By today’s standards being beautiful is not usually used in the same sentence as big or obese. Unfortunately, for more than the 34% of American men and women who fall into this category, being big and beautiful is something each and every one of them will probably never hear. Why? American standards as to what is considered beautiful all to often fall into the “if you are not thin, you can’t be beautiful.”
This is such a popular misconception that most ‘big’ people never consider themselves beautiful because of their size. The big person is almost immediately dismissed as being overweight and ugly and that is as far from the truth as it can get. Big? Yes! Ugly? No! Since when has size defined beauty? Well, as far back as time.
Is this unfair to anyone who is overweight? Of course it is. For some unknown reason bigger people, both men and women, are considered a blight on society and should hide themselves away so as not to offend the skinny people of the world. Well, there are just as many “ugly” thin people existing today also.
Big and beautiful people have to work twice as hard to be accepted and this just shouldn’t happen. They are no different than anyone else-they have wonderful personalities, are fun-loving, have a terrific sense of humor and the ability to laugh at themselves if they mess up. They are not only beautiful on the outside but on the inside as well.
It takes a strong and courageous person to function in society if you are the big side. Why should these beautiful people be made to feel inferior just because of their size? Shallow people who turn away in disgust should be made to spend just one day in the shoes of an obese person. Chances are their attitude would change in a hurry!
Beauty comes from the inside out and bigger people struggle everyday to prove this point to society, when they shouldn’t have to. If they are big and beautiful getting people to look beyond their size is harder for them than normal, but the people who do take the time to know them soon realize that size doesn’t matter at all!
Every single man and woman who consider themselves ‘normal’ should take the time to make the acquaintance of someone who is larger and find out what beauty really means. A big beautiful person can teach you a lot about yourself that you didn’t really know, and some of what you learn about yourself may surprise you.
Beauty is truly in the eye of the beholder and it would certainly help the bigger person to know that they are not just seen as an overweight person, but a beautiful one at that. Their life should be no different than any other no matter how large they are. No one is perfect because there is no such thing as perfection-we are all equal.