Skinny Girls Don't Eat: Stereotypes About Girls, By Girls (That Are Actually Wrong)

The claim: Skinny girls don’t eat.
The truth: Hold up there, am I going to defend skinny girls? In this world of impossible body image standards, am I really going to come to the defense of skinny girls? Actually, yes. Yes I am.

Everyone knows about female fury toward the media, and the claim that the body standards they portray are unrealistic and make all us normal girls feel pretty sub-par. But that’s not what this article is about. This isn’t about media. This is about skinny girls, and them not eating.

I hate this stereotype. Not only because it’s so goddamn false, but because it’s usually derived from a deep, brooding sense of bitterness on the claimer’s part, as well as a terrible case of misinformation. Let’s take part in a little personal exercise, shall we? Think back to the last time you moaned about your weight. (Probably around five to ten minutes ago.) Now think about a girl you know/have seen that was thin, fit, and generally attractive. Now: you feel that? That rising, prickling feeling of discomfort? That, sweetie, is bitterness, the gleeful life-partner of that prick known as Jealousy. And it’s not very pretty.

Now: think about what the general reaction is to quote-unquote skinny girls. “Well,” you think to yourself. “She must not eat. I’d look like that too, only I’m normal and actually eat food.”
Hold it right there, cookie; that’s where this exercise gets ugly, and where that previous statement regarding misinformation comes in.
See, contrary to popular teen-girl belief, women are not naturally overweight. “Thinness” isn’t a state achieved by some unnatural abstinence from food. To put it bluntly, being thin is actually natural.
Hold it right there; before you start pounding out seething comments, let’s turn to science.

The healthy weight for adult females 5 ft. 5 inches is about 110-130 for small frames, 127-140 for medium frames, and 137-155 for large frames. Now think back again: that “skinny” girl you pictured earlier, how much do you think she weighed? Maybe 110? 115? 120? Hate to break it to you, sweetie, but that’s actually pretty normal in most cases.

Did you know the word “skinny” is defined as, “very lean or thin; emaciated”? That girl, the 110-120 lb. one; she wasn’t “emaciated.” Anorexics are emaciated. Holocaust victims were emaciated. Thin, fit girls aren’t emaciated. They’re just, well, in good shape.

So how do “skinny girls” get so skinny while others, well, don’t? The answer actually isn’t too far off from the original false belief: diet. That’s right. Diet. But not the “I need to lose 10 pounds” kind of diet. By “diet,” I mean, “the food you eat every day.” You don’t have to not eat to attain a slim figure. You just have to eat right. And by right, I mean healthy. Want to know what a healthy diet looks like? Ask the World Health Organization, who recommends you steer clear of saturated fats and trans-fatty acids; eat more fruits, vegetables, legumes, whole grains, and nuts; and limit intake of sugars and salts. Sounds simple right?

That could be debated.

Think back: when was the last time you drank a frothy coffee-drink? Ate a cheeseburger? Hit Taco Bell? Ordered a soda? All of these things are loaded with sugars, salts, and fats: and not the good kinds, either.

Not to mention, when was the last time you engaged in physical activity? Went for a long walk? Worked out? Got away from your computer screen and moved your body? Physical exercise is another big YES in the healthy lifestyle department, and it’s recommended that you get at least an hour of exercise a day. Every day. It sounds daunting, but it’s actually a simple concept. Calories in, calories out. Not to mention, exercise doesn’t just burn fat. It builds muscle. It strengthens. It tunes up your body and keeps you from getting nasty chronic diseases later on in life. It also floods your system with endorphins: your body’s natural feel-good hormone that’s released during excitement, love, orgasms, and yes, exercise.

Too long, didn’t read version: exercise and orgasms; your body doesn’t really know the difference.

But most people don’t get an hour of exercise a day. Most people don’t eat a healthy balanced diet. Most people aren’t “skinny.”
See, it’s not that skinny girls don’t eat; they just don’t eat as much terrible food, and they probably exercise more than once every few weeks.

I know it’s tacky to use yourself as an example, but let’s get this over with: I’m in my late teens, 5’5, 118 pounds, and in the average BMI category. I eat. Multiple times. Every day. I eat cake, for God’s sake. But I pay attention to what I eat, and how much I’m eating, because I want to treat my body right and hopefully keep it around for another 80+ years. I exercise regularly (which is actually really awesome; thank you, endorphins). So when someone comes up to me and says, “Oh my God, you are so skinny; do you eat?” I feel like punching that street-walker in the mouth. I’m actually not “skinny,” thanks. Skinny denotes under-weight, and I’m not. I’m not emaciated. I’m not a Holocaust victim. I’m medically average, and I’m happy, and yes, hooker, I eat plenty.

Before I wrap this article up, I want to say that yes, there is a difference between healthy “skinny” and unhealthy “skinny.” Starving yourself is just as bad as eating too much awful food: either way, you’re not eating a healthy recommended diet, and you’re not doing anything good for your body. Anorexia is just as big a slap in the face to your body as obesity is. What I’m condoning here isn’t being “skinny”; it’s being healthy.

Girls will always battle body image standards. Always. And some girls, somewhere, will always have eating disorders. But the way to combat such instances isn’t to condemn thinness, or glorify being over-weight. Being medically over-weight is just as bad as being under-weight: it’ll shorten your lifespan and lead to all kinds of medical problems. This isn’t a matter of aesthetics; that’s a topic for another rant. I won’t knock the much-loved euphemism of “everyone is beautiful the way they are,” but I will say that not everyone is healthy the way they are.

I’m not here to make you feel bad about yourself. Nobody likes it when others make them feel down. Including the supposed skinnies.
Moral of the story, girlies: know your facts. Being thin doesn’t mean you don’t eat. It doesn’t mean you’re insecure or unhappy. It doesn’t mean you aren’t normal.
And that “skinny girls don’t eat,” myth? Busted.