A little while ago I started a thread, half-humorously, called "What made me into an FA" (here: http://www.dimensionsmagazine.com/forums/showthread.php?t=65599 )
But these things are two way streets. Being an FA no doubt changed me in its own way. Of course it is really hard to seperate what came from being an FA versus everything that was otherwise part of me. It is like asking what your left arm can do (which would be nothing, if not for the rest of you).
Anyway, here is my quick stab at this, and I invite others to make their own contribution:
- it made me aware of how much people differ, and how important it is to both respect those differences and to simply accept them.
- it made me a little bit better off financially, because in my late teens/early twenties I didn't blow nearly as much money as friends did on porn (since there was none for me)
- it made me into a better cook, because I figured that the women I wanted to date would probably enjoy food, so I set out to learn how to cook more than ramen noodles.
- It made me a little worse off financially, because the learning to cook bit took a while, so that when I did start dating I took my girlfriend out to dinner more than I could really afford, because I loved to see her enjoy food.
- It made me more aware of women's clothing, because of sharing her challenges finding nice clothes.
- It made me into someone with broader tastes in fiction, because as a teen I branched out from science-fiction to find any book discussing being fat as a young woman, because I wanted to understand what they might be going through. In the process I just learned a lot about people in general, and how you didn't need a fantastic setting to have a fantastic story.
- It made me more educated on nutrition, because I was trying to understand the health issues of being fat, and a lot of that may have to do with what you eat. In turn this has made me healthier.
- It has made me more aware of various groups that are often invisible in society, after hearing that complaint from various BBW. In turn this has made me a nicer and more gracious citizen, as I make more effort now to acknowledge those people.
- It has made me ever so slightly less trusting of strangers, because weird anti-fat comments can pop out of the most unlikely mouths.
- It has made me much more distant from one of my childhood friends, as he's gotten more vocally anti-fat as he's gotten older and more curmudgeonly.
- It has made me much more aware of the degree of slope on roads and paths, and where there are staircases without other options.
- It has made me more addicted to the web that I probably would have been anyway, as it is on the web that I can find places like Dimensions where I can actually talk about being an FA.
PHEW! I'm sure there are more, but that is what I could think of off the top of my head.
So, what has being an FA made YOU?
But these things are two way streets. Being an FA no doubt changed me in its own way. Of course it is really hard to seperate what came from being an FA versus everything that was otherwise part of me. It is like asking what your left arm can do (which would be nothing, if not for the rest of you).
Anyway, here is my quick stab at this, and I invite others to make their own contribution:
- it made me aware of how much people differ, and how important it is to both respect those differences and to simply accept them.
- it made me a little bit better off financially, because in my late teens/early twenties I didn't blow nearly as much money as friends did on porn (since there was none for me)
- it made me into a better cook, because I figured that the women I wanted to date would probably enjoy food, so I set out to learn how to cook more than ramen noodles.
- It made me a little worse off financially, because the learning to cook bit took a while, so that when I did start dating I took my girlfriend out to dinner more than I could really afford, because I loved to see her enjoy food.
- It made me more aware of women's clothing, because of sharing her challenges finding nice clothes.
- It made me into someone with broader tastes in fiction, because as a teen I branched out from science-fiction to find any book discussing being fat as a young woman, because I wanted to understand what they might be going through. In the process I just learned a lot about people in general, and how you didn't need a fantastic setting to have a fantastic story.
- It made me more educated on nutrition, because I was trying to understand the health issues of being fat, and a lot of that may have to do with what you eat. In turn this has made me healthier.
- It has made me more aware of various groups that are often invisible in society, after hearing that complaint from various BBW. In turn this has made me a nicer and more gracious citizen, as I make more effort now to acknowledge those people.
- It has made me ever so slightly less trusting of strangers, because weird anti-fat comments can pop out of the most unlikely mouths.
- It has made me much more distant from one of my childhood friends, as he's gotten more vocally anti-fat as he's gotten older and more curmudgeonly.
- It has made me much more aware of the degree of slope on roads and paths, and where there are staircases without other options.
- It has made me more addicted to the web that I probably would have been anyway, as it is on the web that I can find places like Dimensions where I can actually talk about being an FA.
PHEW! I'm sure there are more, but that is what I could think of off the top of my head.
So, what has being an FA made YOU?
