Mirror, Mirror, on the Wall: Reflections of a Fat Girl

This paper shows a day in the life of a woman who sees herself as fat. Her reflection in the mirror is a site of conflict and strife. While she feels accomplished and confident as a teacher, mother and friend, she lacks confidence about her body, which presents a dialectical tension in her sense of self. She writes as a way to understand this dialectic and how she might learn to live a healthier, happier life where she finds balance and is not flagellating herself about her weight. She explores the role food and exercise play in her existence and contemplates how she got to this place while focusing on events from her childhood, examining parental obsession with diet, and incorporating the impact of cultural influences