A Father Ironically Gets Upset After His Daughter’s Retort to His Fat-Phobic Comment
People will always have something to say about you, no matter what you do or look like. Be confident with your body, because, whether you’re skinny or plus-size, some people can’t keep their opinions to themselves. They find the negative in everything — making their comments irrelevant. Those people are the reason why it’s challenging to stay in your body positivity era. You’ll walk confidently in your dress until someone opens their mouth — giving advice about your body without concern. Social media even has many users with this kind of attitude, negatively affecting others, primarily teenagers and young adults.
What’s saddening is that parents even comment about their children’s physical appearance. Growing up with parents who continuously body shame kids can cause eating disorders or body dysmorphia. The parental opinion is highly regarded by their children. If being too fat, too thin, too tall, or too short is depicted as a bad body image, children will have a hard time accepting themselves until adulthood. Body growth is normal, and this needs to be learned at home.
Thankfully, some children grew up teaching body positivity to themselves. As a result, any shade or comment doesn’t matter to them — they can even retort back, and Single-Driver9393 is one of those people. Growing up as a heavy kid, she was initially unbothered until her father pointed it out. OP can strongly ignore such negative comments and only does her best to keep her body healthy. “I exercise 2-3 days a week & eat relatively healthy, 2 meals a day, but my weight seems to plateau, so my weight usually stays the same & steady & my attempts to lose weight fail all the time no matter how hard I try,” she explained.
OP’s father told her that his comments were out of concern. Apparently, he loves working out and keeping his body in shape. He even joined marathons but had to stop due to an accident last August. “Due to the lack of activity, my dad doesn’t exercise anymore, which caused him to gain a little weight. He didn’t gain a significant amount, but I noticed a lot of his shirts don’t fit him anymore,” Single-Driver9393 wrote. Although the father himself has gained some weight, he still throws unnecessary comments about OP’s body.
“This incident happened on a hot day, so I decided to wear biker shorts & a cropped(ish) top. I have a little bit of a belly that was quite visible, but I didn’t think much of it, because I was in my own house, so I didn’t think it would matter what I wear,” she shared. “When my dad saw me, he looked at my belly & said I must exercise more to lose some fat. I asked him why he is so bothered about my weight & body as if saying that I’m fat will do anything.” It immensely triggered OP like it was the last straw — she couldn’t help but retort.
“I then told him that he can’t tell me to lose weight when his shirts don’t fit him anymore & how my clothes actually fit me. This caused him to go silent while my sister (18) laughed at my dad’s reaction,” OP said. However, her other sister scolded her for being mean and said that maybe their dad only said that out of insecurity. It indeed sounded mean, especially with her father’s story, but it still didn’t give him the right to body-shame his daughter. OP has had enough, but she also felt terrible after hearing her sister’s opinion.
Redditors still sided with Single-Driver9393 because they deemed the father a hypocrite. “NTA. All you did was point out his hypocrisy, and your dad projecting his insecurities onto you is no reason for you to put up with comments about your weight from him,” Steel_Hydra commented. It’s ironic how someone gets hurt by the same comment they throw at others. Insecurities should be solved by one’s self and not projected on others. It’s a nasty habit to inflict pain on someone just because you’re not happy with what you have.
“NTA. He shouldn’t have been bothering you about your weight, that’s not any of his business. Yes, your comment was a bit low since he was involved in an accident and the weight gain was not of his accord. However, he instigated the whole thing – if he can’t take it, he shouldn’t dish it out,” PreviousWerewolf1398 wrote. Father or not, he is not entitled to body shame his daughter. Let others heal from their insecurities, especially when you see them finding ways to deal with it. Such comments have already ruined many people, which is why it needs to be stigmatized. Body shaming must be a thing of the past — move forward with body acceptance and a healthier perspective of yourselves.
