I just took down my post “Simple Thoughts from the Lunchroom”. A couple people commented on it and pointed out how condescending and just generally privileged I was being, and I agree with them. I’ve taken it down so that no one else has to put up with my crap until I figure out how to apologize.
Sorry. 😦
I have finally remembered to re-post this after oh-so-long. For follow-up on this, please see the apology post.
An update that will clarify a bit of this post: I’m currently doing summer research at the University of Michigan.
So, on Thursday I ate lunch in the University’s student union. There is a Wendy’s, a Subway, a Mrs. Field’s, a fruit smoothie place, and a convience store, for food. I’ve been eating Subway at least every other day, it seems, since I got here, so I went for Wendy’s.
A while after I sat down to eat, another lady came and sat at a table near me. She’d gotten Subway. She was also fat. And I found myself wondering if she got Subway because that’s what she felt like eating, or because she was worried about what other people would think if she ate at Wendy’s – something I, as a thin person, do not have to worry about.
Now, I’m mindful that, in my opinion, Subway (when I”m not sick of it) tastes a hell of a lot better than Wendy’s. So there’s a fairly good chance she chose that food because she wanted it. But did she? This bothered me while I was eating, and it bothers me now. I hope she was secure enough in her self that if she’d wanted Wendy’s, she’d have gotten it.
A related thought that came to me while I was eating this same meal was, “What happens when Fatties are denied service at, for example, Wendy’s because of the vendor’s ‘conscience’?” Ã la birth control and pharmacists. Scary thought, no? They’re already in that zone to an extent with social services taking children away from parents because of “concern” about fat.
The feminist in me also wants to comment on how a fat construction worker dude (of whom there were many in the union) wouldn’t get or give a second thought for eating at Wendy’s – it’s dudely not to care for your health. But thank goodness, this has been covered ad nauseum thanks to the recent Hungry-Man issue, so I can just provide links and give my fingers a break.
All My Jiggly Bits 