When

BeachIron
BeachIron Posts: 6,490 Member
Did the word "skinny" become an insult?

WTF happened to the world that caused people to "insult" others by telling them that they are at a healthy weight? Or are all these posters just being hyper-sensitive?

Oh. Good morning, MFP. Or good afternoon, or good evening, whatever the case may be.

Talk amongst yourselves. I'm out for a beach run.
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Replies

  • randomtai
    randomtai Posts: 9,003 Member
    Only on MFP.
  • harlanJEN
    harlanJEN Posts: 1,089 Member
    You can call me a skinny *kitten* anytime you wanna.
  • rml_16
    rml_16 Posts: 16,414 Member
    They're being hypersensitive. This goes back to that thread about what "fit" means.

    "I'm not skinny, I'm fit!" like it's a terrible thing to be skinny.

    That was the point I was trying to make.
  • JenAndSome
    JenAndSome Posts: 1,893 Member
    I think it's all the "real women have curves" nonsense that is out there. Some women have curves, some women have less curves and some women can bench press a Buick*. All are still women.

    ETA: This may be an over-exaggeration.
  • TX_Rhon
    TX_Rhon Posts: 1,549 Member
    For some people - EVERYTHING is an insult. It must truly suck to be so sensitive.

    Happy Tuesday MFP :drinker: <----im off to get some coffee!
  • ArroganceInStep
    ArroganceInStep Posts: 6,239 Member
    Skinny would be an insult to me because it would only ever apply in a facetious fashion...but that's not what you're talking about.

    I think people in general need to sack up and build some damn self confidence. You're happy with your body? Great. Don't cut other people down to make yourself feel superior. You're unhappy with your body? Fine, work on it. Don't cut other people down to make yourself feel less terrible.

    And if someone is insulting you, remember that they suck at life and are probably terrible in bed.
  • hopefaithlove24
    hopefaithlove24 Posts: 454 Member
    Love to be called skinny:)
  • Tiernan1212
    Tiernan1212 Posts: 797 Member

    And if someone is insulting you, remember that they suck at life and are probably terrible in bed.

    :drinker: This is now my new "sticks and stones..." mantra :laugh:
  • Tw1zzler
    Tw1zzler Posts: 583
    "Skinny" is good, and now I wouldn't mind someone calling me that. (but I'm aiming for "healthy" or "athletic")

    But... having been a skinny person most of my life, at the lowest end of 'healthy'. I did get tired of people saying.. "oh you're so skinny!!!" I didn't go around telling people " oh your so fat!" It's another label. I didn't try to be so skinny, I just didn't have much cash and didn't make food a priority.

    I agree with Jen... that the 'real women have curves' is kind of nonsense. I am one of those ladies w/ no curves, no matter how much weight I gain. Real women are true to themselves.
  • ItsCasey
    ItsCasey Posts: 4,021 Member
    I do think the majority of it has to do with overweight people wanting to be able to accept being overweight. It's easier to do that when you can point at someone who is thinner than you are and say "I just think women look better with more meat on their bones." Whatever.

    On the other hand, for someone who has been really overweight (and I have), being told you are "skinny" or some other term that clearly isn't meant as a compliment can screw with your head. When you think you look great and someone else makes a joke about you being anorexic or blowing away or telling you to eat a cheeseburger ... it's like being punched in the stomach. And I'm a very mentally and emotionally stable person. So I can't imagine the number it might do on someone who isn't in a good place.
  • rml_16
    rml_16 Posts: 16,414 Member
    I do think the majority of it has to do with overweight people wanting to be able to accept being overweight. It's easier to do that when you can point at someone who is thinner than you are and say "I just think women look better with more meat on their bones."

    I agree with this.

    As for the rest, I do think people mean that as a compliment most of the time. They're usually joking around, but rarely do they actually mean you should gain weight. It's a strange way of complimenting, but I think that is generally how it's meant.
  • UsedToBeHusky
    UsedToBeHusky Posts: 15,228 Member
    Well "skinny" isn't really associated with a healthy weight anymore.
  • randomtai
    randomtai Posts: 9,003 Member
    I do think the majority of it has to do with overweight people wanting to be able to accept being overweight. It's easier to do that when you can point at someone who is thinner than you are and say "I just think women look better with more meat on their bones."

    I agree with this.

    As for the rest, I do think people mean that as a compliment most of the time. They're usually joking around, but rarely do they actually mean you should gain weight. It's a strange way of complimenting, but I think that is generally how it's meant.

    All of this. It seems like people are really awkward when discussing weight.
  • _noob_
    _noob_ Posts: 3,306 Member
    I just wanted to respond to the thread title...

    soon.jpg
  • Mainebikerchick
    Mainebikerchick Posts: 1,573 Member
    Definitely hypersensitive! I'd LOVE to be called skinny, I'd say that's a big compliment after all the hard work I've been doing!
  • UsedToBeHusky
    UsedToBeHusky Posts: 15,228 Member
    My daughter is very thin. She hates to be called "skinny".
  • BeccaBollons
    BeccaBollons Posts: 652 Member
    When I was a teenager, I had this friend who used to see skinny like a disease. For example my sister is VERY thin, and Tim would say "she's got Skinny". We definitely saw it as negative to be called skinny. Slim, trim, thin all were fine. Now I like "lean" and "elegant" and my personal favourite "like a baby giraffe". My MIL calls me willowy, which is not three bad.

    Comments on people's weight are awkward. We don't walk up to our best friends and say things like- you're looking particularly overweight today! Why make slim people feel awkward too?
  • shellma00
    shellma00 Posts: 1,684 Member
    I am sorry.. but I would take it as a compliment. I haven't been skinny in a very long time!
  • F@#k you bro I'm not skinny! :bigsmile:
  • ldrosophila
    ldrosophila Posts: 7,512 Member
    since humans could make up adjectives it meant the guy wasnt very good at hunting and had a skinny wife and children. Also it has cultural connotation the "fat and rich" countries view it as more positive then countries that are "starving and poor."
  • ArroganceInStep
    ArroganceInStep Posts: 6,239 Member
    since humans could make up adjectives it meant the guy wasnt very good at hunting and had a skinny wife and children. Also it has cultural connotation the "fat and rich" countries view it as more positive then countries that are "starving and poor."

    We're a pretty long way removed from that explanation.
  • jennifer_417
    jennifer_417 Posts: 12,344 Member
    If someone legit called me skinny, I think I'd probably die of happiness.
  • rml_16
    rml_16 Posts: 16,414 Member
    since humans could make up adjectives it meant the guy wasnt very good at hunting and had a skinny wife and children. Also it has cultural connotation the "fat and rich" countries view it as more positive then countries that are "starving and poor."
    But our Western cultural ideal is very thin while overweight or fat are seen as unattractive.

    This kind of thing changes and is mostly based on what makes you look rich. In the past, being very pale and overweight meant you were rich and had servants and didn't have to be outside or do manual labor. Now being very thin (or even muscular, as the ideal is changing) means you have time to spend working out and have the means to eat very healthy foods.

    People don't think about telling someone she (or sometimes he) is skinny because skinny is seen as desirable and even if it's teasing, it isn't viewed the same way as calling someone fat.

    Of course, you see differences across cultures, too, even within the same country.
  • AlsDonkBoxSquat
    AlsDonkBoxSquat Posts: 6,128 Member
    Did the word "skinny" become an insult?

    WTF happened to the world that caused people to "insult" others by telling them that they are at a healthy weight? Or are all these posters just being hyper-sensitive?

    Oh. Good morning, MFP. Or good afternoon, or good evening, whatever the case may be.

    Talk amongst yourselves. I'm out for a beach run.

    With me, I don't think it would be an apt description, but it doesn't make me cringy at all. Really all I care about is that people give the donker the respect it deserves, say what you want about my waist, but respect the donk.
  • For some it's their go to word instead of fit, in shape or athletic.

    Maybe their vocabulary isn't very vast.....
  • rml_16
    rml_16 Posts: 16,414 Member
    For some it's their go to word instead of fit, in shape or athletic.

    Maybe their vocabulary isn't very vast.....
    What does "fit" mean, though?
  • Cranquistador
    Cranquistador Posts: 39,744 Member
    Skinny would be an insult to me because it would only ever apply in a facetious fashion...but that's not what you're talking about.

    I think people in general need to sack up and build some damn self confidence. You're happy with your body? Great. Don't cut other people down to make yourself feel superior. You're unhappy with your body? Fine, work on it. Don't cut other people down to make yourself feel less terrible.

    And if someone is insulting you, remember that they suck at life and are probably terrible in bed.
    *takes notes*
  • EvgeniZyntx
    EvgeniZyntx Posts: 24,208 Member
    For some it's their go to word instead of fit, in shape or athletic.

    Maybe their vocabulary isn't very vast.....
    What does "fit" mean, though?

    square-peg-round-hole.jpg
  • BerryH
    BerryH Posts: 4,698 Member
    Since the 1930s, judging by these adverts:
    xlg_skinny_girls_zps3d0024c7.jpg

    More here:
    http://thesocietypages.org/socimages/2011/08/25/i-put-on-ten-pounds-three-ounces/
  • seltzermint555
    seltzermint555 Posts: 10,740 Member
    I just think skinny is offensive when people say it to me because at 218 I'm still obese.