There’s been a lot of talk lately about the Size Acceptance Movement, which promotes the idea that people should be given dignity and respect, regardless of their size, and argues that overweight people face more discrimination than “average” sized individuals. I can totally get on board with size equality- people should be judged by their abilities and merits, not the size of their waist. Too often, however, arguments for size acceptance are presented with images like this, with a nostalgic caption like “Oh, how times have changed” or “Back when real women were appreciated”:
But what exactly constitutes a “real woman”? We’ve heard the saying “real women have curves”, but where does that leave my curve-less friends? Are they less of a woman because their hips and tits are smaller than my own? Am I less of a woman than my larger-busted companions? The answer, of course, is a resounding “no”.
Images like the one above aren’t representative of a “body liberation” women used to have; rather, it’s the same as the images we see today for diet pills and exercise videos, but on the opposite end of the size spectrum. And, as KillerTofu and Katie O. brought up in their Bitchin’ Table discussion, having a narrow standard of beauty- on either end of the spectrum- only serves to marginalize the people we’re supposed to be liberating.
Glorifying an unattainable body image damages women of any size because it denies them the right to be comfortable with the body they have. Industries thrive off our insecurities- after all, would Americans spend $40 billion a year on diet pills, workout tapes, and gym memberships if they were happy with themselves? There is no perfect body, there is only the body you have and how you choose to perceive it. Size acceptance should not and cannot come at the cost of demeaning another group.
In my next book “In Defense of Man,” I’ll be writing about how women’s standards on penis size have dramatically changed over the years.
There’s been a lot of talk lately about the Size Acceptance Movement, which promotes the idea that people should be given dignity and respect, regardless of their size, and argues that undersized people face more discrimination than “average” sized individuals. I can totally get on board with size equality- people should be judged by their abilities and merits, not the size of their wang. Too often, however, arguments for size acceptance are presented with images like this, with a nostalgic caption like “Oh, how times have changed” or “Back when real men were appreciated”
But what exactly constitutes a “real man”? We’ve heard the saying “Once you go black, you never go back”, but where does that leave my asian friends? Are they less of a man because their dick and balls are smaller than my own? Am I less of a man than my larger-membered companions? The answer, of course, is a resounding “no”.
Glorifying an unattainable dong damages men of any size because it denies them the right to be comfortable with the package they have. Industries thrive off our insecurities- after all, would Americans spend billions a year on penis-enhancement pills, pumps, and creams if they were happy with themselves? There is no perfect wanker, there is only the Johnson you have and how you choose to perceive it. Size acceptance should not and cannot come at the cost of demeaning another group.