Do I Fit Here?
For people in larger bodies, there are often daily reminders that they do not fit here, that they do not belong. Consider these examples of physical barriers that can impact everything from comfort to health to learning.
- Classrooms: fixed chairs and desks; chairs with attached writing space; narrow aisles; crowded with furniture.
- Meeting/conference spaces: narrow aisles; seating close together and/or attached; flimsy chairs.
- Airplanes: seats too small and very close together; narrow aisles.
- Restaurants: fixed chairs and tables (booths, for example); flimsy chairs; narrow spaces between tables.
- Medical clinics and offices: one size of chair with arms; narrow exam tables with weight limits; one-size-fits-all (they don’t!) medical gowns.
- Public restrooms: cramped stalls.
- Gyms or fitness centers: equipment that doesn’t accommodate larger or heavier bodies; cramped spaces between equipment; classes and other messaging focused on weight loss.
- Music, movie and performance venues: one size of chair with arms; narrow aisles.
- Clothing: limited or no options in large or very large sizes
Larger people must be constantly thinking about these things and planning. When going to a new place, they have to wonder if there will be seating to accommodate their body. Will they be able to move around comfortably? Will there be a place for them to sit in their new classroom? Will they be able to focus on the lecture, or will the discomfort of their seating detract from learning? Will there be a public restroom to accommodate their body when they are out and about?
In other instances, such as airplanes, they can be pretty much guaranteed that it will be an experience something between really uncomfortable and completely humiliating. For most all of us (who do not have the money to buy extra space), flying is a cramped and uncomfortable experience. But those with thin privilege do not have to worry about being shamed by seatmates or escorted from the plane for being “too fat to fly.”
ALLY ACTION
If you notice that a restaurant or other venue has limited or no seating for people in larger bodies, suggest to them that they could welcome more customers with a variety of seating sizes. You can do this whether you are with a larger person or not.
When going out to a new place with a friend in a larger body, allow them to pick where they want to sit. This avoids the awkward situation of them having to ask to sit somewhere that will accommodate their body.
CURIOUS TO LEARN MORE?
- AllGo. (2019, September 5). The “Hidden Curriculum” Taught by Desks in College Classrooms (Almost) Everywhere. AllGo.
- Brown, H. A. (2018). “There’s always stomach on the table and then I gotta write!”: Physical space and learning in fat college women. Fat Studies, 7(1), 11–20.
- Gordon, A. (2023, January 17). Fat People Usually Have To Buy A Second Plane Seat. That Has To Change. BuzzFeed News.