Dating and Diet Culture
Dating and Diet Culture. What a combination! But, nonetheless, an important combination to discuss. I used to engage in so many diet culture behaviors while out on the dating scene. For example, some of the “rules” I abided by were:
Try not to eat too much throughout the day before your date
Don’t order anything “heavy” at dinner
Keep it simple, order a salad if you can, the less food, the better
Don’t eat more than your date
Avoid dessert at all costs
Don’t eat too much, the last thing you want is a bloated tummy on a date
Anyone else ever had similar thoughts? Yes? Maybe? Not really? Either way, there’s a pretty high likelihood that the thought has unconsciously crossed your mind.
We live in a world ruled by diet culture. It’s everywhere you turn! It sometimes almost feels unavoidable. Turn on the TV: there’s a diet commercial. Scroll through Instagram: there’s a model being praised for her thin body. Explore Facebook: and somehow, because you saw a picture depicting the thin ideal on Instagram, Facebook decides it wants to send you weight loss ads—they call it “web browser cookies,” I call it creepy…
Well, I’m here to tell you—from personal experience—it is all a load of bull. You don’t have to engage in diet culture behavior, period—especially when you’re out on a date.
The person you choose to go on a date with should be interested in you for you! Not for your body. Not for what food you choose to eat. And definitely not for your lack of a bloated stomach.
I don’t know about you, but don’t offer me the salad. If I am going out to a fun, new restaurant, I am interested in ordering something I haven’t had before. But, to be fair, this is recovered Gabi speaking. This isn’t Eating Disorder Gabi…
Eating Disorder Gabi, would have definitely ordered the salad, kept her food intake to a minimum, and would have been so worried about what she looked like the whole night, that she probably wouldn’t have remembered the contents of how the date played out. Sad, but true.
The narrative that “you can’t have a larger body than your partner,” and so on and so forth, is just that… A narrative. Narratives can be changed. Improved upon. Reframed. That’s the beauty of them.
So, if you’re someone who struggles with dating and diet culture, I encourage you to change your narrative. Don’t let diet culture strip you of experiencing life in its entirety.
Take it from someone who’s been there, it isn’t worth it.
