WEIGHT HATE
When Kelly Lenza, a professional photographer who has type 2 diabetes, hosts a party, she doesn’t just have to concern herself with the usual stuff such as what snacks to serve and how much wine to buy. She also has to worry about people commenting on, and openly judging, her larger-than-average body. At her most recent soiree, she was walking through the living room welcoming late arrivals when an older woman – an extended family member – tugged on her arm. “In the middle of the party, she pulled me aside to tell me that she thought my size was a choice and, to summarise, a moral failing. I went into the back room and wept,” Lenza recalls. “I emailed her later, telling her how hurt I was [and politely asked her not to comment on my body again]. But she hasn’t apologised, or even responded. I know she felt her comments were justified, because she thinks fatness is a choice.”
This partygoer’s hurtful behaviour is evidence not just of
