Fat Shaming a Teenage Girl

Tweet

Have you ever wanted to say something to a mother, and nearly had to bite your tongue in half in order to avoid making a scene? Recently, I was trying on clothing at a Macy's store here in California, where I live. In the dressing area, a mother was trying to zip her darling, petite, healthy looking teenage daughter into a prom dress which was obviously too small for her. The girl looked very similar to the girl in the photo from Google Images above, both in size and general appearance. Even the dress looked a lot like the one pictured above. I thought the girl looked adorable. The teenage girl was absolutely tiny ... perhaps 5' tall and certainly no more than 100 lbs. She was not overly skinny, but she was certainly not overweight. However, as the mother yanked on the zipper, she criticized her daughter non-stop. The conversation went something like this: Mom: You should be able to wear this size. You've gotten fat. Daughter: I'm not fat, mom. Maybe I'm a little chunky. Mom: You're a lot more than chunky. You're fat. You need to stop eating sandwiches. They are making you fat. Daughter: I just ate a sandwich today for lunch. I don't usually eat them. Mom: They are making you fat. Stop eating sandwiches. Daughter: OK, mom. Mom: Look how fat you have gotten. After finally zipping her daughter into the too tight dress, the mother eventually stopped saying anything to her daughter. She did not compliment her daughter, even after she was able to fit into the dress. I was livid by the time I left the dressing room. I thought it was horrible that this mother was verbally abusing her teenage daughter, who was lovely and appeared healthy. I couldn't help but think that girl is going to feel badly about her weight for the rest of her life. Disgusting.