There's a new viral video going around on the internet. It's called "Fat Girl Dancing." You've probably seen it. If you haven't, here it is...
Anyway, I have some real mixed feelings about this. First of all, I think it's awesome that this girl is kicking butt and think she's a really great dancer. Woohoo! Go girl! Get it!
The other part of me says, "So what if she's fat?"
I've been dancing in one form or another since I was a kid. Once puberty hit, I, too, was a "fat girl dancing." There were often heavier girls in my classes. There are often bigger ladies in the musicals I'm in nailing the choreography. And in Zumba, there are constantly curvy ladies shaking their hips. So to me, a fat girl being able to dance is not really shocking at all. And I find it odd that so many people out there in interweb land are shocked by this.
Now, part of the reason this gal is getting so much attention is because she is an activist for positive body image. That's really important and I admire her for that. Her website? www.nobodyshamecampaign.com. So I am in -no way- dogging on her. But this whole "OMG LOOK AT THAT FAT GIRL DOING ALL THOSE FANCY DANCE MOVES" thing really saddens me. Especially when I see other body positive blogs or personalities doing this too. I suppose it's nice to SEE a video like that going across the internet for people to see that, yes, fat girls can be healthy and sexy too. But really, that's not often the main message I see when it's being posted.
Like I said, I have mixed feelings. Ultimately, I suppose however people are being guided to her website and positive body messages, it doesn't matter too much. It all helps in the long-run. Breakin' stereotypes and gettin' down.
