In this An Inconvenient Truth era, I foresee that there will be an increase in the incidence of eating disorders like anorexia and bulimia. I believe on some fundamental level some of us -- especially women, who tend to be raised to be sensitive to the needs of others -- are afraid that we have too strong an effect on the environment, even by virtue of simply being alive and participating in our culture. It's hard to justify eating meat, for example, because of the resources it takes to produce each pound we consume; yet if you feel this way it can be just a step down a slippery slope to the point where even consuming plant products can seem presumptuous on our part. Add to that the image of the ideal woman in this culture: skinny, fit, never eating or drinking too much, not taking up too much space, and there's an apparently ecologically sound reason to deprive ourselves of food.
But this isn't right. Without energy we're no good. This is where a measure of fatalism is helpful to me: I feel if I was placed here in this time and culture, then I am here for a reason and should do all I can with my time to change the things I believe need changing before my time is up. And again, I need nourishment in order to do my work here. I'm lucky to have a lot of choices about my nutritional choices, and I know a lot of people are not so fortunate. But I want more people to have the choices and the freedoms I do, so I will speak up about our right to exist and take up space, to eat what we need to survive, to feel strong and healthy and powerful, no matter our size. That's a big part of what feminism means to me.
