Does being called "Skinny" offend you?

[Stevehud 1,790]

I cant remember which, but one comedian said something to the effect of, when you lose weight and people say, "oh yeah I can see it in your face." Im thinking, my god! how fat was my face before?

[pink dahlia 2,513]

Finediva, I would love to get to 140, but I dont think thats going to happen as I have been at 160 for almost 2 yrs. I struggle just to keep my weight there, but I have gained back 6 lbs due to less exercise ( 6 months with a heel injury ) and a daily struggle with my sweet tooth. However , bodywise im happier and heathier than I was before I was banded. No regrets ! Good luck to you !!

[finediva 979]

@@pink dahlia. Thanks for responding. Maintaining for 2 years is great. I hope to get there one day.

[CowgirlJane 14,259]

I have been at goal for awhile, so I don't get this anymore... but I love acknowledgment of the new me! I am not really skinny, but normal sized which LOOKS skinny compared to my former profile!

[Teachamy 1,042]

Heck no! I appreciate it!

[☠carolinagirl☠ 18,721]

i have never been called skinny

dont think i ever will

but i do enjoy hearing my hub say i am sexy as f**k

even if i dont see it when i look in the mirror

he said, seeing a woman, any size, walking with head up and confidence

is sexy...so lets work it ladies regardless of our size.....

[Forsythia 882]

I think skinny can have negative connotations, just like fat does. I try to use thin or svelte rather than skinny. Skinny to me implies you have no muscle tone and are out there hungry and scrapping for food in poverty. Having said that, I am not skinny, nor do I think once I get down to my goal weight will I be skinny. I come from a line of people with birthing hips and lots of booty.

[erp 2,016]

Not offended but I recognize that the people who call me skinny are only are people who knew me fat. People who I meet now say nothing because I just look normal to them.

[Jim1967 3,569]

Offends me in a sense where I don't believe what I am being told nor do I see it when I look in the mirror. I do not see the extremely obese person I once saw but I certainly do not see a skinny man. At 5'6 165lbs my BMI still says I am overweight.

At times I get aggravated or maybe annoyed for a better word when I am called or told I am skinny. As someone who has been fat their entire life (even from my earliest memories) the word skinny is not an adjective that has ever been used to describe me.

I have actually inadvertently offended a person who called me skinny but disputing the fact and I told them I am still plenty fat. Person said well if you're not skinny then I am obviously extremely fat!

This is clearly my hang up not anyone else. I have been pondering for a long time on talking to the Bariatric Psych Counselor at my Center but I have never followed through. At least I recognize that I am having identity issues but as long as it is not affecting my health then so be it.

[Jim1967 3,569]

I cant remember which, but one comedian said something to the effect of, when you lose weight and people say, "oh yeah I can see it in your face." Im thinking, my god! how fat was my face before?

John Pinette R.I.P. He was one funny man and so gracious to his fans.

[Rogofulm 2,440]

Not offended but I recognize that the people who call me skinny are only are people who knew me fat. People who I meet now say nothing because I just look normal to them.

Excellent point, @@erp! Actually, I have friends who now say, "Hey Slim!" when they see me. I know they mean it in a relative-to-what-I-was sense, but I love hearing it! And lots of folks say, "You're disappearing before my eyes." To which I respond, "That's the plan!" But today I heard a new one. A guy in my office said, "Holy s**t! If you turn sideways and stick your tongue out, you'll look like a zipper!" Made me laugh so hard I didn't think to respond, "You don't even need to do that to look like a d**k!". I really don't think anyone means to offend us when they say these things. They just want to compliment us in a humorous way. So that's how I take it. I'm relishing these compliments while they keep coming, because one day I know they'll stop. And then I'll miss them!

[lark60 430]

I wouldn't say I am offended when someone says I am skinny, I just don't believe it yet. I still have trouble seeing the "real me" even though I have lost over 100 lbs. When I weighed 265 I thought of myself as "mildly overweight". I still see that same person in the mirror. Recently I had a picture taken with my sister (she IS skinny and has been all her life) and my mom commented that we looked like twins in the picture. I asked my sister what size clothes she wears and she wears a 4-6. I am wearing 8-10. Maybe someday I will see the "skinny me".

[ready2B 263]

It dawned on me why I find calling me "skinny" offends me. It's because people never say "hey, skinny!" to a person who is naturally thin. They only say it to people who previously were much heavier, so it's only a relative term and constantly is a reminder of how fat they used to see us. We don't do that with other nicknames - we don't call someone smart only because we really mean "you are much smarter now, you used to be really stupid!" So, I for one would really love it if people would see the new me as the permanent me and not constantly remind me of a time I hope to be able to forget.

When I lost almost 100 lbs in the past, I hated the extreme attention I got. Most of it was pretty ridiculous. Like a woman who was a size 2 yelling across the grocery store "Look at you skinny!! You can't possibly get any tinier!" when I was still a size 14! If I had always been that size, no one would have made such a fuss. If someone wanted to give me a compliment, a far less embarrassing and humiliating thing to say would be a simple, "you look great and I am proud of your accomplishment."

[HipsAndLipstick 69]

I don't like labels. I don't like to be called skinny or curvy or all that.

[CowgirlJane 14,259]

Ready2be, while I understand your point I also feel a certain. ..obligation to help others through my big changes. Hey these same peeps were pretty cool about accepting me when I was super morbidly obese. I wasn't overweight I was obese. My BMI exceeded 50. I was frankly huge...but I was accepted (for the most part) as a mother, equestrian, career woman, friend and family member. I am grateful for those wonderful people and don't judge them to harshly when they say stupid stuff.

It was traumatic for others when I changed so dramatically. I decided it was MY cross to bear to help others through that process.

Yes, I got the "you are so tiny" when I was still in double digit clothing. I heard it all.

I talked tonight to a man who I dated (and loved..we saw each other for a long time) right after losing all that weight and through my plastics journey etc. He reminded me how much I have changed internally. He never saw the obese cowgirljane, but he saw the one who still felt fat...so..on display. ..so noticed...so..uncomfortable in my own skin. He reminded me how different I am now internally.

I also get very few of these remarks anymore. My own sons don't remember how big I got. People who know me now accept me as "me". Many people in my life never saw me obese and can't even imagine it.