Dear Fat People Analysis

Recently, a video went viral called “Dear Fat People” by Nicole Arbour, a YouTube comedian. In the video, Arbour expresses her thoughts on people who are overweight, which she rudely calls fat. She states, “Fat shaming is not a thing…I don’t feel bad for you [people who are overweight] because you are taking your body for granted.” The backlash was astounding. Many well-known YouTubers responded to the video saying Arbour is being a bully and her comments are sending a negative message to girls everywhere. Many people have problems accepting their body because society constantly tells them they are not perfect. Society's idea of perfection especially affects teenage girls who are overweight. Brands that many of their peers wear are unavailable in bigger sizes, making it hard for these girls to shop. Plus size teens have a hard time finding models that look like them which might make them feel like their body type is not good enough for the kind of clothes these models are wearing. When doing everyday tasks, they may experience discrimination by people surrounding them. These girls who are overweight only want one thing: to fit in. It's hard to feel like you fit in with a

larger body when society has these negative standards for girls.
Teenagers are judged by peers based on appearance and the brands they wear.

Urban Outfitters, Abercrombie & Fitch, Hollister, and PacSun are popular brands for girls in middle school and high school. Most of these stores run up to a size 11 or 12 in pants and also go up to a large or extra large. Plus size tends to start at a size 13 so plus size girls cannot shop at the same stores as their peers do. Many well-known plus size stores are mostly targeted toward middle-aged women not young teenage girls. Girls may feel insecure having to shop in stores their mothers shop in. They are forced into buying mature woman's clothes because they do not have the option of buying the trendy outfits that the rest of their peers are wearing. This causes bigger girls to feel less confident among their

peers.
Other stores like Forever 21, Charlotte Russe, and H&M do have a "plus size" section but even that can make a girl feel alienated from the rest. They make people who do not fit into their “regular” sizes feel like they are not good enough for the other clothes. Most of these companies only have a handful of locations that carry the plus size collection. Girls would have to shop online if their local store does not have a plus size section. If a store does have a plus size selection, it is often small. Girls are also judged for shopping in this section. Girls who are shopping around the store may reach this section and not realize it is plus size. When they do, they may give a judgmental stare that has clothes from that section.
Another big problem is lately many companies have been reducing their sizes more and more. Most girls end up finding that the size they used to always get does not fit them anymore because the store has begun to make their clothes smaller. They do not find this out of course until they try on the clothes. When someone ask them to come out of the fitting room to see how something looks, they may feel embarrassed because what they were trying on does not fit them. Many of these girls are wearing the largest size available already that when the brands change sizing they are not able to buy from them anymore. Their friends may ask why they do not go up a size but do not realize there is no next size available. People may think these girls are gaining more weight when they are not; the clothes are just being made smaller.
These girls rarely see others who look like them on magazines, billboards, or television. The new intimates campaign for Aerie, apart of American Eagle, states the models are not retouched. Although this may be true, most of these models are still very thin or have a small belly. The company states, “we want every girl to fell good about who they are and what they look like inside and out.” When bigger girls see these advertisements, they are throw off because their bodies do not look like the ones in the ad’s. Girls come in all different shapes and sizes and it is degrading to those who do not fit in with the pictures. Girls may be judge if they wear a two piece because they have a their belly showing. Girls feel as though they need to hide their flaws because that’s what they are told to do. Bigger girls are taught to hide the parts that standout when they are overweight: muffin top, arms, back fat, legs. Since others also read this or hear this, they are taught to think if those things are showing, a girl is less beautiful and judge them if they do have bigger arms and you can see their muffin top.
Girls who are overweight are judged constantly on their everyday actions. People judge these girls solely based on looks. They might work out and eat very healthy but not able to get the weight off and people do not assume that. When they do see a bigger girl exercising or eating healthy, they consider it trying to hard. When they are in clothing stores, they are judged for looking around because they do not fit into that stores clothes. People are open to have opinions but at what point does opinions become discrimination. Plus size girls may exclude or put on the sidelines in groups because they do not fit into the “look” they are going for. An example of this would be cheerleading. Most teams do not have larger girls because they feel they cannot preform the stunts or do the routine flawlessly. Girls who are bigger cheerleaders may not be taken seriously or made fun. These type of comments make them not want to join certain clubs because they feel like they will not be accepted. No matter the weight teenage girls are still teenage girls and want to have the same experiences other girls do.
Most teenage girls are very worried about their appearance and what others think of them. Girls who are overweight tend to worry more since there is more for people to judge. The do not fit into the more popular clothes their peers fit into. These girls tend not to have anyone who looks like them on social media or in magazines. People are very judgmental towards them since they do not fit into the social norms of society. They are not the only ones who are judging them, but they are judging themselves. They are their own worse critics. All of these things cause a negative effect towards these teenage girls. The young girls of this generation have a huge burden on themselves to look as good as the girls surrounding them but when they do not or are neglected the services to, they are ridiculed for their life choices.