To ask if anyone's ever made fun of your appearance?

[Youwantlove40]

With the current media interest around the poor actress whose teeth have been mocked in a SNL skit, it got me thinking about my own situation.

I have had braces a couple of times now and have straight and healthy teeth. However when I was younger I had a very large gap in my front teeth, and very crowded bottom teeth.
I got a couple of negative comments, I remember when we were 17 a friend told me that 'I'd be so pretty if only I fixed my teeth!'.

Fortunately they didn't put most men off and one even said they liked my gap, for the record I think gaps are great, but mine was enormous and also my teeth tilted inwards.

I used to have a large bump in my nose, and an ex told me he liked my 'big nose'. I'd never said that, he just took it upon himself. I got another couple of comments about my nose.

Have since had the bump straightened and nobody ever comments on it.

Had another ex tell me I had flabby arms, even though I was a size 6-8 and exercised which was upsetting.

I never get any negative comments on my looks anymore. Now that I'm older with more self confidence, if anyone dared to, they'd regret it.
However I've just been thinking about how cruel people can be, and the fact is they're usually unhappy in themselves. Has anyone else had their appearance mocked?

Yes - so many times. I had very prominent front teeth as a child / teen (think much worse than the White Lotus actress) due to thumb sucking, then once they’d been calmed by braces my nose seemed to grow to epic proportions (thanks nose) - cue constant teasing again (which goes on to this day: “why do you look like Barbra Streisand” etc. etc.). I also had/have a large head, which used to see kids slap my (admittedly large) forehead and shout “Tefal” (kids from the 80s will know)

Reading all that back it sounds like I’m fit for the circus 🎪

@Wellwornastro it’s horrible that you’re getting comments like this now. Can you get those people out of your life?

Absolutely everybody over the age of about six has been made fun of because of their appearance. No one is special in that regard.
A few of mine were - skinny, bony, resting bitch face, flat chested, face like a horse, a big person, whats wrong with your gums?, marks all over your neck, five head, I bet you can squeeze some right worms out of that skin, really ugly, blah blah blah. I am actually a fairly normal looking person.

Family members made comments and when I flipped once it was all denied and told it was a joke.
They make comments about others appearance and judge them.
If my mum perceives herself to have a flaw, she makes herself feel better by telling me I will get it too. Likewise with avoidable ailments.

Yes was called ugly a lot at school and teased a lot about my face. Also had a lot of comments about my flat chest - lots of name calling and mocking. It has had a huge effect on me my whole life and I’m 46. I feel sad that this actress is having to deal with horrible comments, why are we always reduced in this way?

Yep, large nose, small boobs. 2 things I’ve hated my whole life.

I had strabismus from birth (turned in eyes) and was dealthy ashamed of it. Still am at almost 40. I still cringe if someone’s trying to make any form of eye contact and can’t look at people directly. Even now I burn up when I see photos of someone else with it and the ‘funny’ comments people make.

I also vividly remember being about 15 and the most popular boy at school saying you know you would be average if you made some effort. Brutal!

Youwantlove40
Thank you for your comment.

My “best friend” at the time told me I’d be pretty of if I didn’t have such a big nose (I’d never thought of it as being big before she said it but it does have a bit of a ski jump/ turn up a bit at the end). She also said I couldn’t help it though as my mum had a big nose too - I was very upset at the time and it made me really self conscious but I was also more upset about what she’d said about my Mum as I thought ( and still do think) my Mum is lovely looking.
Funnily enough my nose doesn’t seem to bother other people and in fact I’ve been told its actually quite attractive. These comments stay with you though.

Yeah, called a fat cow when I was 9 months pregnant. That was classy.

Also ridiculed all through school (even by so called mates!) for having curly hair. Spent years desperately blow drying and straightening it or cutting it really short. Recently decided to grow it out and let the curls take over. Now loving my lush curtain of corkscrew curls, shocking for someone in their late 50s! Wish I had ignored the idiots and done it years ago.

At school my nickname was big nose and the bullying got really bad. It was led by a popular boy in the class. He also asked me directly why was my Sister so pretty and I wasn't and were my parents sad that I had ginger hair. Just crazy!

I am very fat as well. From ages of 16 until late 20's I would get random abuse from men (it was always men, not a surprise!) about basically being too fat, too ginger and too ugly. Very nearly 40 years old now and the comments aren't as frequent but still happen now and then.

My attitude towards it now means that the comments don't hurt me as much. I feel like 'yes, I'm ugly but so what?'.

Yes. I am tall and got constant abuse, mainly from men. I have body dysmorphia as a result.

Where to start........
Big nose, Concorde, Witch nose. That was my supposed best friend in primary AND her mum.
Between primary and secondary I had a massive growth spurt so then it was gigantica, spider legs ect. I also wore glasses so of course four eyes.

Yes. Amongst a couple of other features I have an areas of skin on my face that are discoloured (no actual diagnosis of anything). People make jokes about it quite often and I think because they’re not saying “mean” things they think it’s fine. But it’s really not, I’m very sensitive about it and don’t need the reminders when I’m just trying to go about my business.

I walk with a limp that causes my foot to drag a bit (destroyer of shoes and causes me to randomly trip when it gets caught on something), its not wildly noticeable to others I don't think, most people never say anything but every once in a while someone will pick up on it.

The oddest thing is when they do they often have to shout loudly for everyone to hear things like 'pick up your feet when you walk, where you not raised with manners?' and I'm certainly not the 'mannerless' one. Whats more amazing is I most commonly get this when IN hospital (not from staff but usually guests of other patients) for the condition so you think people would have MORE awareness.

I'm sure its because they think I don't 'look' disabled, unlike many others I don't have crutches etc... but its hardly like I'm there for fun.

Curly hair is stunning, I never understood why people wanted to straighten it if they where lucky enough to have it. Big hair is the best.

Yes, I've been verbally abused so many times in the past about my weight. Always by men, always in public. I wasn't even as big as I am now.

was told i had packed the weight on, 3 days after giving birth! no shit🙄

Yes. By my own sister. Horrible abuse about my but shape/size.buse about my body hair - I have thick, coarse hair and transparent skin.

At school, I was bullied by both boys and girls about my size and skin discoloration on my face.

At work, I've been mocked about my speech - I get very nervous when speaking and in a meeting with external, I was mimimced. Very subtle but I saw what they were doing.

Never by boyfriends or random people out and about.

It's horrible. Very personal and hurtful.

One boy made the mistake of taking the piss out of my slightly wonky teeth (I later got braces!) when I was about 13 and my older brother offered to rearrange his teeth if he ever mentioned mine ever again 😅 funnily enough, nothing was ever said about them by anyone again!
People have mentioned my lazy eye a bit here and there through the years, trying to be nasty, but it’s never affected me much.

Oh god, so many times. More than I can count.

A couple I remember from school. One girl just constantly berating me in class just staring at my face and sneering then saying to her friends "look at her, she's well ugly" another girl in the same group at a later date telling my I had a face like a big potato.

I've been called fat bitch, fat ugly bitch, a "fat little fairy" by my sister who didn't like my skirt who also told me she "doesn't want a fat sister"
Told by the MIL that I don't have a waist (I do) and that I badly need a haircut, I've been told my new haircut makes me look like a gineau pig, my head is too big, my head is too small, my feet are weird, my eyebrows are awful etc etc etc

I genuinely can't believe there are people out there that haven't been insulted their appearance and that this question needed to be asked.

Yes loads of times to be honest.

When I was a teenager I got called big nose a few times, even my own sister went into detail about how big and grotesque my nose was.

Got took the piss out of by some boys about my chin and my forehead.

Got called fat quite a few times. Was never fat so never really understood that one 🤷‍♀️

Got took the piss out of about my make up quite a lot.

Got told I had greasy hair.

Im 40 now and none has said anything nasty for probably 15 years. The only person who has is my mil.

Think if someone insulted me now I’d tell them to go and fuck off.

Yes but quite rarely, fortunately. I was very premature and was lucky to survive but am blind in one eye with a squint as a result so got a few hateful comments about that over the years. Stopped overall as an adult though I am still self-conscious about it.

I have naturally large pouty lips which is all the rage now, but I remember being in a nightclub when I was 19, I was wearing red lipstick and some guy said I looked like 'The Joker.' I had just declined his offer of a drink so whether he was being an arsehole about it who knows but it put me off wearing red lippy for years.

Yes I have, as clearly almost everyone has as well.

For anyone who have developed lifelong insecurities because of what random people- often total strangers- have said about your appearance... doesn't this thread just prove that people are dicks and nothing they are saying is based in fact? It can't be that every single person here is really has unattractive as their comments would suggest.

I always see threads on mumsnet of people who are convinced they are ugly, like it is fact, because they've had some comments off people before. It's so sad. This thread proves that everyone in the world probably receives something like this from time to time- all it proves is that people are horrible!