Fat bias exists

It absolutely does exist. I do think however, it depends on the job in hand. I would not employ a very overweight person to look after small children or a very physically demanding job as they would not be able to do that job as easy as a smaller person. That is just fact. In a job that did not demand agility and physical exertion, I would have no problem employing someone regardless of their weight. It would never be about how someone looks and always about their ability to do the job efficiently and with ease.

I believe you, and of course it's wrong. So strange, though. Size 20-22 obviously is overweight, but unless you're quite short, it really isn't so big that you'd stand out. Not that it would be acceptable to discriminate if if you did, of course, but it's really not a size that would make most people look twice these days.

Exactly, this is part of the prejudice - so many other things are acknowledged as 'just how it is' - eg. baldness, height, when you go grey etc. But metabolism? So many people think that's different.

I'm on mounjaro. Do you know how easy it is to lose weight/not eat too much when your body tells you it's full? It's a walk in the park.

I've spoken to slimmer friends, and this is how they feel all the time - sometimes they just don't want to eat, and when they've had enough food, their body feeds back that they're full. That's why they're slim, because they have that feedback.

My whole life I didn't have that feedback. I had to hand-monitor everything that went into my body, balance it against what exercise I'd done, and hope that I got it right. Now I have that feedback, and it's easy. I've gone from always being able to eat, to only eating as much as my body tells me it needs.

100% I’m sorry you have dealt with similar things to me ! I have PCOS & at 36 I had a hysterectomy for other reasons not weight related, I struggle with my weight especially round my middle, numerous times I have been asked if I’m pregnant or told congratulations (love their face when I say I’m not). In my last job I had 1/2 day sick leave in 19 yrs, my current job in 2 yrs, 2 days for Covid, I work harder & faster than many of my colleagues. I go to Zumba, weight training & I’ve now started on mounjaro but it’s still not enough for ‘other people’. I go into London for work occasionally & people are extremely rude on public transport or just look at me like I’m a completely worthless & a bit of dirt. I’m considering a gastric sleeve to try & fit in with society as I’m fed up of feeling like I’m not accepted!

Pretty privilege, thin privilege, white privilege are all things that exist. Definitely.

Accents - you rarely hear an accent on the BBC that isn’t rp, Scottish or Welsh. It is because people are biased in favour.

That said, I’d be surprised if the woman was laughing at you. I’m honestly not doubting that she might’ve been biased OP - but I’m not sure why she’d find your size amusing as such.

Agree and many people who work shifts are over weight and it is well known that disruption to sleep patterns is a factor in weight gain and diabetes.

You could also infer that someone is overweight because they put all the hours in and don't have time to eat properly and exercise. I know a lot of lawyers and senior business people in this category. And when you get more senior you tend to get paid to eat and drink at dinners and other events too.

Or that someone who is in really good shape won't be spending as much time at their work as they would rather be working out.

This is true but some judgements are more damaging than others...

I’m not saying that it doesn’t exist but it’s not just a ‘fat’ thing. We all judge for different reasons. You gave some great examples without meaning to:

One unpleasant woman who was clearly into her own looks and fashion,

Unless she told you that she was into her own looks and fashion then you judged her in the same way that you are saying that you were judged, based on your looks.

looked me up and down and when I left I heard her laughing. I'm convinced it was about me.

Maybe she was, maybe she wasn’t. You don’t know!

Weight loss is not about willpower - the science has shown this to be the case for decades. This is why weight loss medication has proved to be so successful. But yes I guess the general public are likely to resort to stereotypes about fat people.

Of course it exists. You probably employ it yourself. If people notice you more or treat you better when you have lost weight are you possibly also behaving differently? Maybe you're dressing more to be noticed, feeling more confident, chatting to strangers?

I assumed you'd be aware that most people think discriminating on the basis of appearance is lazy and superficial.

Why not afddress the substance rather than resorting to personal insults?

They would have the protected characteristic of disability - so it would be illegal to discriminate against them.
Protected characteristics are things an individual cannot change.

No, it's because people perceive Scottish accents to indicate warmth and trustworthiness.

None of what you have said here reflects terribly well on you, really

Yes it is conscious or unconscious bias.

However you complain about fat people being seen as not trying hard enough, yet you say yourself you only lost the weight when you tried harder, so I'm not sure how fat people being judged as lacking willpower is unfair.

Absolutely bloody true @Oldfatbrenda I have missed out on jobs in the past when my BMI was 37+. Now I back into size 14 clothes I am getting job offers again. I saw one recruiter a while ago who commented that clients were worried that I would need time off because of my size!

Oh godddd I’m so glad everyone on here agrees because yes, it very much does exist. I used to be what would now be a size 4 (didn’t exist back then so quite a long time ago!) and now size 22/24. In my defence my being disabled and unable to move 2/3 days out of each week (plus prescribed steroids), has contributed a great deal to it but society is broadly uneducated on matters of what else can cause weight gain besides poor choices(!)
Decades of the media’s obsession with skeletal women has ensured that the default view of the masses, is that fat = bad. Fat = a bit simple/not very intelligent. Fat = unclean & smelly. Fat = must be permanently hungry and will steal all your food 🙄 So having been so tiny and now so big, I know what it’s like to be thin and have experienced the gigantic shift in how people treat me, how they respect me or don’t, as the case is now. It’s appalling.

So if someone was in a wheelchair, born with only one arm, or a portwine stain, you wouldn't want them on reception? Nice.

I agree it definitely exists but also throwing in that since losing weight, I am a lot more confident and I dress a lot better as well. So if I get more attention now then it's also probably because of those things.

Yup. I lost a substantial amount of weight at one time. The whole world was much nicer to me. I was particularly disappointed in some men who I thought were good friends and treated me completely differently afterwards. Was quite a shock.

I don’t disagree that fat bias exists. But hearing someone laugh and feeling convinced it was about you does not mean it WAS about you. What would have been funny about you being overweight? I actually don’t get why most people would laugh at that?

I also think if you’re feeling better about how you look you’re less likely to imagine that people are laughing at you.

There are people that deny this is a thing and claim it’s just your confidence that improves so people treat you better 🙄

Absolutely agree with you OP.

Having been both fat and slim - I definitely got treated differently. It's shameful that this happens but people are cruel and tribal.

Bias against large people does exist and it’s appalling.

I think there is also a bias against thin women in that a lot of larger people assume- and openly say so- that they are stuck up bitches with no emotional needs or feelings or any problems at all because being thin makes life so easy for them. It is apparently perfectly acceptable for a whole office team to comment on the body of a thin colleague because they aren’t ‘real women’.
However, because being thin is basically an advantage the fact that people use it as an accuse to behave like arseholes is overlooked.