Why should I be made feel a lesser person because of my size?
Psychologist Louize Carroll advises a woman who wants to let her friends know that she is no longer happy to be seen as the friend who doesn’t fit into their accepted weight norms
Dear Expert,
I feel very lucky in life to have a group of friends that I’m very close to. We’ve known each other since we were kids. Now we’re in our 40s and still as supportive as ever. I’m emailing because I feel very reluctant to raise something with them which is increasingly becoming an issue. My three friends are all a good bit smaller than me. Over the years I’ve become used to feeling like I’m in a different category, not just in terms of clothing, but who we have dated and how we are perceived. They don’t make me feel bad about my weight directly, but sometimes I know they disregard me when they’re talking about “losing a few pounds” or how they need to get skinnier to fit into a dress. It’s hard to explain why I’ve started feeling uncomfortable about this, because for years I’ve just accepted it. But recently I’ve begun to think it’s not right that they automatically assume the only good weight is when you can fit into size 10 clothing. Am I being too sensitive to want to bring this up? What would I even say?
