Hello there. My name is Jenn (you may know me from my personal blog, 
Just today a guy (a really cute one, truth to be told) saw me heading to the Panera Bread entrance, and despite me being at least twenty feet away, he waited and held the door for me. It was very polite and sweet, and I thanked him for being so nice. But as we headed inside and went our separate ways, I couldn’t help but to simmer just a bit. If I had been a hundred pounds heavier, would he have held the door? I won’t say “probably not!”, but I will say that maybe he would have, maybe he wouldn’t have.
I can’t tell you how often I was discriminated against when I was heavier, because to be honest with you I didn’t really pay attention at the time, since it was just a way of life. But now I can definitely see a difference. Women don’t just dismiss me for being seriously fat and thus no competition. Men don’t just see through me, or worse yet, insult or mock me on the sly (not sly enough though, since I almost always picked up on it). People in general are nicer to me. They respect me more.
Whether or not obesity is caused by a person or is heavily influenced by genetics, it’s wrong for a society to treat a person as a lesser being because of their weight. It doesn’t matter if I’m 120 lbs. or 520 lbs. I deserve basic respect and courtesy. What does it say about a society, about a person, if they can’t see that or follow through on it?
I just happened upon your site today and have been reading your posts. I really am enjoying reading about your weight loss. I am researching lap band surgery and am hoping that once I get my insurance squared away that I will also be on the road to a better me. This post really hit home with me. It doesn’t say much for our society when just because someone is overweight, people feel that makes them less of a person.