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| A letter to my school PE teachers, from a former fat kid | A letter to my school PE teachers, from a former fat kid |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Dear PE teachers, | Dear PE teachers, |
| During my school days I encountered quite a few of you, and now, at the age of 42, you all blur into one. I’m sure that you feel the same about all the fat kids you taught over the years. And I’m also sure that there are certain things you said or did to me, one particular fat kid, that you’ve long forgotten about, but which I will remember for the rest of my life. | During my school days I encountered quite a few of you, and now, at the age of 42, you all blur into one. I’m sure that you feel the same about all the fat kids you taught over the years. And I’m also sure that there are certain things you said or did to me, one particular fat kid, that you’ve long forgotten about, but which I will remember for the rest of my life. |
| Related: How to make PE more inclusive: top tips for teachers | |
| A study has shown that PE teachers show bias towards fat kids. This will come as no surprise to people who were once fat kids who dreaded PE. The cross-country running in the rain that made no concession to different children’s abilities to do such a thing, and means you are out in the cold for so much longer if you’re overweight. The enforcing of tiny gym skirts that don’t flatter anyone, but are particularly awkward for bigger-bodied kids whose bulges are accentuated and often awkwardly sexualised by clothes designed to look sleek on more athletic types. | A study has shown that PE teachers show bias towards fat kids. This will come as no surprise to people who were once fat kids who dreaded PE. The cross-country running in the rain that made no concession to different children’s abilities to do such a thing, and means you are out in the cold for so much longer if you’re overweight. The enforcing of tiny gym skirts that don’t flatter anyone, but are particularly awkward for bigger-bodied kids whose bulges are accentuated and often awkwardly sexualised by clothes designed to look sleek on more athletic types. |
| It is baffling to me now, looking back, that you seemed so unaware that bodies are capable of different things. My arms weren’t strong, so I couldn’t climb a rope, though you kept making me try. And I couldn’t get my body out of the swimming pool without using the steps. I’d spend the entire swimming lesson dreading the moment when you would come along and haul me out of the water like some gross beached thing. | It is baffling to me now, looking back, that you seemed so unaware that bodies are capable of different things. My arms weren’t strong, so I couldn’t climb a rope, though you kept making me try. And I couldn’t get my body out of the swimming pool without using the steps. I’d spend the entire swimming lesson dreading the moment when you would come along and haul me out of the water like some gross beached thing. |
| I couldn’t clear the hurdles you put on the track. As you still expected me to run the race, I chose an outside lane and ran around them. Looking back, I feel quite proud of this solution, but I lost the race, of course. I’d had to run further than everyone else to get around the hurdles. | I couldn’t clear the hurdles you put on the track. As you still expected me to run the race, I chose an outside lane and ran around them. Looking back, I feel quite proud of this solution, but I lost the race, of course. I’d had to run further than everyone else to get around the hurdles. |
| Perhaps you were trying to help. Maybe you thought if you made me feel bad enough about my body I would do something about trying to change it. But studies show that shame does not make people lose weight. Surprise! Any fat person could have told you that being humiliated by being dragged out of a swimming pool in front of all your peer group doesn’t make anyone want to reach for a salad. | Perhaps you were trying to help. Maybe you thought if you made me feel bad enough about my body I would do something about trying to change it. But studies show that shame does not make people lose weight. Surprise! Any fat person could have told you that being humiliated by being dragged out of a swimming pool in front of all your peer group doesn’t make anyone want to reach for a salad. |
| Being dragged out of a swimming pool in front of all your peer group doesn’t make anyone want to reach for a salad | |
| The same study also found that PE teachers assumed fat kids would be less good at reasoning and social skills – things that have nothing to do with being overweight. And you know what, PE teachers, I’ll give you this, with this one, it isn’t just you. We might all know the stereotype of the PE teacher picking on the fat kid, a stereotype that this study has proved to be true. But most fat people will also be able to tell you about a time when their inability to lose weight was deemed indicative of a lack of intelligence. | The same study also found that PE teachers assumed fat kids would be less good at reasoning and social skills – things that have nothing to do with being overweight. And you know what, PE teachers, I’ll give you this, with this one, it isn’t just you. We might all know the stereotype of the PE teacher picking on the fat kid, a stereotype that this study has proved to be true. But most fat people will also be able to tell you about a time when their inability to lose weight was deemed indicative of a lack of intelligence. |
| And you know what, PE teachers? Stereotyping fat kids is rotten, but there are also stereotypes about you that are probably just as mean and unfair. Like people unfairly assume fat people are stupid, the same crass assumption is made about people who teach PE. So maybe we should be on the same team and fight back against dumb prejudices, instead of perpetuating them. | And you know what, PE teachers? Stereotyping fat kids is rotten, but there are also stereotypes about you that are probably just as mean and unfair. Like people unfairly assume fat people are stupid, the same crass assumption is made about people who teach PE. So maybe we should be on the same team and fight back against dumb prejudices, instead of perpetuating them. |
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