"Lost 100lbs & found out what the world thinks of fat ppl"

One of the worst types of prejudice nowadays is the one against fat people, exactly because it's approved by society. Turnstiles, bus seats, plane corridors, etc, everything is made to remind you that you're overweight and that if you don't change that reality you simply won't fit in, and won't make use of things because they weren't designed for you. It's a constant reminder that you need to lose weight no matter what, as if the television and magazines didn't show you enough of that already.
I've never been "obese" (even that word has a huge "weight" on it. It's one of the heaviest words I know!), but I've seen how much suffering my father has been through because of his obesity. People would look at him with curiosity as he entered an elevator, and grimace if they had to sit by his side on a plane or bus.

It really creates a stigma, and it's hard to get rid of it when you reach your goal and realize you're suddenly surrounded by people who did not want your company before you became "normal" (to their own disfigured paradigms, at least).

The text states the absolute truth. Thank you very much for showing us that perspective.

It's sad to think that fat-shaming is still one of the only socially acceptable forms of "abuse" left. As odd as it sounds, I'm thankful every day that I was overweight for 16 years+. Yes, I want to get healthy, but being "fat" taught me a sense of compassion and empathy for people I never would have been enlightened to without having experienced first-hand the inequality in treatment. Great story, thank you for sharing!

One of the worst types of prejudice nowadays is the one against fat people, exactly because it's approved by society. Turnstiles, bus seats, plane corridors, etc, everything is made to remind you that you're overweight and that if you don't change that reality you simply won't fit in, and won't make use of things because they weren't designed for you. It's a constant reminder that you need to lose weight no matter what, as if the television and magazines didn't show you enough of that already.
I've never been "obese" (even that word has a huge "weight" on it. It's one of the heaviest words I know!), but I've seen how much suffering my father has been through because of his obesity. People would look at him with curiosity as he entered an elevator, and grimace if they had to sit by his side on a plane or bus.

It really creates a stigma, and it's hard to get rid of it when you reach your goal and realize you're suddenly surrounded by people who did not want your company before you became "normal" (to their own disfigured paradigms, at least).

The text states the absolute truth. Thank you very much for showing us that perspective.

wait what? because the world is only so big, and buses can only be as wide as the street they'll drive on, and rollercoasters can only have so much space and weight.. it's discriminating against fat people? then i think that because ceilings are only so high, they're discriminating against tall people. and because my kitchen cabinets were built this way... it's rude to me because i'm short. nooo... the world is built for what is "average." being 700 lbs isn't average because it isn't healthy. being 4 ft tall isn't average because it's not too common. the world is what it is. you can be fat and rude just as you can be skinny and rude. and if a guy doesn't hold the door for me, i don't assume it's because i'm unattractive, i assume it's because he's a *kitten* who was raised poorly. that's just my opinion

This article applies not only to fat - it applies to everything (in a western society) that falls outside of western ideals.

For example, I used to dress like a boy. That was what I liked to wear, not really for any reason other than that i liked it and could do lots in it and didn't really care about clothes much. Probably the only thing more terrifying than a girl who dresses like a boy is a boy who dresses like a girl...

I am by no means 'ugly', but if I throw my hair in a pony tail I with boy's clothes I could probably be considered plain.

A few years ago I met a nice guy - the first guy I have ever REALLY been drawn to and sexually attracted to. I felt this huge primal urge to emphasise everything 'feminine'. I figured that there was nothing unhealthy about this, so I started growing my hair longer, painting my fingernails, wearing skirts, and just generally transferring a lot of my artistic expression into my appearance.

The world changed completely.

Suddenly, I was pretty. Instead of melting into a background with all the things that don't catch people's eye, I started catching everyone's eyes, mostly men's. They were suddenly much nicer to me, and much more rude at the same time... happy to leer and stare openly, shout out car windows.

My friends, many of whom were feminists, started to judge me very poorly and treat me badly. A whole sub-society that I enjoyed became cut off to me.

...

Unfortunately, a large part of the reality behind fat-hate, mostly against women, is some underlying expectation that all women strive at all times to appear as attractive as possible. If you 'let yourself go,' cut your hair, don't wear heels, don't grow or implant boobs, or don't wear skirts, you will be socially punished. If you do all these things you will be rewarded.

As I am not a man I can't even speculate on what the social punishments are for being fat or ugly (or short?)...I cant only speak about what I experienced and what I observed driving it. It's like I was a bad dog who needed to be ignored, and suddenly I was a good dog who deserved lots of attention.

Fat is one among the many aberrations for which you may be punished. It is the one for which you may be punished most cruelly, though.

Others for women include:
- too muscley (too masculine)/not enough muscle tone
- too much makeup/no makeup
- too much hair
- short hair
- pants/shorts (oh if you don't wear a skirt you won't even believe how much reward skirts get)
- shoulders too big/hips too small
- too aggressive

The perversion is not what men find attractive, so much as the fact that it is applied to EVERY social/work interaction and opportunity.

The downside, of course, is that if you manage to find the right balance between all of these things, suddenly the social reward switches around to punishment - you must be a b*tch and a bimbo and deserve to be treated poorly and sexually harassed and leered at because that's all you're good for.

It's a messy world out there.

One of the worst types of prejudice nowadays is the one against fat people, exactly because it's approved by society. Turnstiles, bus seats, plane corridors, etc, everything is made to remind you that you're overweight and that if you don't change that reality you simply won't fit in, and won't make use of things because they weren't designed for you. It's a constant reminder that you need to lose weight no matter what, as if the television and magazines didn't show you enough of that already.
I've never been "obese" (even that word has a huge "weight" on it. It's one of the heaviest words I know!), but I've seen how much suffering my father has been through because of his obesity. People would look at him with curiosity as he entered an elevator, and grimace if they had to sit by his side on a plane or bus.

It really creates a stigma, and it's hard to get rid of it when you reach your goal and realize you're suddenly surrounded by people who did not want your company before you became "normal" (to their own disfigured paradigms, at least).

The text states the absolute truth. Thank you very much for showing us that perspective.

wait what? because the world is only so big, and buses can only be as wide as the street they'll drive on, and rollercoasters can only have so much space and weight.. it's discriminating against fat people? then i think that because ceilings are only so high, they're discriminating against tall people. and because my kitchen cabinets were built this way... it's rude to me because i'm short. nooo... the world is built for what is "average." being 700 lbs isn't average because it isn't healthy. being 4 ft tall isn't average because it's not too common. the world is what it is. you can be fat and rude just as you can be skinny and rude. and if a guy doesn't hold the door for me, i don't assume it's because i'm unattractive, i assume it's because he's a *kitten* who was raised poorly. that's just my opinion