I thought this was pure fat hatred. Not that I don't love seeing fat people, but I hate fat suits--hugely. I have yet to see a single instance of the use of a fat suit that isn't fat hating. (And let's not rake over the old Shallow Hal debate again, please. There is disagreement about that film--and it is best left to lie fallow in it's own inconsistency.)

I loved it. So smart and funny and fierce.

This is a complicated issue, as so many posters have contributed to pointing out.

First of all, if we don't have enough money to pay for kids with diagnosed disabilities, there's already something seriously wrong with the system and how it's funded. But people in the US are always so anti-tax--that's one major factor that leads to inadequate services.

Second, I agree that people shouldn't play the system. Without doubt.

Third, what if you start to gain and something happens to you as a possible result? like legal blindness from diabetes? Do you still not get any money? If you're an idiot and engage in street racing and end up a paraplegic, should the state not pay for you?

Fourth, who should determine whether the person is genuinely disabled or not? or whether or not they got that way by intention? Suppose I can't get around in part due to my size. Some people--and I know there are some of you who dont' believe this, but I *know* it's true--get very fat without meaning to. How should a social worker decide who's deserving and who's not?

Systems that try to figure out who deserves benefits and who doesn't almost always end up being cruel to people who are vulnerable and can't handle it. I would rather live in a system that took a bit more money from me and took care of people than one that treats people like they're lying scum before they open their mouths.

My sense from guys here is that there's no one story, but rather many different ones. Along any axis--sub/dom, active/passive, masculine/feminine, etc--there are guys who fall anywhere along the spectrum. A joyously infinite number of variations and patterns!

Thanks, Winterstocking and lilwitchygirl.

@Winterstocking--while I still think it's wrong, I probably would pay for the larger seat. It matters to me to be comfortable. But when I was younger, I probably wouldn't have, though it depends on how much. I might always have paid $50 more.

@lilwitchygirl--I wonder if the same is true of other airlines? It might be worth calling and asking each time we fly, I guess...

The first time this issue came up, I was working for an orchestra, and some fat women came and said they wanted seating that fit them. Me and the other fat woman in the office giggled embarrassedly, but the thin marketing person said 'Why should they be uncomfortable? They paid the same as everyone else.' Quite a lesson.

I often think those of us who are fat have been less inclined to see the justice we deserve. We're too used to apologising.

My daughter was totally androgynously skinny when on ADD meds, and when she came off she gained about 40 lbs, I'd guess--she never offered, I never asked. She looks great--exactly the body you want, though sadly she doesn't.

She's a little queer thing, or more specifically, bigendered, and doesn't like having hips and breasts. I'm sympathetic, though I wish she could like her own body more just as it is.

Brava! I couldn't have said it better myself.

I don't think we ever owe corporations protections of their profits. They have most of the laws in their favours--vide the US Supreme Court decision to consider them person, who can thus donate unlimited unreported amounts to political campaigns--and they have untold abilities to protect themselves. We, on the other hand, are far less protected.

I don't think it's unreasonable to suggest that when airlines are making seats smaller and smaller, and people are getting fatter and fatter, there's something wrong.

And when that's compounded by policies that say they can decide when someone is too fat and needs two seats, and they can do so without warning, on the spot, with no recourse on the part of the traveler, then it's simply extortion. That's *quite* a different thing than Shazzy deciding on her own to be more comfortable.

And what about the professional implications? Does that make it ok for companies not to hire fat people, since it's more expensive for us to travel? This is NOT a small issue.

Egg, my apologies, but as any teacher, or meeting convenor, who has paid attention will tell you, women speak for less frequently than men. And the larger or more public the group, the less we speak. In a lecture course that I teach with about 80 students, we can go weeks without hearing a female voice, unless I make a point of asking to hear from women students.

As someone who did not adore breastfeeding, even though I sometimes have mutual ANR fantasies, let me remind you of the downsides.

A. you suddenly find yourself in public with a wet t-shirt.
B. you ache if you aren't emptied regularly.
C. I thought pumping hurt like a ... well, you know.

Just some realities to check in on before flying with the fantasy!