Man shares struggles of ‘being fat’ in emotional Twitter thread
A man has written a lengthy thread on Twitter detailing the judgement that he faces every day for “being fat”.
Despite the increasing number of fashion campaigns featuring plus-size models and celebrating a variety of body types, unfortunately bodyshaming is not yet a thing of the past.
Kiva Bay, an artist from Oregon, USA, knows exactly how it feels to be shamed simply because of the way you look.
As he explained on Twitter, a snide look from a stranger or a lack of understanding from your friends can be absolutely devastating.
“Being fat is every act of eating in public becoming a performance, being aware of every eye on you as you chew, trying to gauge how much you can get away with leaving on your plate so they think better of you,” he wrote.
“Being fat is recognising revulsion in a stranger’s face when you just want to get through your day.
“Being fat is being told you should be grateful for the attention when you say “#metoo”.
Being fat is the act of squeezing yourself into a corner and hugging your arm to your side to take up less space.
— Kivan, Spider Daddy (he/him) (@KivaBay) June 10, 2018
Being fat is knowing beauty is a title awarded by other people. It is knowing that no matter how often you tell yourself you're beautiful, the words have no power unless they come from someone else.
— Kivan, Spider Daddy (he/him) (@KivaBay) June 10, 2018
Being fat is every act of eating in public becoming a performance, being aware of every eye on you as you chew, trying to guage how much you can get away with leaving on your plate so they think better of you
— Kivan, Spider Daddy (he/him) (@KivaBay) June 10, 2018
Being fat is recognizing revulsion in a stranger's face when you just want to get through your day
— Kivan, Spider Daddy (he/him) (@KivaBay) June 10, 2018
Being fat is being paid less, promoted less, liked less, loved less. It is to be disposable
— Kivan, Spider Daddy (he/him) (@KivaBay) June 10, 2018
Bay explained that as a man of a larger build, he had to make do with watching TV shows that made fun of overweight people as he couldn’t find any that didn’t feature “fat hate”.
He’s also had to regularly face the prospect of strangers relishing in telling him that he’s going to die, “often in graphic detail.”
“Being fat is hearing your thin friends say that they’re sorry for what your childhood was like in one breath and then saying we have to end childhood obesity in the next,” he continued.
A number of people have responded to Bay’s Twitter thread, expressing that they’ve experienced the same struggles in the past.
“So painful and so true,” one person wrote, while another said: “Spot on.”
“Being fat is being aware of little things thin people aren’t like how loud your footsteps are on wood floors or keeping quiet when your friends discuss fast food,” someone commented.
In March, Cancer Research UK defended a campaign that linked obesity to cancer, after being accused by critics of “bodyshaming” on social media.
