I’m not a size, I’m a woman

Just the other day, I woke up; really full of life,went through my morning ritual and finally pulled on one of those comfortable dresses and off I was to work. I was having such a great morning as I briskly walked to the bus stop. And that’s when the first cracks in what was supposed to be a nice day began showing, in form on Mama Olga. You see, Mama Olga is a young single mother who happens to be very fashionable. But then, Mama Olga is also known in my area code as one who carries quite an “unfashionable tongue”. Mama Olga started her journey to ruining my day with a cute smile, which I returned, before she quickly added, “Eh, Nash, you really look pregnant,”. Obviously, as you guessed, my eyes and hands both rushed to my tummy. Mama Olga did not stop smiling, which to me was even more scary, because that meant she was about to sting me with another of her not so nice lines. Before she could say another word, I hurriedly passed by her with a quick excuse of how late I was; but my day was ruined.....gone.....I spent the whole day sucking in my stomach, pulling my bag towards my stomach and pulling other quite unnecessary moves to hide my so called ‘pregnancy’. And yet, I actually don’t look ‘pregnant’, call it self consolation but Mama Olga’s body shape is way smaller than my otherwise curvier shape, which automatically places me in the ‘pregnant section of her book’. And thats only me. A number of women have to everyday endure the embarassment and humiliation that comes with their body shape or body size. People tend to forget that there is always a reason, that is personal, as to why people have lost or put on weight. Just because I have put on a few pounds does does not necessarily mean that I eat too much or that I am careless. People never consider the fact that probably someone is sleeping more, or do not want to entertain the fact that maybe, someone is indeed pregnant. In the past, women with leaner bodies have been considered hotter and more attractive but that was way before Jeniffer Lopez, Kim Kardashians and Julianna Kanyomozi started gracing our television sets. Today, some really lean women are suffering the same fate that curvier women suffered way back. What used to be hot or sexy then is now not. Those of us who rushed to vegetables, sipped on hot water and spent days without eating to be regarded as thin are struggling to look like Kardashian. Where is the world headed. Today I woke up, ate my fried eggs and toasted bread and washed both down with a glass of milk. I am not going to sit back and starve myself. I will put on my jeans and let my hips free, I will wear my cute top and let my cleavage bounce. I will not starve just because I don’t want to look ‘pregnant’. I will prove to Mama Olga that big is indeed beautiful. The Mission is in progress. Ends