So this week for the second letter F I decided to write about Fat. Yes, you heard me, Fat. How exactly is “Fat” related to Pagan, especially pagan enough to be part of the Pagan Blog Project?
Many people have weight issues. We’re looking currently at young people with
a shorter life span than the parents which has never happened in our
history. We have the highest level of
heart disease and diabetes ever. So what’s
going on and still, how is this a Pagan issue?
Just like any other group of people Pagans are a diverse
group. We’re old, young, tall, short,
skinny and fat. However when I did a
quick Google search this result blew me away.
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| Screenshot - Google |
Wow. 90% I've been to
a lot of Pagan events and I don’t think that 90% were “old fat bitches”. Yikes.
I recently picked up the book, The Body Sacred by Dianne Sylvan, after reading her blog post “10 Rules for Fat Girls”. I've yet to crack it open for two reasons. One part of my issue is I’m still taking the bat to my head about the recent weight gain I’ve had. In reading the intro on the back of the book Dianne asks us to embrace the Goddess within us, no matter our shape or size. Secondly, when I went to her site and found it covered with her book character, a very thin person. I felt a bit slighted that on one hand she talks about taking back your body and she has the ability to make her character anyway she wants, and yet she chose to make her thin.
I recently picked up the book, The Body Sacred by Dianne Sylvan, after reading her blog post “10 Rules for Fat Girls”. I've yet to crack it open for two reasons. One part of my issue is I’m still taking the bat to my head about the recent weight gain I’ve had. In reading the intro on the back of the book Dianne asks us to embrace the Goddess within us, no matter our shape or size. Secondly, when I went to her site and found it covered with her book character, a very thin person. I felt a bit slighted that on one hand she talks about taking back your body and she has the ability to make her character anyway she wants, and yet she chose to make her thin.
I was down to a size 10.
I worked out every single day. I
drank loads of water and even tried a smoothie a day to try to get
smaller. My hips were bony, my ass was
flat and my boobs were floppy. My mother
was here, and life pretty much sucked.
I’m still completely set on my food. I still eat vegetarian (lacto-ovo) and I don’t
eat from drive thru’s or processed foods.
I eat fresh when I can, and mostly legumes and very little bread. Just the act of not working out changed my
body and put it back in the state it is in now.
I’m wearing a size 16/18. (Sometimes,
attention clothing manufacturers, can we please come together on a universal size,
Levis 16 shouldn't actually be a 12)
My bra was a 34 B (b is for bah!) and Now back up to a 38 D
(D is for DAMN!) When I sit next to my
bed and check out my Facebook at night, the light from my iPhone shines up
between my breasts and from time to time I say, “Wow, I've got nice cleavage.”
Why then can I not get that awful feeling of feeling like a
failure or that I’m just not good the way I am now. Hubby has told me numerous times that he prefers
me this way. I prefer me this way, but
for some reason when I’m out in public or when I’m about to go out I feel as though
I’m some hideous creature that needs to be banished to another realm?
The media and society have done a number on women. They tell us that we need to have straighter hair,
lighter skin, fuller lips and even what to smell like in order to be
accepted. I’ve shared it many times but
the documentary “Killing
Us Softly -3” takes the viewer on a journey through the media images that
women and young girls are bombarded with daily.
It was also brought
to my attention by my ever so observant kid that shows like “The Biggest Loser”
which I watched religiously actually reinforce a negative body image on those
that are not built like Jillian
or Bob. These overweight people are working out until
they puke and are screamed at by little thin people calling them names. Even though extremely inspirational at the
amount of weight they can lose, I
found a page that shows that many of them put all of their lost weight back
on. I’m not surprised.
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| Photo Credit - Renee Olson - 300lbs |
I've yoyo’d from 310lbs down to 108,
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| Photo Credit - Renee Olson - 108lbs |
then back up to 280, then down to 175.
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| Photo Credit - Renee Olson - 283lbs |
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| Photo Credit - Renee Olson - 175lbs |
Yesterday I was able to put my favorite shirt back on. I like me here.
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| Photo Credit - Renee Olson - ? |
My cute little panties don’t fit any more and my cute little socks are now too small. I’m no longer shopping in the skinny section of the shops but I am doing everything I can to accept who I am today. To look for the Goddess within.
Our representation of the Goddess in Paganism is of an ample
breasted woman, with broad hips. Often
she’s depicted as being with child, and in some cases giving birth to the
world. Our views on ourselves and other
women in our community need to reflect this.
We are pagans. We celebrate diversity
and embrace the Goddess. We need to
celebrate who we are and love women of all sizes. Skinny and Fat alike. We may not be able to change the world all at
once, but we can at least make being Fat & Pagan, perfectly ok in our
little corner.
Namaste & Blessed Be
Sosanna
)O(
Sosanna
)O(
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7 comments
Wonderful and THANK YOU
Wonderful and THANK YOU
Great post!
I recommend the Diane Sylvan book...it was written by her, I think in the same time frame as The Circle Within, before she did fiction...when her writing was more Pagan and less sci-fi/fantasy.
:)
At some point I'm sure I'll read it. :)
I'm fat, pagan, and enjoyed this post. Thank you.
A major part of the problem is also the idea that there is one healthy weight for all people, which the wide use of the BMI scale has supported (fun fact, the BMI scale was never meant to be used as a measure of health) and is a completely ridiculous idea. Should we all eat right and exercise to be healthy, well yeah, that seems pretty obvious. But what is healthy for me, a twenty two year old male pagan of primarily Swedish, Welsh, and Scottish descent, is most definitely not healthy for my partner, a twenty year old female Pagan of German, Hebrew, and Greek descent. Thank you for writing an original, well thought out, and meaningful post for last weeks prompt. I appreciate it. I'll tune back in regularly for the rest of the year.
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