Weeks after “plus-sized model” Natalie Hage made international headlines after she publicly shamed a fellow American Airlines flight passenger for making private comments about her size in a text to a friend, Twitter is now providing a sympathetic take on what it’s like to fly while “very fat.”
In a Twitter moment promoted on the site, a user by the name “your fat friend” detailed her experience on a particular flight while being “very fat.” “Your fat friend” explains she researched specific policies that deal with customers who happen to be so obese that take up extra room, and explained that often requires her to purchase two seats so she can fit without impeding on the room of another customer:
I researched airlines for their "customer of size" policies, many of which reserve the right to kick me off the plane, even after boarding.
— your fat friend (@yrfatfriend) July 17, 2017
The rest require purchase of a second seat. If I don't buy one in advance, I'll be charged the day-of price. Today, that's $800 one way.
— your fat friend (@yrfatfriend) July 17, 2017
I'm charged for that second seat regardless of whether one is available. I pay double for the privilege of staying on the plane.
— your fat friend (@yrfatfriend) July 17, 2017
Allegedly, in the words of “your fat friend,” even though a second seat is required to accommodate the space that the overweight person takes up, the airline “may still sell it to another passenger” and airlines could refuse to refund her, or any other fat person, for the seat:
Even if I buy a second seat in advance, the airline may still sell it to another passenger. If they do, I won't be notified or refunded.
— your fat friend (@yrfatfriend) July 17, 2017
According to Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Southwest, and United, however, refunds and different accommodations are available for “customers of size” whose seat is given to another passenger.
“Your fat friend” complained that other people may complain about her size on the flight if she asks for a seatbelt extender and that will force her to be kicked off the flight or booked for another seat (which, as she stated earlier, she should have purchased in advance knowing airline policies):
I'm worried that hearing me ask for an extender will prompt others to complain. If they do, it starts a domino effect of trouble for me.
— your fat friend (@yrfatfriend) July 17, 2017
Passengers complaining to flight attendants will get me reseated, charged double, or escorted off the plane, stranded without a way home.
— your fat friend (@yrfatfriend) July 17, 2017
Over the last 2 yrs, about 50% of passengers in my row complained about me. So, my body is regularly discussed in my presence w/o my input.
— your fat friend (@yrfatfriend) July 17, 2017
And no matter what happens, if someone complains, my body will be discussed loudly, with open revulsion, without regard for who hears it.
— your fat friend (@yrfatfriend) July 17, 2017
“Your fat friend” also recalls buying a first class ticket — although previously complaining about the price of purchasing two tickets — to better accommodate her size. She also notes that she is so heavy, although claiming to weigh “~60 pounds” lighter, the tray for food could not fit around her body.
Despite “your fat friend”’s entire existence being based on her fatness (she runs a Facebook page, a Twitter account, a Medium page, a Patreon account, and Cashme all based on her being fat), she asserts her tweetstorm was not about her being emotionally fragile, but simply “airline policies”:
And this isn't about emotional fragility. I'm vulnerable, but I'm tough.
— your fat friend (@yrfatfriend) July 17, 2017
This is about airline policies, and about what happens when others decide to make an issue of my body.
— your fat friend (@yrfatfriend) July 17, 2017
Instead of Twitter promoting people who support healthy lifestyles and eating habits, Twitter chose to use its platform to air the grievances of a person who would rather spend an extra $800 for a second plane ticket than lose weight.
Just days before promoting these tweets by "your fat friend" complaining about how her personal choices interfere with her flying, Twitter also curated a "moment" mocking conservative firebrand Ann Coulter for her complaints against Delta.
This isn’t the first time Twitter has promoted unhealthy lifestyles. In a Twitter moment from March, they advocated for “thick thighs,” often found on heavy women. News organizations, and even magazines aimed at impressionable teenagers, have also advocated against the idea of “fat-shaming” — or merely even believing that being so overweight as to inconvenience other passengers should require multiple airline tickets.
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