Hirschfeld: thin men feel pressure

Monday, August 20, 2007

Every time I see actress/comedian/self-styled activist Mo’Nique on one of her programs, she seems to feel the urge to slip in some comment on how “bigger girls” (her jargon, not mine) somehow have “more love to give” because of their size. It is great to be comfortable enough in your own skin to love yourself, regardless of size; it not great, however, to promote to idea that one’s body type determines his or her capacity to love, or to feel any other feeling for that matter.

I’m not talking about every body type out there; I want to focus on one in particular. It’s the body type of those men who have a hard time finding a decent shirt to fit because nowadays clothing seems equipped with extra fabric in the mid-section for those expected beer bellies or love handles.

It’s the body type of those men who can eat a “Baconater” Extra Value Meal at Wendy’s and shed off the poundage just by thinking about it. And finally, it’s the body type of those men who are tired of being ridiculed just because they are skinnier than the average Tom, Dick, and Fatty. These men suffer from what is known as manorexia.

The term “manorexia” is not entirely used correctly, though. These men can eat what they want with a healthy exercise routine and maintain a manageable weight. An extra pound or two is not going to send them into catatonic shock or anything of the sort.

I fail to see the reasoning in how a skinny people can be less incapable of any feeling because of how far their gut protrudes. The only feeling I could see them lacking is that nauseous feeling some people get after walking up “The Hill” because they are more in shape than most of society.

How dare Mo’nique promote that heinous idea. If a person of smaller size comments on a “bigger person’s” weight, he or she is immediately deemed as rude, a chauvinist or, for you ladies, a bitch. However, if a person of larger size remarks on a “smaller person’s” weight, it is perfectly socially acceptable.

The remarks aren’t necessarily mean-spirited, but it makes me wonder if their foot fell out of their mouth just before they spoke. Hearing “Oh my God, don’t you ever eat?” can be daunting considering it now seems to be a sin to look in the mirror and be comfortable with yourself even if there is not much to look at.

Yes, manorexics eat. And sleep, and study, and party, and are just as self-conscience as the rest of the diet-obsessed weight watchers out there. They just have a little more ease of mind because it’s easier for them to keep the weight off.

You cannot look in a magazine, flip through a newspaper or turn on a television without being bombarded with ads for diet pills, stories about America’s weight problems and pictures of super-skinny celebs. Manorexics have successfully avoided all of the former, so please, get off their backs, because you’re too heavy.

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