Man shares emotional rollercoaster of 'being fat' in viral Twitter thread
![One man details the devastating effect fat shaming an have. [Photo: Getty]](https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/3uYYbupJtR2BQXx95T6mYw--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD04Mjk-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/homerun/feed_manager_auto_publish_494/b41736955e79bcb81dd28605152daf91)
The past few years have seen huge improvements in body diversity and tackling stigmas around beauty standards in the media, but as one man’s Twitter thread proves, daily fat shaming is still very real.
Kiva Bay, an artist from Oregon, USA, has shared his daily experience of “being fat” and the devastating effect this kind of body shaming has on his mental wellbeing.
In an emotional Twitter thread, Bay talks through the prejudice he receives every day because of how he looks, from “recognising revulsion in a stranger’s face” and “knowing all thin people turn on you eventually”.
“Being fat is being told you should be grateful for the attention when you say “#metoo,” he goes on.
Read his lengthy thread here…
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 looking at the accessories while your friends shop for clothes.
— Kivan, Spider Daddy (he/him) (@KivaBay) June 10, 2018
Being fat is being told you should be grateful for the attention when you say “#metoo“
— Kivan, Spider Daddy (he/him) (@KivaBay) June 10, 2018
Being fat is crying in the dressing room after shopping all day for a prom dress, the tears relieved because a zipper finally closed and regretful for the teenage beauty you will never get to have.
— 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 knowing thinking “better” of you is never thinking good of you though. That’s too far away
— Kivan, Spider Daddy (he/him) (@KivaBay) June 10, 2018
Being fat is turning sideways, sucking in your gut, practically flinging yourself out of people’s way because you know, really, you don’t matter to them or anyone
— 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
Bay ends by saying one of the reasons he is “ deeply emotionally exhausted” is because “parts of the social justice crowd are quite happy to speak up with the language of fat politics where it suits them” without ever “confronting their own fat hate.”
It’s something to think about.
His post was met with tons of praise, retweets and agreement from other people who suffer the same prejudice every day, only proving how far we have to go.
Lets all be a little nicer to one another, shall we?
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