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.
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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, 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.
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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, 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.
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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, 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.
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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, 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.
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Name : Jake-and-Aaron, Gender : M, Race : White/Caucasian, City : Somewhere in, State : OR Country : United States, Occupation : Student, Social class : Middle class, I've also been a lifelong weight yo-yo -- by as much as 100 lbs. I think I was treated differently during the times I was thin, but I also think I presented myself differently - until I realized I was the same person no matter what weight I was, I think I projected more confidence when I was thin, and others responded in kind. When I was uncomfortable with being overweight, I tended to be more guarded with others. Currently, I'm heavier than I've ever been in my life (my medical chart says morbidly obese), but I am in good health and am happy and comfortable with myself, and I also have more friends now than ever before. I no longer stick to dark colors and avoid stripes -- I embrace my size as part of who I am. I even teach body image to middle school girls!
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Name : Stacia V., Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : I borrow from all faiths to form my own, Age : 40, City : Burnham, State : PA Country : United States, Occupation : Social Worker, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 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.
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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, Typing for my son (16): I appreciate big women because they put up with stuff skinny people don't. And when it comes down to it, it's more cushion for the pushing. And big women need to understand big women are the IN THING now. If you lose too much, you'll join the anorexic crew, and be a wash.
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Name : DBBO28606, Gender : F, Disability : Deaf, Race : Black/African American, City : Detroit, State : MI Country : United States, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Lower middle class, I know what you mean but Ive also been on the opposite end of the spectrum. When I was very thin (75-poundish) I was treated like a complete freak and actually worse than I ever was when I was heavy. Complete strangers thought it was their place to tell me to cover up, to eat more, to call me an Anorexic b***h. Women were actually the worst. Also, there are no taboos in the media on "Skinny" jokes, but there's a growing concern not to make fat jibes. I think it has a bit to do with the media, a bit to do with guilt about their own weight (I mean this applying to thin and larger people). Anyone who is not the 'norm' is treated this way, though it is not right.
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Name : Ems25411, City : Enland, State : WY Country : United Kingdom, 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.
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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, 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.
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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, 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.
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Name : Scott-M28180, Gender : M, City : Los Angeles, State : CA Country : United States, The media doesn't decide what an ideal woman looks like. It finds what most people like and uses that. Except for the fashion industry. For some reason, they use women who are so skinny they look like skeletons. The differences you are seeing aren't because of the media, they are because being overweight is simply unattractive. It is unattractive because it is obviously unhealthy. The 'no respect' part is because attractive people seem more competent, so less attractive people seem less competent.
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Name : Dustin-V, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 28, City : Bellevue, State : WA Country : United States, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Lower middle class, 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.
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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, 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.
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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, 
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