About Male Tummies

Male bellies are different. Ours don't have the invitingly soft appearance of female tummies, nor do they sympathetically trace the body's natural lines. They're a swell of grotesque dough that balloons out horizontally. When I've allowed my stomach to expand too much, I find myself grabbing at it, aggressively, as if it's not part of me. And that's actually how it feels. My gut isn't a metaphor for all the times I've lost control of my eating; it's a physical manifestation. It's not a body part, like a leg or an eye; it's a psychological flaw that's been made physical. It's shame that I can touch.