Thank You Diet Culture

I spent most of my life not even knowing you existed. All I knew was that I needed to be smaller to be pretty. So I tried to be better with food.

I witnessed my mother diet, even though she didn't need to. But you convinced her otherwise. Because of that, I dieted too.

While dieting, I hurt my body. I overfilled her, starved her, dismissed her, and pushed her when she was dead tired.

I know I was the one choosing these actions. But you promised me that I'd be happier when I was thinner. You showed me thin people that were more attractive, healthier and more successful.

I thought I was sacrificing for a reason. But really, I was just sacrificing my sanity and autonomy.

I believed in your promises. Your promises gave me hope.

You never intended to keep your promises. You always meant to manipulate me and millions of people to believe that our bodies are wrong and bad.

When we believe our bodies are wrong, we turn to you to fix us. We've filled your purses, given you our time and energy and you’ve taken away our happiness and freedom.

So for that, fuck you.

I know all we can do is grieve. And heal. And unlearn every single thing you've taught us. You've taught us our bodies aren't worth respecting or worth listening to, but the truth is you're not worth respecting or worth listening to.

The truth is our bodies were never a problem, and have always been and always be inherently perfect.

I wish you didn't exist, but you do.

All we can do is accept you, and see you as a system that we don't need to engage with. When we turn our attention away from you, you won’t have the power to hurt us.

As surprising as this may sound, thank you. By unlearning your teachings, we’re learning how to be in our bodies. Because of your darkness, we have the opportunity to stand in the light.