I felt the eye of judgment piercing me as I entered the plane. I could hear people whispering and laughing. As I walked through the rows to find my assigned seat, I could see the worried looks on the faces of those who thought I might sit next to them. The clicking of the seat belt buckles almost freaked me out. I dreaded asking the flight attendant for a lap belt extender, or worse, being given one without asking. There was no need to feel the intensity of mass criticism. To make matters worse, it was a hot day and my clothes were sticking to my body, highlighting my multiple layers of overindulgence. I was too hot and felt beads of salty sweat running down my face. As an overweight child, I have felt this type of social surveillance for as long as I can remember. School days were miserable; I was mocked for the way my daughter laughed, teased while eating lunch in the cafeteria, and humiliated during gym class. Nothing has changed in high school, although things have gotten worse. The teasing was almost unbearable, and during my first year I finally succumbed to the bullying and dropped out of school. I didn't know how to describe what was happening, but I knew I was a foreigner and it was because of my weight problem. Today, I know that my heartbreaking experiences have a name, and that name is discrimination. Discrimination against overweight people is real. Prejudices about fat were prevalent in our past and are still endemic in our society today. “The social stigma against obesity is extraordinary in its scale and pervasiveness” Garner (1991). In a restaurant, a large person can order the same type of meal that everyone else is having, only to be considered a glutton. Publicly ridiculed, the ...... middle of paper ...... this flight because I check into a weight loss clinic where I am to have gastric bypass surgery. The flight attendant comes to offer pre-packaged meals. I decide, what the hell, give me two, after all – it's my last big steal. Works CitedGarner (1991) http://www.lectlaw.com/files/con28.htm retrieved August 13, 2010Puhl, R. and Heuer, C. (2009) Epidemiology Obesity 17 5, 941–964. doi:10.1038/oby.2008.636Obesity stigma: review and update Rebecca M. Puhl1 and Chelsea A.1Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USAwww.smartmoney.com /sending/deals/ 10-things-the-weight-loss-industry-wont-tell-you-13677/?page=3 retrieved August 17, 2010 Buchwald, H. (2009) Metabolic/Bariatric Surgery Worldwide 2008 http: //www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19885707 retrieved August 17, 2010