disclosure
I don't have a huge problem disclosing my weight, at least not to people who've seen me often. I mean, they know what I look like, they know what size I am, what difference does it make if they know my exact mass?
So in class today, we were briefly talking about an article about how a person, born a hermaphrodite and identifying as a woman (she's had surgery and all) was denied a spot in a women's golf tournament because her birth certificate says 'male.' And some people in class wondered how it came up, do they check birth certificates for all entrants, or is there something about her physically that makes people wonder? And our instructor said that she couldn't find any pictures on-line, all she found was that this woman is 5'4 and 160 pounds.
And people started talking about that like it's really hefty, or makes you stocky enough to seem unfeminine, or something like that. Now, I'm 5'3, and last time I was weighed I was 160 even, although I'm holding onto some hope I might have lost a few pounds since then because I've been a little more active. At any rate, I don't think anyone who's seen me twice a week for the past two months, as these people have, thinks I look sex-ambiguous.
So as one of my classmates was talking about how maybe this woman is noticeably burly, given this info, I just raised my hand and cleared my throat significantly. Everyone thought it was really funny, and she tried to talk her way out of it, which just dug her hole deeper.
And I feel ok about it. Like I said, they know what I look like. But I think that's still a hard thing for a lot of women (and many men as well); they can talk about their religion and their sexual orientation and racist socialization, but admitting your weight? No way.
So in class today, we were briefly talking about an article about how a person, born a hermaphrodite and identifying as a woman (she's had surgery and all) was denied a spot in a women's golf tournament because her birth certificate says 'male.' And some people in class wondered how it came up, do they check birth certificates for all entrants, or is there something about her physically that makes people wonder? And our instructor said that she couldn't find any pictures on-line, all she found was that this woman is 5'4 and 160 pounds.
And people started talking about that like it's really hefty, or makes you stocky enough to seem unfeminine, or something like that. Now, I'm 5'3, and last time I was weighed I was 160 even, although I'm holding onto some hope I might have lost a few pounds since then because I've been a little more active. At any rate, I don't think anyone who's seen me twice a week for the past two months, as these people have, thinks I look sex-ambiguous.
So as one of my classmates was talking about how maybe this woman is noticeably burly, given this info, I just raised my hand and cleared my throat significantly. Everyone thought it was really funny, and she tried to talk her way out of it, which just dug her hole deeper.
And I feel ok about it. Like I said, they know what I look like. But I think that's still a hard thing for a lot of women (and many men as well); they can talk about their religion and their sexual orientation and racist socialization, but admitting your weight? No way.