Enough With the Fear of Fat – Kelli Jean Drinkwater
Having had watched this TEDx talk by Kelli Jean Drinkwater, a lot of ideas rushed into my mind simply by the things she was saying and how much emphasis she put on certain aspects of her speech. In terms of how society views fat people, I agree with the idea that some people may have fatphobia. The way society can ridicule or portray people of many different shapes and sizes is the reason why a great number of people have insecurities and self – doubt with the way they look. It is safe to say that almost every individual has an image in their mind of what they would like to look like. That image may encourage an individual to work hard; staying fit, active, eating healthier and etc. or it could lead to them not feeling good enough, comfortable in their own skin and oppositely it could discourage them. Kelli Jean Drinkwater has accepted the fact (from a young age) that she is different (in size). However, this never stopped her from doing what she would aspire. On a daily basis, most people get carried away with their daily routine and don’t take into account of the fact that we don’t take care of ourselves well enough on a physical level and emotional. Through this TEDx talk, something that I thought was a really important theme is, “reclaiming yourself can be one of the most gorgeous acts of self-love…”. This idea of being able to accept yourself and seeing that it starts with a mindset shows how important it is for everybody to begin with that first stepping stone. I, personally think, that with the societal norms/ trends/fads stirring up quickly, it’s hard for certain people to feel okay and confident with themselves, the fact that there are people who body shame, fat shame and add onto those with the insecurity, it creates a negative mindset on their appearance, which shouldn’t be the case. To quote, “By advocating for self-determination and respect for all of us, we can shift society’s reluctance to embrace diversity and start to celebrate the myriad ways there are to have a body”. Therefore, I believe that the work, Kelli Jean Drinkwater is implementing is a great example for others to show their worth and not care about what society thinks, by pushing out all the negative aspects of who they are with more have self – love, respect and initiative to embrace one another.
