Women, and “The Body” Issue

So you’re sitting down in a cafe with your friend… take it, she’s not the brightest bulb in the box, but you tend to love her nonetheless… she’s sort of glaring at a muffin she just picked up from the counter. You’re finishing off your piece of lemon pie without shame, and here she is still staring at this little old muffin.
A muffin, you observe, that doesn’t even have butter on it.
So you put down your fork and you kind of raise an eyebrow and ask if she’s going to eat the damn muffin, because it’s not a life or death situation.
She whines and tosses it down and says the dreaded phrase that no sensible woman wants to hear from a girl-friend:
“I’m so fat.”
All you can do is roll your eyes, and not respond to that comment.
You don’t want to hear it, not again.
It’s gotten to a point where she pulls this shit and says stuff like that so that I’ll look at her, appraise her with a fake smile, and tell her that she’s perfect in every way. That her body is so thin you can see her bones through her tank top.
You can look at her and clearly see that she isn’t fat… but in all honesty, she isn’t a waif.
Would that upset her, if you told her she wasn’t a waif? If she was healthy in appearance? If she was the perfect weight for her frame?
No.
No, no, no.
Women want to hear that they’re “Skinny”, and they want that word precisely.
What the hell is this whole misconception coming from?
In my eyes, personally, I think a woman’s beauty comes from more important factors than WEIGHT.
I’ve read more than a few books concerning body image. It wasn’t because I was looking to feel good about myself, because I do every day. I read these books so that I could understand from the P.O.V of other women, why is it so important to look a certain way? Why is it so crucial to fit into a mold of what consumer-driven assholes want you to look like?
I mean, sometimes I have to physically bring myself in front of a mirror and slap myself in the face and say out loud “hey, you’re beautiful. Just the way you are.” But that works for me!
I’m always brought back to the idea that I don’t look like your average girl.
I’m not skinny, and I like it.
I have skin, and I have muscle, and yes I have fat, but that’s healthy!
I’m comfortable with myself… and I think I’d enjoy female company better if most of them thought the same way.