Fat Shaming

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http://totalwomenscycling.com/lifest...mmunity-53867/

I came across this article today, I couldn't believe what I was reading, that this could happen in this day and age, oh wait, yeah, it does happen and sadly, all too often.

[OakLeaf]

[lauraelmore1033]

I read about this on another forum. I have been called a fat B many a time while out on the road, but NEVER by a cyclist! Terrible!

[ny biker]

I just don't understand why someone would find it necessary to insult a total stranger that they would otherwise have no interaction with. I feel bad for the families of those people, and their co-workers and others who have to deal with them on a regular basis. They must be so unpleasant.

[lauraelmore1033]

no doubt.

[Crankin]

There seems to have been a stream of ugly things happening to cyclists in the UK, i.e. the wire across the road in several places.

[Trek420]

I just don't understand why someone would find it necessary to insult a total stranger that they would otherwise have no interaction with. I feel bad for the families of those people, and their co-workers and others who have to deal with them on a regular basis. They must be so unpleasant.

I wonder if their wives, daughters, moms .... know they talk to women that way.

[OakLeaf]

I wonder if their wives, daughters, moms .... know they talk to women that way.

IME it works the other way. A LOT of people talk to their wives and daughters that way, who'd never say it to a stranger. And their moms probably got it from their dads, which is where they learned it to begin with.

[rebeccaC]

I just don't understand why someone would find it necessary to insult a total stranger that they would otherwise have no interaction with.

There are a number of different reasons some people do that….trying to bolster a fragile ego by putting down someone else etc. etc.

I choose to not let verbal abuse have any power over me and I quickly put it out of my mind and the person out of my life. No one should have to accept belittlement or be expected to swallow misogyny or apologize for speaking against it.

[Crankin]

Unfortunately, most people find quite difficult to ignore such insults. Our brains are wired to go to the negative; it takes a lot of work to change that. If someone is already struggling with any number of issues, these kinds of insults can be devastating. This is why it's hard to get out of a cycle of negative thinking, which affects emotions.
Changing this is possible; it's just that it takes conscious effort and often support from a professional and/or or family/friends.