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Teen Angels?

© Karen Kanter

Kelly Yeomans was a sweet, fun-loving, thirteen year old girl. She played the tambourine in the local Salvation army band, and volunteered at a senior center. She lived in in a working class neighborhood about 130 miles Northwest of London, England. She had a 16 year old sister, named Sarah. And she was fat. Because of this, her life was made a living hell. She was teased and taunted regularly from the age of ten on. Her classmates threw salt in her school lunches, and put her clothes in the grabage. She was teased so often that she would leave gym class last, so no one would see her in exercise wear. And last October it got even worse. A large group of neighborhood teenagers gathered outside Kelly's house each night. They screamed inslults like "fatty" and smelly at her.They threw a block of margarine through the window, and eggs, as if they were making a cake. Then they started heaving rocks. It was after this that Kelly told her family, "Mom and Dad, it's nothing to do with you, but I can't stand it. I'm going to take an overdose." Her parents didn't believe she'd go through with it, but she killed herself on October 1st, 1997. Thirteen is hard for most girls. They are bombarded with messages that say you must be thin, and beautiful, or you are nothing. They are still blossoming, still discovering themselves. And if they don't fit that stereotyped ideal, their teen years are likely to have a lot in common with Kelly Yeoman.

It's time we changed this. It's time we gave teenagers messages of acceptance and love.

My name is Karen Kanter. I'm a poet, a science fiction buff, and a nice Jewish girl. I'm a Community Leader in the Amazing Instant Novelist area of AOL I'm also fat. I've been involved with the Size Acceptance movement for about seven years, as long as I've been online. In fact, the support I've found online has been a lifeline for me, as I hope it will be for you.

Size Acceptance is an ongoing process. It doesn't mean always finding yourself to be beautiful. There will be days when you look in the mirror, and cringe. What it does mean is realizing that the body types the media project as desirable -- not to mention expected -- are uncommon. More than half the women in the world wear a size 16 or above. Plus size models are usually size12, which is by no means fat. But true beauty comes in all sizes, and it comes from within. I intend to share my journey towards self acceptance with you. Come back here to find resources for plus sized clothing, local and national organizations that promote size acceptance, tips you can use to fight sizism, examples of fat-friendliness in popular culture, and links to personal ads and events for large sized clients, and their admirers. I'd love to hear from you, as well. What are your hopes and dreams with regard to size acceptance? What resources would you like to find? Contact me at novlkaren@aol.com.

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