[Susan S]

My weight has yo-yo’d most of my life. I have found that when I am in my normal range for my height, people treat me completely different than when I am heavier. Men seem to have more of a negative reaction. I’ve wondered if this is because of the media presentation of what the ideal woman should look like.

User Detail :  

Name : Susan S, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Catholic, Age : 45, City : Flint, State : MI, Country : United States, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Kim-M]

My weight has also yo-yo’d over the years, and when I was thinner I got a lot more respect and was treated ‘normal.’ I think this has a lot to do with the media and overwieght people being the butt of every joke. The media portrays women as being obsessively thin, and there are always new diets coming out to quickly lose wieght. If the media would just portray an average woman who is not a Paris Hilton lookalike, maybe everyone would see how beautiful women can be with a little meat on their bones. Just because you are not runway thin does not mean you are not human and have feelings about the way you look. You should be happy with yourself, no matter how much your weight fluctuates.

User Detail :  

Name : Kim-M, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 21, City : Swartz Creek, State : MI, Country : United States, Occupation : student, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Kristen26235]

I have recently dropped 30 lbs and noticed the same thing. Where I used to be ‘invisible,’ now I get better treatment from coworkers, friends and strangers. I think it has something to do with people’s perception of overweight people as lazy, selfish and not taking good care of themselves. It also has something to do with a slimmer person’s self-confidence.

User Detail :  

Name : Kristen26235, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Bisexual, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Atheist, Age : 28, City : na, State : MI, Country : United States, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[John29188]

I’m one of those naturally thin people dieters hate. I can eat as bad as I want and never exercise and still weigh 140 at 5’11’. I can’t imagine being fat. I’ve had plenty of over weight friends and the subject of weight generally does not come up. I ‘know’ there is all sorts of stuff that goes into a persons propensity to gain weight or not. But on the flip side I also know you can’t gain what you don’t eat. So personally since I don’t have to deal with it and can’t imagine accepting being overweight myself. I find it hard to understand that other people seem content to be overweight. On the flip side I don’t understand girls that worry about wanting to lose 5 lb. Because in my experience those are the ones that 5 lb? off what? For thin people that aren’t naturally thin there might be an if I can lose it why can’t you mind set. But thats just speculation on my part.

User Detail :  

Name : John29188, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Atheist, Age : 23, City : Huntington, State : WV, Country : United States, Education level : 4 Years of College, 

[Jake-and-Aaron]

There’s nothing normal or okay or even tolerable about being overweight. It’s a disease, it’s a problem, and it’s unsightly. The problem is not the media’s portrayal of everyone as excessively slim, it’s this crazy women’s lib notion that being fat is okay. It’s not! It’s ugly, it’s unsightly, it’s unhealthy, and it’s unnatural. Overweight people are lazy, and they are most certainly are not taking good care of themselves. If you were taking care of yourself, you wouldn’t be overweight, would you? The reason people treat you more human when you’re slimmer is because you are. Being fat is not natural. It’s a sign that there’s something wrong with you, and makes you unattractive as a potential mate or friend.

User Detail :  

Name : Jake-and-Aaron, Gender : M, Race : White/Caucasian, City : Somewhere in, State : OR, Country : United States, Occupation : Student, Social class : Middle class, 

[Nathan20138]

I don’t think it’s the media. Like which came first? The chicken or the egg? Attraction isn’t something that can be analyzed easily. People respond to things how they do. Paris Hilton has just as much right to look like she does as you do.

User Detail :  

Name : Nathan20138, Gender : M, Race : Black/African American, Age : 40, City : Seattle, State : WA, Country : United States, Occupation : Tech, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Lower middle class, 

[Wayne24395]

I don’t think it is strictly the media presentation, though that does make it more prevalent. It really is a society’s viewpoint of overweight people and what is considered ‘overweight.’ In developed nations, being what is considered ‘overweight’ carries many negative assumptions about the person. Some of these are being greedy, lazy, unhealthy and more. And it can affect your life in quite a few ways. For instance, it can be more difficult to get certain jobs or a promotion if you are considerably overweight (in some organizations). And men get the treatment, too. I went through of rough period in my life during which I gained a lot of weight. All of a sudden, fat jokes were not funny anymore. It really made me more sensitive to others. Guess I needed it. In many developing nations, what we consider ‘overweight’ is not considered negative. I think it implies wealth. Poor people are thin. Wealthy people are ‘overweight’ (by our standards, not theirs.) They can afford enough food to actually be that big. Remember, in these areas food is scarce. And if you really look at Western history (Western Civilization, not the U.S. West) you will notice that the descriptions of beauty (literature, art) are not nearly as ‘thin’ as the descriptions in modern writing and other arts.

User Detail :  

Name : Wayne24395, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Age : 43, City : Parsippany, State : NJ, Country : United States, Occupation : marketing, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, 

[Scott-M28180]

Unfortunately, one of the most discriminated groups is the overweight; regardless of gender. I’d guess that in addition to the appearance issue, there’s an assumption that overweight people have little self-control — even though we all know that’s not true in every case. A study of how teachers interact with their students showed the expected preference for the (usually attentive) girls over the (more distracted) boys. The group that was most overlooked however, was the overweight children. This is particularly harmful when they get the same message from their peers; not to mention that this is likely occurring at a very impressionable age.

User Detail :  

Name : Scott-M28180, Gender : M, City : Los Angeles, State : CA, Country : United States, 

[Camron]

I believe that when people are overweight they do get treated differently because I have seen people who get treated badly because they are fat. I think fitter people shouldn’t do that because overweight people have feelings, too. Also, if you are fit, you should try and put yourself in their shoes and know what it feels like when you tease them because sometimes overweight people cannot help it.

User Detail :  

Name : Camron, Gender : M, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 14, City : Zeeland, State : MI, Country : United States, Occupation : student, Education level : Less than High School Diploma, Social class : Middle class, 

[Rajah]

Why is the media blamed for stuff like this all the time? Has it ever occurred to people that the media portrays the ideal woman that way because that’s the ideal woman? It’s an unfortunate stereotype, I know. I myself am somewhat overweight. It’s never made a difference in the way I’m treated that I’ve noticed, but I know I can sometimes be that way with others, though I try not to. But this is not because of the media. I can see women everywhere I go, and I know what a hot, pretty woman is because I know why my eyes like to see. This isn’t because the media told me what to like. Cripes, we’ve had TV for less than a century and I think the standard for what is attractive and appealing has always been the same for millenia.

User Detail :  

Name : Rajah, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Christian, Age : 22, City : Watertown, State : WI, Country : United States, Occupation : student/health services, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Sharon28102]

What’s crazy is how much positive reinforcement people get for losing weight in our society. I dropped about 10 pounds one time because of a health problem. I got so many people making positive comments to me about my appearance I was left thinking, ‘first of all, just how bad did I look BEFORE’ and ‘for Pete’s sake I’ve been SICK and people are applauding me for looking so GOOD (thin!)’ I think we can blame the media, but ultimately we choose if we buy into or perpetuate its messages. It’s amazing how much value we place on weight, which is such a waste of energy and time.

User Detail :  

Name : Sharon28102, Gender : F, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 25, City : Fairfax, State : VA, Country : United States, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[RhondaOutlaw]

When I see a very overweight person, the first thing I think is ‘Thank goodness that isn’t me’. Most people think that way, but they won’t admit it. Everytime a thin or average-size woman or man looks at an overweight person, they secretly fear becoming that person someday. I know I do. Also, we’ve taken the phrase ‘big and beautiful’ to an unacceptable level. There is nothing beautiful about a 300-pound woman. Likewise, there is nothing attractive about a 300-pound man. Fat is not pretty. Sorry.

User Detail :  

Name : RhondaOutlaw, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Lutheran, Age : 41, City : New York, State : NY, Country : United States, Occupation : Account Representative, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[omphale]

In my experience, the response I get from people has much more to do with my own feelings about myself and my self-presentation than my weight. When I feel sexy and good about myself, whether I’m Twiggy or Zaftig makes no difference; I’m sexy. And the opposite is also true: I can be super-model skinny and no one even looks at me if I’m depressed or feeling bad about myself. So you might want to check your self-image, not just your scale. Loving yourself is definitely the key to attracting love from the outside.

User Detail :  

Name : omphale, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Bisexual, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Agnostic, Age : 29, City : Minneapolis, State : MN, Country : United States, Occupation : writer, musician, mother, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Lower class, 

[Covergirl]

Seems to me it’s just what people prefer. I mean I am 125 and have been all my life. But I know what I like. I don’t like big men. All I can think about is how unhealthy they look and it has nothing to do with the media, it’s just who I’m attracted to. Not to sound rude, but I’d date a fat girl to make her feel good but would never date a fat guy. Not saying I couldn’t fall in love with either, but it just wouldn’t be my first option. When I think of fat I think of sweat, heavy breathing, slow walking, etc. Besides that, I have big friends and they always complain of people not wanting to date them, but yet they go for gorgeous, slim people rather than one of equal size. What’s up with that? Sounds weird that they want me to date a big person, but they won’t.

User Detail :  

Name : Covergirl, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Bisexual, Race : Black/African American, Age : 25, City : Chicago, State : IL, Country : United States, Occupation : Student, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Lower class, 

[Davy J.]

I am sorry that this disrespect has happened to you. Many men (and women, too, I bet) see a weight problem as an indicator that something else more serious is going on in your life, such as depression, poor self-image, etc. For that reason we are leery about getting close to you, same as you might steer clear of a man who needs to comb his hair (and for this you’d have taken a pass on Einstein).

User Detail :  

Name : Davy J., Gender : Male, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Atheist, City : Evanston, State : IL, Country : United States, Occupation : university teacher, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class, 

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