But most importantly, I have never seen the scale have three numbers on it… Yes you read that right. Currently I weigh 97 pounds and my highest weight I have ever been is 99 pounds. Now let me answer your first question. No I am not anorexic or bulimic, nor have I ever been. I have never suffered from or had an eating disorder. I have a high metabolism, which allows my body to burn off extra fat faster then some people. If you’re thinking to yourself, “Wow the skinny girl is bragging and complaining over nothing,” then I think you should know being naturally thin is not all it’s cut out to be. It’s a blessing that comes at an unreasonable cost in our day and age.

In 2010, actress Sophia Bush helped front a campaign against popular clothing store Urban Outfitters for selling clothing saying things such as “eat less.” Now, I’m not condoning in the clothing that Urban Outfitters manufactured and sold in their stores, but the fact that a group of people thought it was ok to say “Zero is Not a Size” was a little extreme in my eyes. Miss Bush went on to support having a shirt manufactured stating, “Zero is Not a Size.” The campaign’s statement states, “Support the cause and teach others to live by a socially responsible and healthy lifestyle. United, we can fight body image issues and eating disorders.” What I don’t think this campaign realized was that they were being hypocrites. By saying zero was not a size they were giving people who are naturally a size zero more body image issues then the ones they already face in day to day life.

Now you might be asking yourself why do I have a problem with this or how does it affect my life? Well to me, zero is a size. Zero is the size I look for in a store when I need to buy new jeans. Zero is the size I try on when I need a dress for an event. Zero is the size that fills my closet. Zero is the size that I wear, so to me zero is a size.  Yet, I’m being told zero is not a size.

Fashion has, and probably always will have that image that everyone should be thin. In the world we live in now, all the advertisements say “curvy” is in and “real women” are better and healthier. I whole-heartedly agree with their point, but because I am not curvy and I am a healthy size zero, am I not a real woman? Do you see the problem with ad campaigns about body image? It is black and white for everyone and no one really wins because for whatever causes the ad is fighting for, there is always someone who can’t control being the opposite. I will never be curvy, some people will never be thin, and that is ok. It should be ok to be comfortable with your body type and you shouldn’t be told how to look or feel. You’re amazing just the way you are.

Everyone comes in all different shapes and sizes. Who has the right to say what is a size and what isn’t? No one. Every person suffers from body image issues, even myself. The fact that people would campaign saying that real women are not a size zero is appalling, especially when they are fighting to stop body image issues. I understand the point that the campaign is trying to get across and that they probably didn’t mean to affect people like myself in the way that they did, but that’s the thing, they did.

If I had a dollar for every time someone has asked me if I was anorexic, asked my mom, asked my friends, whispered behind my back, or assumed things they have no idea about, I would have enough to take myself on a very nice and much needed vacation. Just because I’m thin doesn’t mean I have an eating disorder. I see a doctor regularly and have never been told that I am unhealthy because of my weight. I do however try to eat healthy and have always been active. I was a cheerleader for a large portion of my life and am stronger then most people think. Yet, people still question my weight and if I am healthy.

The thing is, all of the people I’ve been close to in my life have never questioned my weight or size. They’ve seen me eat entire pizzas to myself and go back for seconds at Thanksgiving. They know my favorite breakfast is biscuits and gravy, In N Out at midnight is a weekly ritual, and my addiction to Dr. Pepper is getting a little out of hand. But not everyone I pass on the street or stand in line with at Starbucks knows me. To them I am just another skinny girl who they envy, hate, or whatever they’re thinking. I am the girl they want to be, but don’t want to exist all at the same time.

I have grown up watching people especially other girls suffer from body image issues. They see what people look like on television and magazines and want to look just like them. I get told on a regular basis, “I wish I was just as skinny as you.” I usually smile and don’t say anything because no matter how I respond back it’s wrong. What I always want to say is, “No you’re beautiful the way you are,” which is the correct answer because everyone is beautiful in their own way, just not everyone can see it.

I have been bullied a lot throughout my life because I am thin. I can’t control my weight, even though people would argue that I could. I don’t understand why someone would hate me or intentionally be mean to me because of my size, but people are and have been a lot of my life. I have learned that I can’t control how people see me physically, so I do my best to not let it affect me. The saying “sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me” is a lie. I don’t think anything hurts more then a person’s words about you, especially about something you can’t control. People look down on me and discriminate on me because I’m thin. I don’t think a lot of people realize that saying someone is “skinny” is just as offensive as saying someone is “fat.” I hate the word skinny. I am not skinny. I am thin.

I wish I could have a little more meat on my bones. I wish that it were easy to find clothing that fits me in stores. I wish that people would look at me and not assume I have an eating disorder. I wish people wouldn’t judge me because I’m thin. I wish people would stop hating themselves because they don’t look like me. Every size is a size, it doesn’t matter if you’re a size twelve or size zero. You should be happy with the way you look and not be told or think that you should look a certain way. I want people to know that body image affects everyone. I’ve learned to see the positives in life and not waste a moment on the people that bring me down. I accept the way I am and know that no matter what I am beautiful and so is everyone else in this world.

So the next time you are walking down the street and you see someone, no matter what his or her body type is, and you think to yourself, “Wow I wish I could look like that,” just remember that person might be looking right back at you and thinking the same thing.

With Love to ALL my Beautiful Readers!