…even “good” labels can be harmful, not only because we are assuming personality traits based on physical appearance, but also because by assigning a favorable trait to one body type, we assume that the opposite must be true of the opposite body type.

So, for example, if heavier women are considered “sexy,” then thinner women are viewed as “unsexy” by default. If heavy women are considered “empathetic,” then skinny women must be cold and unfeeling. By labeling thin women as “ambitious,” we are indirectly labeling fat women as “lazy.” And so on.

And now my head just exploded, because no one wins. There is no body that is immune to criticism. Sometimes it feels as if all of us are judged and judging, even though that may not be the case. These are the times I refer to the infinite wisdom of Mr. Rogers: “Everybody’s fancy. Everybody’s fine. Your body’s fancy and so is mine.”

I would like bodies to just be bodies. They are vessels in which our souls (or robot innards, depending on your particular beliefs or non-beliefs) reside. We eat, poop and cry with them, though perhaps not all three at the same exact time. We make babies with them, or we don’t. We have sex with them, we adorn them with impulsive midnight Etsy purchases, maybe we take them out for a run on occasion, or we remove our bras in public.

Sometimes they are sexy and “almost pornographic,” and sometimes they are just there to carry us along through the day so that we can go home and catch up on our TV watching. Bodies. We have them.