There is a ton of weight put on the subject of having the right body type.

And by weight, I mean literal weight. Chubby, fat, heavy, obese – whatever you want to call it – being overweight has become increasingly stigmatized.

At least that is how I felt when I had a bit of weight on me. It really took a toll on my self-esteem.

Sure, there are those who get the “do you even eat?” remarks if their weight has dropped drastically, or even if they’re naturally slim.

And there are many people who claim that bigger is beautiful, even dissing the girls who are boney and flat. The catch is, big is only beautiful in the right areas.

Nicki Minaj’s new song “Anaconda” may come off as praising those who “ain’t missing no meals,” but it isn’t that simple. Yeah Ms. Minaj, you might not be all skin and bones, but the song says it all: if you’re not “little in the middle,” then you’re not worth the effort.

Fat isn’t socially acceptable and I can see it all around me.

I see more people in Nikes than I ever have before. Gym clothes are the new black.

Congrats to the ones who are working hard toward a healthier lifestyle, you are just as much a part of the gym life as anyone else.

But because the skinny girls have the outward appearance of being healthy, the bigger girls trying their best get pushed to the side. Often they are perceived as the lazy, do-nothing couch potatoes.

Maybe I’ve only noticed it more because I’ve recently been striving for a better body image myself. Whatever it is, the stigma around having a bigger body is not helping anybody.

There’s a national zeitgeist that makes me believe the only good route is the skinny route. If only I was smaller, if only I could drop those couple pounds, I could be happy.

Julianna Eveland can be reached at [email protected] or @janeca12 on Twitter.