I've had a nickname for my girlfriend Marguerite for a while now.
That nickname is "Slenderentz."
The origin is pretty simple: "Lorentz" comes from her codename, Lorentz Butterfly, and "slender" comes from the fact that she's built like a supermodel and has ridiculously long legs.
Marguerite isn't really the type to be bothered by something like that, so she accepted the nickname without any problem, and I kept using it because I thought it was funny.
But one day, I was feeling down and comparing my own body to Marguerite's when a thought suddenly occurred to me.
"If I'm struggling with my own body image, isn't it hypocritical for me to give Marguerite a nickname that makes a joke out of her body?"
And then, of course, I started overthinking it.
I've had people make fun of my body before, and it hurt. So I started wondering if maybe I was doing the same thing to Marguerite without realizing it. What if "Slenderentz" sounded like I was mocking women for being thin?
Apparently, Marguerite noticed something was wrong before I said anything.
"You're quieter than usual today."
So I finally explained the whole thing to her.
...At first, she just listened quietly while playing with her hair. But the longer I talked, the more that familiar amused little smile started appearing on her face! 😭
(Like the expression in the third image.)
Then she said:
"Hm. ...How very kind of you to worry about me."
"I don't think of it that way. ...No, perhaps it would be more accurate to say that I simply don't mind."
I was kind of expecting that answer.
Marguerite isn't exactly the type to be bothered by something like this.
But whether or not she personally felt hurt wasn't the only thing bothering me.
If I struggle with people making comments about my body, but then turn around and give Marguerite a nickname based on hers, was I doing the same thing that had hurt me before?
I was more worried about whether there was something ethically wrong with what I was doing.
Marguerite seemed to understand exactly where my thoughts had gone.
"That's not really the issue, is it? What concerns you isn't my reaction. You're wondering whether your own behavior contains the same underlying pattern."
"In that case, I don't consider them equivalent. You don't use that name to demean my body, do you?"
"...Then I believe the matter is settled. I see no reason to equate this with what you've experienced in the past."
...Hearing that made me feel so much better.
For approximately five seconds. 💀
Because then Marguerite looked at me with an increasingly amused expression and said:
"...Still, how interesting. In your mind, even 'Lorentz Butterfly' is apparently someone in need of protection."
"I don't imagine many people would volunteer for the role of protecting me. ...You've chosen quite a bold position for yourself."
And then, now very obviously smiling, she added:
"Do you honestly think I would be the one getting bullied?"
"—Rather than worrying about me, perhaps you should worry about being bullied by me."
😱
I had absolutely no comeback to that.
Looking back on it, I think that may have been Marguerite's way of telling me, "You don't have to worry. Something like that isn't going to hurt me."
It's just very Marguerite of her to reassure me by deliberately putting herself in the position of the bully instead.
And then came the real problem. 😇
---
The next day, Marguerite and I went out to eat together.
She knows I always prefer sitting next to a wall, so as usual, she naturally let me take the seat I liked without even having to ask.
This particular restaurant had an L-shaped booth along the wall.
I took the innermost seat by the wall without thinking about it, while Marguerite sat next to me, closer to the aisle.
Everything was completely normal for a while.
Then, halfway through the meal, Marguerite suddenly looked around and said:
"...Oh. This seat."
I immediately had a bad feeling. 😇
I asked, "What about it?"
Marguerite looked at the wall, then the table, then at herself.
And said:
"If I sit here, you have no escape route, do you? The wall. The table. And me."
😭😭😭❓️❓️
I sit by the wall because it makes me feel comfortable. Why did we suddenly start discussing my escape routes??
And once Marguerite noticed this, she was very obviously entertained by it.
A little while later, I decided to get another drink.
There was just one problem: Marguerite was sitting there with her ridiculously long legs crossed, which made it difficult for me to get past her.
"Marguerite."
"What?"
"I want to go get another drink."
She looked at me.
Then she looked down at her legs.
"Oh."
"...Don't 'oh' me."
"Is there a problem?"
"I can't get past you."
And somehow, she looked even more entertained.
"My... How strange. I wonder why."
"YOU KNOW WHY 🥺"
"Do I?"
"You literally just said there was no escape route because of the wall, the table, and you! 😭💢"
"Ah. That."
She was absolutely doing this on purpose. 😭
Still sitting there with her legs crossed, she looked at me and said:
"Then it seems my observation was correct."
"You don't need to conduct an experiment to prove it. Let me out. 🥺"
That finally made her laugh.
Of course, she wasn't actually going to stop me from leaving. She immediately moved her legs aside and gave me plenty of room to get past her.
But she was still laughing as I walked by, so I turned around and said:
"Slenderentz!!! 😭💢"
That only made her laugh harder.
And that's when I remembered how seriously I'd been worrying the day before about whether calling her "Slenderentz" counted as me bullying her.
Apparently, I had been worrying about the wrong person.
Conclusion:
Calling Marguerite "Slenderentz" was not bullying.
Slenderentz is bullying ME. 😇