Story 700
Where to even begin? Should I start with when my uncle would act like I suddenly went invisible if I turned sideways because I was 2-dimensional from being so skinny? Or maybe I should start with when my cousins said I "had let myself go". Or was looking "fat", even "haggard". Regardless where I start, it seems that throughout my life,whether I gained a little or lost a little, everyone seemed to have an opinion on whether I needed to change that or not. The 1st time I was body shamed was when I was 8 or so. I've always had skinny legs and was unlovingly nicknamed Mowgli by some boys in school. Just recently a family member called them "chicken legs". It is therefore no surprise that I never show my legs and I'm always in long pants. But what happens when it's your own mother that says to you that your bathing suit bottoms look like they belong to a child and that your butt looks so small and you should "work on it" even though you exercise 5/6 times a wk? It hurts.