# Insults About Weight (or lack thereof): Which Would You Prefer?



## Ti Dominant (Sep 25, 2010)

People are always attacked by each other on the basis of shallow tendencies. Some are made fun of for being ugly. Some have large noses. Some have a mole on their forehead. Some are made fun of for being too skinny, while others are made fun of for being too fat. If you were going to be insulted most of your life by shallow people which would you prefer.


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## Promethea (Aug 24, 2009)

I like the intent here, but the poll is too limited. I'm going to say neither. Until I was in my late 20s, people picked on me for being too skinny a -lot-.. and it was really hurtful. Heres the thing though.. I have had friends of completely average weight who were picked on for being 'chubby' when they are not. I think it hurts both equally. Its also subjective.. Its why I say that its not right to pick on anyones size. As I got older I wasn't "too" skinny anymore, and I am somewhere comfortably in the middle - but I am still seeing both sides and I can see how its not right either way.

I should also add that "skinny" - "average" - "chubby" - "fat" : are all relative. Self-perception is a real mindfuck in this culture. 

When I was told by a doctor that I was very underweight as a teen, I thought he was lying to me, trying to make me "fat." :/


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## Ti Dominant (Sep 25, 2010)

Very awesome post, Promethea. I can't disagree with any of it.


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## snail (Oct 13, 2008)

Neither. I want to live in a world where people consider weight irrelevant and do not pick on each other for any reason, especially for superficial ones.


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## xezene (Aug 7, 2010)

I agree with snail on this one -- it's kind of like the story Patrick Stewart shared in an interview, when he told the story of when they asked the creator of Star Trek (Gene Roddenberry) why, in the 24th century, why the world would still have bald people. According to the story, Roddenberry simply responded, "In the 24th century, no one will care." :happy: I hope it gets to be like that with weight as well.


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## Ti Dominant (Sep 25, 2010)

Yeah, I should've added a "neither" option. But oh well.


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## skycloud86 (Jul 15, 2009)

I would say neither, but I chose not enough. I'm not fat or even that overweight, but I often think I am because I do have some flabbiness.


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## Ti Dominant (Sep 25, 2010)

Very interesting..... the results are.


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## KrystRay (Jun 16, 2010)

I have been on both ends. I hated myself when I was really skinny. I didn't feel like a woman. I certainly do now!


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## AirMarionette (Mar 13, 2010)

I've thought about this many times, and I would choose to be perceived as "too skinny" over "too fat" any day. In my family, if they tell you that you've gained some weight, it is usually with good intention, as in, "You gained weight, you look good!" My mother used to note how much weight I'd gained, thinking I looked great; now she tells me that I need to eat more food. Naturally, I'm happier with the second comment.

Interject what Promethea said: self-perception can be dysmorphic and comments like these only perturb it.


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## bionic (Mar 29, 2010)

The framing of those answers reside on your own subjectivity and bias. If you are going to gather information, I suggest you keep the answers on an objective scale. 

Objective =
Too much. & Not enough.

Bias = 
Too much. Being too skinny would be awful.
Not enough. Being overweight is just horrendous.

By including " Being too skinny would be awful." and "Being overweight is just horrendous." you are implying that this is the same attitude that all the voters withhold. To avoid logical fallacy, I suggest you consider your framework next time.


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## PurdyFlower (Aug 1, 2010)

I've been called "too skinny" before. I didn't enjoy it. I don't even like the word "skinny". When I hear it, I think of someone that has a eating disorder. Although I'm sure if I gained a bunch of weight I wouldn't like being called "fat" either.


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## The Exception (Oct 26, 2010)

I voted not enough. Like it or not, there is much more of a stigma in society to be overweight than to be too skinny.


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## Ti Dominant (Sep 25, 2010)

Dementia In Abstentia said:


> I voted not enough. Like it or not, there is much more of a stigma in society to be overweight than to be too skinny.


Indeed. Very true.


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## Lullaby (Jul 21, 2010)

Dementia In Abstentia said:


> I voted not enough. Like it or not, there is much more of a stigma in society to be overweight than to be too skinny.


Sad, but true. And really, how skinny can you get before they force you to do something about it? There is much more room for extremes with being overweight. Thin people are perceived as having an eating disorder often based on depression, and thick people - nothing more than lazy gluttons. Thin people are understood and cared for, while thick people are advised to exercise. To me it's quite obvious which one is worse.

I could, of course, be entirely wrong there. ^ I know little of how weight issues are dealt with around the world and can only speak from personal experience/observations.

What I find odd is how throughout history, having a bit extra meat on your bones has always been a good thing - it was a sign of good health. And now, it's the other way around. I understand this completely from economical point of view as, a few centuries back, only the wealthy could afford eating in excess, and being thin usually meant you were poor and/or sick. Right now, it's more expensive to eat healthy food and not gain weight. But what exactly in our society and culture caused our views of beauty to shift? Did the increasing number of overweight people (due to our mostly unhealthy lifestyle nowadays) make us change this? Do we always want what we have less of?

I'm not saying either condition is good, really. Both are bad, if not necessarily for the health, at least for a person's self-esteem and attitude towards life in general.


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## Night Mare (Oct 30, 2010)

I voted for too fat... I feel weird when I get much thinner than I am now, even though I'm probably on the upper end of healthy.


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## Roman (Jul 6, 2010)

Not enough.
People have said I have had too much muscle before, not to gain weight though. That would be interesting :mellow:


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## Raichan (Jul 15, 2010)

I've reached a point of my life of which I'm comfortable enough with the way I look and I don't care what people would say about my weight. Sorry it's just me personally.

*But* I get angry when people make fun of other people's looks, regardless in what form, whether it be about weight or lack thereof. I hate it when people depend on immoral superficial degrading just to feel better. It is not fair that women have to go through eating disorders because of the stupid words people throw at them.


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## Jwing24 (Aug 2, 2010)

i was actually underweight as a kid. i never wanted any attention, i was very lonerish. so i gained lots of weight. now i am average.


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## thirtiesgirl (Jun 27, 2010)

I really don't understand the point of this poll, even if the intent is supposed to be "fun." Do we really need to continue judging someone's 'worth' or 'social acceptability' by their body size and shape? I don't find that particularly "fun" or "humorous." Why would anyone pick one or the other? Why can't we be judged on the merits of who we _are_, rather than what someone sees on the surface? If someone is going to insult me, I'd rather have them insult me for who I am than what I look like.


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