If Your Mom Called You "Fat"...

 
Pretty Ripe | Volume 14 - If Your Mom Called You "Fat"

If you grew up in the '70s and/or the '80s, you know that "fat shaming" was as rampant as rainbow suspenders and Trapper Keepers. But no one got cancelled for calling out someone's body size--especially not your mother. Little did she know the impact of a three-letter word. This study out of Cornell University shows that women who find fault with their weight as adults were more likely to have had parents who commented on their weight as kids. Meaning, that shame sticks around for decades.

My mom was a resolute size 2 throughout my childhood--and she, like so many women of her generation, equated appearance with a woman's worth. I was a thick tween. But I didn't need my mom to point out that my Guess jeans were about to split. Her preoccupation with her own waistline affected how I saw myself. A recent UCLA survey found that 76% of parents engage in regular self "fat-talk" in front of their kids. That's dangerous. (Researchers note mother "fat talk" can lead to bulimic tendencies in their kids.) I don't criticize my appearance in front of my daughter, even when I look like roadkill. Rather than peek in the mirror and say, "I look...," I comment on how I feel. I miss those tight acid-wash Guess jeans.


 
BeautyMonica Corcoran