On Wednesday nights I have my 3 hour psych class. I must say that this is one of the best classes I have ever taken and I'm always thrilled to go, except for last night. Our assignment was to read a chapter out of our book titled "The Fat Lady". That chapter, was, in short, not very pro fat. The therapist who wrote the book (Irvin Yalom), went on and on about how this fat lady, Betty, came into his office and how disgusted he was by her 5'2 250lb frame. He went on for pages upon pages about how gross she was. She was 27, single and made him cringe. He tells us that he hates all fat people. At one point, he asks why can't us fat women just put down the doughnuts. That he sometimes feels that he just wants to shove our face in ice cream and yell, "stop eating you fat cow." Yeah, good times...especially since the guy that was presenting this chapter in class was regulation hottie...not in my sense of the word hottie (I like my men fat), but in this society, he'd be known as a very good looking guy.
So, I got to school early so I could read this chapter before class. I usually get to school an hour early so I can sit on a bench outside and read. It was a bit misty outside, but I didn't mind. I sat on that bench and began to read, in shock at what this very well respected therapist had to say about Betty. It got to the point where I called Lindsey up just to tell her how amazing this chapter was...she was soon as captivated as I was.
I sat there for about an hour in the mist and then got up to go to class dreading that we'd have to discuss for 3 hours the plights of this fat women and the therapist that hated her. If there is one thing I don't like, it's talking about being fat with a bunch of skinnies. So, I got up and started walking to class, but I looked back to see if I had forgotten anything and what I saw was not a great prelude to class...My ass had left a HUGE dry mark on the bench.
Let's break it down...huge fat girl is reading a story about a professional hating a big fat girl and then gets up and leaves her mark as a big fat girl. AWESOME! What else could possibly happen?
Well, I'll tell you what could happen...I'm hoping that no one saw, and it wouldn't have been such a big deal if I hadn't had just:
1. Read about how horrible fat people are.
2. Made a big ass dry mark on a bench.
3. Realized my fly was undone while walking to class.
When I took my spiral bound notebook out of my bad, I noticed something lodged in the spiral part of it. What could it be????
Just a Raisinette.
Yeah, I'm fat.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
9 comments:
This is like every day at school for me. I hate it. So awkward and uncomfortable.
At least you are able to see the funny side of things. I always say that I have to laugh or I'll go insane!
I think it's pretty messed up that they're passing that shit off in classroom books. Let's feed the friggin' "hate fat people" epidemic, shall we?
I completely understand about the dry/wet spot thing. That always happens when we sit in the grass (I get up and subtly swipe it back up as I grab my purse or something, lol) or when we make snow angels.
You girls are fabulous - I am a regular reader and absolutely addicted to your stories. It's so nice not feeling alone!
I really enjoy reading your stuff. My girlfriend's in a similar situation (though she's just now getting heavier, and not on purpose or anything), so your posts always sorta remind me of her attitude. It's cool to read someone else feeling like it, plus they're always good reads.
So, keep up the good posts, but do try to be a bit happier with yourself, haha :-P I'm sure you're a lovely gal, and you certainly sound like a delightful person. Some things don't change no matter the weight!
You are a funny and talented writer, not just a fat person. Why does being fat seem to consume a person's identity? I'm a "skinny" who battles to string two words together and I admire you!
The psychologist (in the text book) needed a psychologist, if not a psychiatrist!
Please tell us about the ensuing classroom discussion?
I read this essay in a completely different context: as part of Scoot Over Skinny a "fat nonfiction anthology". I thought the ending was powerful - how the (formerly? I can't remember) fat lady confronts the psychologist's inability to deal with her because of her fatness and how shamed he was ultimately.
Wow! That's not insulting at all! Isn't it funny how all big girls are perceived as fat slobs? What is it that led to that conclution? I bathe daily, and I usually smell pretty damn good! And a little note to some of you out there.....Not all big girls spend their Saturday nights with their faces stuffed in a box of Krispy Kremes. You are who you are, and just b/c I'm big, doesn't mean I'm a piggy!!!!
No idea if anyone will actually read this comment since I'm going through the archives, but here goes anyway!
I read that too and found it disturbing. On the one hand, at least he was aware of his prejudice, which I need to respect on some level. But more importantly, the woman seemed to be losing weight very quickly and not necessarily getting enough nutrients - to me that reflects a larger prejudice that it's fine for a fat person to have anorexic or bulimic tendencies because they're fat and of course fat people don't have eating disorders. The whole time I read that chapter I was wondering what he would have done and whether he could be accused of malpractice if she had become fully anorexic and he didn't make any attempt to treat it until it was too late because of his attitude.
Post a Comment