To the Man who called me fat on Saturday night,

You probably don't remember me, but I won't forget you. I think that's funny. Something that may be a passing comment for one, will linger in the thoughts of others, floating up and down, coming into sight every so often and at points, consuming them. I won't think of you all the time, I may go for months without thinking about you, but I will remember.

The same way that when I was 11 years old, I remember that I came in crying to my parents because a boy who I was playing on the green with had called me fat. The exact same way that in Year 9 on a school trip to Newquay I wore a bikini as I felt comfortable around my friends, I was called fat by a different boy and haven't felt comfortable since. The same way a man did exactly what you did a few years previous and brought me to tears whilst out with my friends. I will remember like I remember all of these.

You don't know this, you don't know my history or how I have struggled with my body image virtually my whole life. You don't know that you have only added to how awful it makes me feel. You don't know that, that night before I went out, I was in tears because I didn't feel comfortable with how I looked.

Now the thing is Man, eating disorders are serious illnesses; it might not even shock you to find out that you may be part of the reason that anorexia exists, and that it has the highest fatality rate of any mental illness.

You are the reason that I have tried and I have once before made myself sick because I have felt so disgusted with myself.

You are the reason that I will go on believing that I am unattractive and therefore won't get undressed in front of my boyfriend, despite him telling me every single day that I am beautiful.

But the thing is, if I had to identify myself and could only choose one characteristic - it would not be that I am fat. I have fat, like you probably do yourself, but that is not what I am.

I am.

I am kind-hearted. I am happy. I am loved. But I am also human, so no matter how many times that I tell myself these things, your comments still sting.

Approximately 91% of women are unhappy with their bodies - so just remember that 9 girls out of 10 that you see on the street are likely to be deeply offended if you were to comment negatively on their appearance - don't do it at all.

I will probably never see you again, but I hope that you will one day know that what you say can have a lasting effect on people, like it has on myself. I am not alone in this, many other people will not forget things that have upset them. If what you're saying is purely negative, then it is never worth reaching your lips.

Think twice before saying something that will not benefit your character or contribute to the happiness of someone else,
Leah.

http://www.eatingdisorderhope.com/information/statistics-studies
https://www.dosomething.org/facts/11-facts-about-body-image