Society and body image
 

Over the past twenty years I have dealt with the many discriminations that come with being even the least bit over weight. When it comes to the dating scene I have had blind dates show up at my door and literally say "oh Hell no" and turn on their heels and walk away leaving me standing there. Yes it's a true story and a painful one. I have had men tell me they won't be seen with me in public but would be happy to just stay in the house with me because "at least" I had a pretty face to look at.

To the Men and Women in this world that make the decision to judge and discriminate against the other Men and Women of this world who are just a little over weight to being morbidly obese... I say... "STAND BEHIND ME" You are of no consequence to me.

I am on this journey for health and happiness. MY HAPPINESS... and MY HEALTH are far more important to me than YOUR ACCEPTANCE.

I am intelligent, beautiful, thoughtful, funny and very caring. So to those men who dismissed me and passed me by.... You have missed out on getting to know a good human being here who just happens to be an over weight woman.

NO... I am not entirely happy with my body shape... but that is ALL it is... A SHAPE... A SHELL to shelter my soul. And I am taking the measures and steps to rectify that.

But I can tell you this.... I am quite pleased with the inner person that I am.
If you want to laugh... I'll laugh with you.
If you want to talk..... I'll talk with you.
If you want to be friends..... I'll be your friend
If you want to go along on this journey of health with me..... come along... if not... then stand behind me and walk the other way.

Some days I wish the forum had a "LIKE" button like FaceBook!

LOL... I know... and thanks... ☺

http://yoursmiles.org/tsmile/rulez/t2007.gif How about this for the "Like Button"?

hehehehehe thanks for the "likes" and thanks for the applause :D

hugs and more hugs and ♥

well said!! While I've never had a guy say "Hell No" and walk away, I have had the "well we can just hang out". Which means "I don't want to be seen with you, but at least I can get me a piece".

WE ARE WORTH SO MUCH MORE!! I just wish I had realized this at an earlier age, maybe then I wouldn't have put myself through so many bad "relationships".

Great post. Made me think of this...

As the immortal Jay-Z once sang:
"He who does not feel me is not real to me
Therefore he doesn't exist
So poof...vamoose...S.O.B.!" :)

I too have long been a subject of size discrimination, I feel your pain and support you. It's horrible and unfortunate that you've been hurt by individuals that were clearly too stupid to realize the lovely person you are.

I actually had a friend in college, who after getting to know me said that she thought I must be the most underestimated woman on earth. Not so much because people looked at me and thought me worthless, but because I was judged by my size and their own personal limitations in life. I have no idea if she was right about that, but I think she was a least on to something. I have talents aplenty that are not visible to the naked eye, especially if you cannot see past the fat parts.

I say absolutely to all of you. And Bravo to all of us... for seeing ourselves as we should. We all have wonderful talents and great personalities. We should never look down upon ourselves. We need to continue to change our mindsets.... Really SEE Who we are... as opposed to thinking... "ohhh I'm just a hopeless fat person" I say PFFFT to that... I am worth a lot to many.... I am worth so much to myself. I AM WORTH THE LIFE I LIVE.

If someone is so rude and immature that they can't decline in a more polite way than screaming "Oh hell no!" then you wouldn't have wanted them anyway. Even a person you're not interested in dating is still a person and should be treated with respect and dignity. It's one thing if you can tell you're not attracted to someone and decide not to go on the date, but there are nicer ways to say so than that.

Even though I'm large myself I don't think I'd want to date someone who was obese because of the fact that they're likely to have habits that I won't be able to change and would be a bad influence on me as far as food and exercise. Plus if you do get married to someone their health costs become your health costs and if they are at an unhealthy weight then it's generally just a matter of time before a disease develops from that, so I would at least want someone who was serious about a permanent lifestyle change.

Some of the people that have been around a while probably remember when I had a quote of the week contest. This would have been a winner!

I used to be easily offended, but then I realized that when someone is rude they are clearly demonstrating that they have terrible manners. I might be fat, but I'm not rude or tactless, my momma raised me better than that.

Agreed. Hey, why don't you have that contest anymore?

It is great to be reminded our value is not a size or a number on a scale.

I dunno, you seem pretty beautiful to me.

show up at my door and literally say "oh Hell no" and turn on their heels

Oh, girl, what I would have shouted after those [insert favorite expletive]s. What makes people feel so entitled? They've got waste products for brains!

Bottom line: WE ARE BEAUTIFUL!