“Don’t
tell thin women to eat a cheeseburger. Don’t tell fat
women to put down the fork. Don’t tell underweight men
to bulk up. Don’t tell women with facial hair to wax,
don’t tell uncircumcisedd men they’re gross,
don’t tell muscular women to go easy on the dead-lift,
don’t tell dark-skinned women to bleach their vaginnas,
don’t tell black women to relax their hair, don’t
tell flat-chested women to get breasst implants, don’t
tell “apple-shaped” women what’s
“flattering,” don’t tell mothers to hide
their stretch marks, and don’t tell people whose toes
you don’t approve of not to wear flip-flops. And so on,
etc, etc, in every iteration until the mountains crumble to
the sea. Basically, just go ahead and CEASE telling other
human beings what they “should” and
“shouldn’t” do with their bodies unless a)
you are their doctor, or b) SOMEBODY GODDAMNN ASKED
YOU.”
— Lindy West, Thin Women: I’ve Got Your
Back. Could You Get Mine?