I am in my college’s Army ROTC program. Recently I was informed that I am ineligible to contract to become an officer because of my weight.

I am so upset that my three years of hard work are all for nothing. I performed well in all my classes, showed up to every PT (*gasp* a “fat” girl exercising!), and completed every activity with energy and enthusiasm. However, to the army, I am just a weight and a waist measurement, neither of which speak to my skills as a future officer.

Meanwhile, the remaining four females in my class with a stereotypically “athletic” build are being allowed to contract regardless of how well they performed in all our activities, because their weight meets that certain standard.

Thin privilege is being allowed to serve your country.

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This is a HUGE issue. The military has an eating disorder rate that is 3 times higher than the general population due to unrealistic body standards, regardless of how well people perform during training. I’m so sorry this is happening to you. It’s quite sad (and really terrifying to me) that they would prefer to have a solider with an ED on the battlefield than make space for a fat solider that can perform just as well as the rest of their unit. -FBP

I can also relate to this personally as I was in ROTC in high school and wanted to follow in my father’s footsteps and join the Air Force; I dreamed of becoming an astronaut. I was told that I was ideal, but to come back when I was thinner. So not only was I denied the ability to serve my country in this way, but also missed out on a great science and mathematics education (which is already an issue for women) simply because I was not thin enough. -FA

