"You're are sooo skinny, don't you eat?"

Some food for thought from a skinny person
Now, not all skinny people are skinny for the same reason. But there are a good number of us out there who are skinny because that is how God created our body type to be. It's not that we don't like desserts, starve ourselves, make ourselves throw up, or exercise an excessive amount. We are just thin because our genes are that way. Fortunately or unfortunately, we did not choose this body type.

A lot of times people come up to us and say something like, "You are sooooo thin, don't you eat anything?"
Here are some reason why we don't take that as a compliment but in fact an insult.
1) It doesn't make us feel beautiful for being thin. It in fact makes us feel abnormal, freakish and weird.
2) There is an implication in that statement that we don't eat. And we do. A lot times I feel like I have to prove that I eat a lot. Although I like salad, I feel like if I just order a salad people will think I am on a diet or say something to the effect of, "That's alllll your going to eat? You need to eat more than that." I feel pressured to eat dessert or continue eating when I am full to prove that I am not anorexic.
3) There is an implication that if we eat more, we will not be thin anymore. Again, fortunately/unfortunately, that is not usually the case. Even when we do eat a lot, we do not put on weight. Don't you think we have tried? Don't you think that we are sick of people telling us that we look too thin and need to eat more? But eating more does not always equal gaining more weight.
4) A lot times people think that only overweight people have problems with self esteem and body image, but we do too. Being too fat OR too thin is seen as unattractive. When people make comments to us they are usually not saying, "Look at you, you thin sexy thing." But more along the lines of "What's wrong with you? Why are you so skinny?"

So the next time you run into your really thin friend, remember affirm their beauty in the same way as you would anyone else. Reminding us of just how thin we are doesn't make us feel better. Thank you.

Lastly, I am sorry if this offends anyone, but I really like this monologue. I relate in a lot these struggles as a skinny person. 

Skinny
By Monica Hesse


MONICA: Some people try to use nice words to describe skinny people. They call us "petite," "slender," and (my personal favorite) "small boned." But to me, that's like calling people with big feet "good ground packers." It might sound nice, but it doesn't change the fact that their shoes are often mistaken for Noah's Ark. 
Other people think that my small stature is both useful and entertaining. Whenever a ring or
other piece of jewelry has fallen through a small hole, like a drain, or behind the couch, or down a rat-infested sewer, I, with my small hands and tiny wrists, am called upon to fish it out. 
I am also quite popular in dance class: "Monica, we'd like to try picking up someone up by their earlobe, spinning them around at 9000 miles an hour, and then releasing them in the direction of the ceiling, thereby propelling them toward the high speed, jet powered fan. You're Skinny, can we try it on you?" 
You don't get much sympathy being thin, either. My mother treats it like it's some mysterious illness ("Monica can't come out and play, she's Skinny today"). During family gatherings, she occasionally tries to pass me off as an Ethiopian refugee who hasn't eaten for sixteen days. 
Otherwise, my relatives might notice my lack of mass and accuse her of "not feeding me 
properly." This is a touchy subject with my mother, who always fears that there is a direct 
correlation between her bad cooking and my fast metabolism. 
One week, in an attempt to "fatten me up," she only cooked meals with more fat content than Luciano Pavarotti. This plan backfired when she and my stepfather gained ten pounds and I lost two. We spent the next week eating only seaweed and bean sprouts.

Buying underwear is another problem. There are simply no bras in my size. I'm forced to shop in the junior's department where all of the brassieres sport embarrassing pictures and slogans like, "Little Miss Inverted Chest," and "You're on Your Way to Becoming a Woman Training Bra." Training bras were a concept I could never understand. Training for what, God only knows. Certainly not the Breast Olympics, mine would never make it past the time trials. 
Don't get me wrong - I'm not complaining too much here. After all, I'm nearly 18 and I'm still 
admitted with children's fare at the movies. However, just once in my life, I wouldn't mind being able to wear a halter-style top without worrying about the strength of the elastic. I would love to be able to fill a bikini with my curvaceous hips and womanly figure, and stand around with all of my other well-endowed friends as we gawk at all the passerby. "Don't you just hate that girl," we would whisper viciously, "She's so Skinny!"