Do I Look Fat in This?

Jessica Weiner | Contributing Writer
December 12, 2008

Do you dread getting dressed in the morning because you just don't know what to wear? You hate every outfit you own and it's beginning to affect your mood and how you feel about yourself. It happens to all of us, no matter what size we are. The pressure from society to have a thin, svelte body is unavoidable—and let's be real, most of us do not look like our favourite celebs. But here's the thing, we don't have to.

Body image expert Jessica Weiner delves into why women use "the language of fat" and how it affects their body image and self esteem in her book Do I Look Fat in This?. Find out how to improve your relationship with your body and feel comfortable in your own skin and live by her motto, "Life doesn't start five pounds from now."

It's Time to Come Out of the Closet

Something vaguely resembling a Greek tragedy takes place every time I go into my wardrobe to get dressed. I wish I could say I'm being melodramatic, but I'm not. "What should I wear today?" Five simple words, for some. For me it's a moral dilemma, and the consequences can have epic proportions.

Haunted by the memories of past fashion disasters, I take small, careful steps into enemy territory and open my closet door. I know the terrain. I have studied it for years. I have the same strategy, the same plan. Get in and get out. As fast as I can. Don't look at myself naked in the mirror. Don't stop to ponder, poke, or pick. Just dodge in, grab something resembling an outfit, and get out as quickly as possible.

When it's over, I stop to survey the spoils of my war. Oh, no. I'm not happy with my outfit. I must venture in again, go behind enemy lines, and wage another attack.

This time I emerge victorious. I have found an outfit that will surely cover, hide and protect my assets when, lo and behold, I discover a lone stain undetected by the dry cleaners, or a snug-fitting waistline that I could have sworn fit fine a few days ago. Or I'm faced with an outdated, trying-too-hard, doesn't-really-fit-my-body shirt that I bought because it was on sale.

As I stand wrapped in the cloak of my valiant battle, I am ashamed, angry, embarrassed, and hopeless. I experience such a swelling of emotion that I find I must bellow at the world around me, at the injustice in my life, a scream so loud and so soul-shaking that it most definitely wakes up the neighbors: "Why, oh why, am I so gross that I have nothing to wear?"

No matter that the two phrases making up this sentence don't really connect.

"I feel gross" signals an immersion in the Language of Fat, really covering up some deeply rooted body-loathing and an inability to express other emotions, such as anxiety, joy, trepidation, and so on. "I have nothing to wear" signals that I am at the end of my stylish rope with nontrendy clothing that may or may not actually fit my current body size. Apart, these phrases only pack a small punch. But put them together and you have a supersize version of self-loathing.

Tags: Body, Shape, Weight, Style, Image, Jessica Weiner, Clothing, Outfit, Sizing, Sizes, Curves, Figure, Dressing, Diet Another Day, Wardrobe

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