Discussion Thread: When Fat-Shame Stopped Me

[Trigger warning for fat-shaming and discussions of body image and body policing.]

Following up on yesterday's discussion threads about being fat-shamed and engaging in fat-shaming, this is a thread in which to share stories about when the fear of being publicly fat-shamed stopped you from doing something you wanted to do.

Have you ever avoided going out to dinner with friends because you were worried about someone commenting on your eating in public? Have you ever avoided going to a particular club because you were worried about someone commenting negatively on your body size? Have you ever not taken a trip because you didn't want to deal with the possibility of being asked to buy a second seat on a flight? Have you ever not gone swimming because you didn't want to be seen in a swimsuit? Have you ever declined a formal occasion because it would have necessitated a shopping trip that was likely to elicit fat-shaming?

This isn't a thread about failure or weakness. This is a thread in which we bravely speak about the effects that the ubiquity of fat-shaming, and the strong possibility that we will be publicly fat-shamed, has on the decisions and lives of fat people (and/or thin and inbetweenie people who have also come to expect fat-shaming in certain situations). We are not admitting defeats; we are testifying.

The companion thread with a discussion of the times fat-shame didn't stop us is here.

[Commenting Guidelines: Engaging in fat-shaming and fat hatred here is off-limits, as it is in any other thread, and will be removed and its purveyors banned. This thread is for people who want to be engaged with ending fat-shaming, not for people interested in perpetrating it.]