tw: fat shaming, body policing

I’ve heard stories about fat people being discriminated against while at restaurants and in stores when they try to buy things that people think they “shouldn’t” but I never thought I would see it happen right in front of me.

I was at the store waiting in line at the checkout lane. In front of me was a young girl, probably about 12 to 14 years old and who looked like she weighed roughly 200 to 225 lbs. Quite big. She had two packages of cookies. When she got up to the cashier the cashier looked at her, and said, “Sorry, I can’t let you buy those.”

“Why not?” asked the girl.

“Because you don’t need them. You’re too big to be buying stuff like this.”

“But, but, my Mom told me to get these.”

“Nice try. I’m still not going to let you get them.”

The girl started to cry. I spoke up, “Excuse me, who are you to tell her she can’t buy those?”

The cashier glared at me and said, “Look at her! Don’t you think she shouldn’t be buying stuff like that?”

“Yeah,” I said, “she has every right to. Sell her the cookies, or I’ll buy them for her.”

“Do you know her?”

“No, but that’s beside the point. You have no right to tell someone what they can or cannot do. Her body is her business, and hers alone.”

The cashier reluctantly rang up the cookies and I told the girl to keep her money. I paid for the cookies. “Thanks a lot, mister!” said the girl and she ran off.

I paid for my own groceries and then went and spoke to a manager about what just happened. She thanked me and said she would “take care of it.”

I’m still angry.