Aubrey Gordon

People just silently watch and it feels like the clearest referendum that I get that like not one of these people on this plane is thinking of me as a human being who is deserving of their compassion. You know, they're just watching it play out and thinking I would feel the same way or whatever they're thinking.

But none of that has to do with I wonder if that person's OK or this is terrible and this person shouldn't have to experience this.

But none of that has to do with I wonder if that person's OK or this is terrible and this person shouldn't have to experience this.

But none of that has to do with I wonder if that person's OK or this is terrible and this person shouldn't have to experience this.

That is a culturally acceptable way of processing our frustration with flights or feeling out of sorts when we get off a plane or whatever. It's totally fine to say there was a crying baby or there was a fat person, right? That becomes our way of expressing frustration, and no one tells us not to, generally speaking. So we just sort of keep doing it rather than anyone going... Hey, wait a minute.

That is a culturally acceptable way of processing our frustration with flights or feeling out of sorts when we get off a plane or whatever. It's totally fine to say there was a crying baby or there was a fat person, right? That becomes our way of expressing frustration, and no one tells us not to, generally speaking. So we just sort of keep doing it rather than anyone going... Hey, wait a minute.

That is a culturally acceptable way of processing our frustration with flights or feeling out of sorts when we get off a plane or whatever. It's totally fine to say there was a crying baby or there was a fat person, right? That becomes our way of expressing frustration, and no one tells us not to, generally speaking. So we just sort of keep doing it rather than anyone going... Hey, wait a minute.

If you were uncomfortable, what if the seats had been different? What if you just had more space?

If you were uncomfortable, what if the seats had been different? What if you just had more space?

If you were uncomfortable, what if the seats had been different? What if you just had more space?

I think the main narrative about fat people is I don't have to have sympathy for you or consider your humanity because as far as I'm concerned, you brought this on yourself, right? Like if there's a villain here, there's no question that it's airlines, right?

I think the main narrative about fat people is I don't have to have sympathy for you or consider your humanity because as far as I'm concerned, you brought this on yourself, right? Like if there's a villain here, there's no question that it's airlines, right?

I think the main narrative about fat people is I don't have to have sympathy for you or consider your humanity because as far as I'm concerned, you brought this on yourself, right? Like if there's a villain here, there's no question that it's airlines, right?

If you've ever been uncomfortable on an airplane, the people you should be mad at, and frankly, the people I'm mad at are the Boeing designers, right?

If you've ever been uncomfortable on an airplane, the people you should be mad at, and frankly, the people I'm mad at are the Boeing designers, right?

If you've ever been uncomfortable on an airplane, the people you should be mad at, and frankly, the people I'm mad at are the Boeing designers, right?

I have yet to meet anyone who raves about the cushy seating in the coach section of a commercial airliner. Flying is expensive, cramped, trying, and taxing. Luggage gets cumbersome. We miss connections. Our relationships get strained. And at the height of all that stress, boarding, my wide, soft body becomes their target.

I have yet to meet anyone who raves about the cushy seating in the coach section of a commercial airliner. Flying is expensive, cramped, trying, and taxing. Luggage gets cumbersome. We miss connections. Our relationships get strained. And at the height of all that stress, boarding, my wide, soft body becomes their target.

I have yet to meet anyone who raves about the cushy seating in the coach section of a commercial airliner. Flying is expensive, cramped, trying, and taxing. Luggage gets cumbersome. We miss connections. Our relationships get strained. And at the height of all that stress, boarding, my wide, soft body becomes their target.

Rather than being a compatriot stuck in the same cramped, uncomfortable position as everyone else, I become a scapegoat for all their frustration. In moments like those, it's hard to get angry with a corporation, its executives, and industrial designers. It's much easier to get angry with the fat person who dared to fly.