Have you ever seen a fat friend or a fat person on the street and you wanted to smile, but something in you said the smile might be misinterpreted?

I generally smile at everyone, even on streets, but it has happened to me before that a fat person would look down in shame after seeing me smile at them. I have been puzzled by these experiences a bit and wanted to gather your input what the proper behavior would be in these cases.

While I would like to continue smiling at everyone, I would understand if this can be interpreted as something that hurts people…

Let me know your thoughts, please. I know there is no capital A Answer to this questions, but I am interested in any suggestions.

Hi Eszter -  interesting situation.  I was thinking about this just last week or so.  There are so many more shows on TV about fat folks (some better, some worse), giving people of all sizes more information on us, our struggles and challenges, our feelings and our abilities—and I’m sure some non-fat folks have had their hearts opened to some extent by this.  When I get a nod or hello or a smile from someone on the street, in a store, at a restaurant - a quick greeting or a little conversation—I can feel their positive support and caring and it feels good. 

So I’d say, keep on smiling and acknowledging who you want to in your travels!  If a person looks down one time when you smile at them, next time they may feel safer to look up and smile back. 

Thanks for thinking of this - Alice