by Becky Vieira posted in Parenting

To paraphrase society, babies should be chunky. There should be more rolls than a bread basket on Thanksgiving. Adults should look like a plastic doll, the ones that defy all laws of physics (but don?t let that stop you from trying). Any deviation in either direction makes you fair game for strangers to offer commentary.
To that I say: society, suck it.
I disagree with these ideals. I?m tired of awkwardly smiling when a stranger makes an inappropriate (yet possibly well-intended) comment about my child?s physical appearance.
In the spirit of being completely transparent, I admit I?m overly sensitive. As a woman I?ve spent 40+ years being judged -- for better or worse -- on my physical appearance. In the past I?ve lovingly called my nephew a ?chunky monkey.? Yet when a label is figuratively pressed onto my son?s forehead my back stiffens. I feel my jaw clench and I imagine that my eyes turn a shade of red not often seen outside Hades.
If you know how I can connect my head and my heart on this matter that would be great. What I should think and what actually crosses my mind are so far apart they make polar opposites look like kindred spirits.
To put it bluntly, it pisses me off.
As a mother I don?t want my child judged. Period. I don?t want him shoved into a category because of his eye color or shoe size, but that?s what we do as humans, right" We label. It?s easy and we like things nicely compartmentalized. This is red. This is ...