We did put out a call for fiction submissions! This one came in unlabeled – please label yours in the future – but is from an episode of Spongebob Squarepants.

Summer of 1999, when I went to the prom, my date (Billy, but I won’t say his last name for confidentiality reasons) ditched me at the last minute. I was so upset by Billy’s actions that I cried to my dad, who has always been big but not as big for his height as I am. He “comforted” me and instead of just taking me out on the town himself, he asked everyone at his restaurant (he owned a small restaurant) if they would be interested in taking me.

Perhaps it was because I was fat, but the guys all looked awkward, shook their heads, and some even left. Granted it was a casual atmosphere where they all knew him personally and were regulars (and only a few of them were there that day) but many of them weren’t even in high school! Many of them were adults! I still feel that this was my dad’s way of fat-shaming me, even if he didn’t know it himself.

Anyway, he told me he could let one of his chefs, Robert, take me, and in all fairness, the guy was around my age and a really nice person so I said I would. However the guy was so UNCOMFORTABLE about taking me. Once we got there, I saw Billy and was mortified. Robert was really nice about it, but I could tell there was no attraction there. When we danced, I wound up bumping into some people and we both got yelled at, even though I wasn’t purposefully trying to get in anyone’s space.

Then when Robert took me back home I had begun to develop some attraction to him and he just FROZE and wouldn’t react after I kissed him (and it was just a little kiss, nothing too sexual). It was hard for me to figure it out but he was obviously just going to the prom with me to suck up to my dad.

Thin privilege is not having your dad beg men to take you to the prom.