Poetry by LA Crompton

Filed under: Themes, The Skinny on Fat

Poetry by LA Crompton

Diseased Culture 

Looking back 
on all the encouragement 
and respect 
and compliments 
I received from others 
when I was 
killing myself 
through starvation 
It is clear 
that I was not 
the only 
sick 
one

Beauty Contest

I look around 
in the real world 
            not the alternative reality 
            of the impossibly thin and airbrushed 
            Don’t try this at home
But at the women in my life who are 
so lovely and so lively 
            and sometimes so Loud 
All different colors 
sizes 
ages 
and abilities 
They help me appreciate 
my own unique gifts 
They show me that 
putting down masks 
makes me strong 
They laughingly tell me that 
making bonehead mistakes 
is just a part of living 
  
They are remarkable 
posing as ordinary 
instead of the other 
way around 
And in them 
I see 
the true 
face of beauty

And I see so clearly
through the eyes She has given me
How important it is
to be Brave and stay Free

Freud’s a Dick

I have always thought
that the theory
of penis envy
is total bullshit
But then
if you removed fat
from all the areas
women are constantly
complaining about

tummies
hips
thighs
breasts

we would be left
with the bodies
of men

Since gaining victory over her 10-year battle with an eating disorder, LA Crompton has been working to help others achieve freedom from weight obsession. As a teenager, she loved fashion magazines and began dieting in an effort to mimic the emaciated images she viewed as glamorous. LA became anorexic, shrunk down to a skeletal form and began modeling herself. As she turned to bulimia to maintain her unnaturally low weight, her health became seriously compromised and her life spiraled out of control. She left the modeling world in pursuit of work that did not require self-starvation and became committed to getting well.

After graduating first in her class from St. John’s University with a BA in English and Journalism, she wrote for numerous national publications. One article, written for Allure, focused on the practices she witnessed while selling cosmetics at an upscale department store. The cutting exposé she delivered was watered-down by editors and published with disclaimers nullifying her experience. It was clear to LA that the magazine was careful to avoid offending its cosmetics advertisers. She began to question the underlying motive of the glossies.

LA has shared her testimony of recovery in High Schools and Youth Groups in the New York area and beyond. After promoting body acceptance for nearly five years, her efforts were redoubled when she was blessed with a precious baby girl. She could not stand the idea that her daughter might one day look down at her perfect little body and hate it for having curves. She writes articles and speaks to mothers encouraging them to give up dieting and warning them to stop criticizing their figures in front of their children.

LA has written a book for teenage girls sharing her story and shedding light on the true ugliness of eating disorders. The book, DREAMER GIRL, consists of a series of free verse poems that explore the emotional side of weight- and food-obsession. She also creates activist artwork to help bring an end to the fabricated lie that women must be thin in order to be beautiful. Her heart remains burdened for those caught in the unyielding cycle of body hatred, but she knows that freedom is possible.

Meet LA at http://www.dreamer-girl.com.

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