WriteFluence

I was a chubby child and some of my earlier memories consist of always being late for the school bus and running towards it at the last minute – with all the weight of my school bag, water bottle and myself. In the 90s, there wasn’t so much commotion about patriarchy, #sexism or personal remarks.

My school bus conductor would scream out “Moti, bhaag!” expecting me to run faster from my house till the school bus already waiting for me outside the gate of our building. I don’t remember much about how I felt about it, frankly speaking. But I was definitely not someone comfortable with my weight and if I hadn’t been raised in comfortable surroundings by my parents, I’m sure I’d have been a traumatized child.

Well, frankly this memory is in fact still joked about in my family and we’re all educated and sane enough to know one is much beyond just their #weight. Yet, I would be kidding if I say it didn’t matter to me if someone said something about my weight during my teens especially when I were in college. (Which makes me wonder now about their sanity because according to me when I see my old snaps, I was definitely #slim during college days!)

With time, we move on. Pregnancy becomes our lame excuse to allow all that #fat to accumulate inside us – okay let’s not generalize, read “lazy me”!

My mom has narrated this memory to my daughter and while we still relate to it as a funny incident, the rebel inside me couldn’t take it easy this time. I’m raising my daughter to not tolerate personal remarks as these and to give it back!

So, if you end up telling her that she’s chubby or fat… You’re gonna have to hear “Tere baap ka nahi khaati na!” (Your dad doesn’t sponsor my food so don’t bother!)
And then the other day I called her ‘Fat’ myself, playfully. She instantly used the line on me, “Tere baap ka nahi khaati!”
Ironically, she stays with my parents most of the time and I laughed out loudly, “Khaati hai. Mere hi baap ka khaati hai tu!”

Jokes apart, after a certain age, it hardly even matters if people define you by your appearance. Adolescence is when it matters the most. But I hope our generation of educated parents are raising our kids more sensitively!

Body shaming, I’m glad is being discussed positively and openly these days!

Disclaimer: Any opinion expressed in this post are the personal views of the author. They do not reflect the views of WriteFluence.in. Any omissions or errors are the author’s and WriteFluence does not assume any liability or responsibility for them.