Teasing
When Peers are cruel and
do not understand
Larger people or those
who are above optimal
weight for height too
frequently suffer from
teasing or derision by a
society that tends to be
intolerant of
overweight, and
misunderstands the truth
about the causes of
overweight and ways to
conquer overeating.
What would you do in
these scenarios?
-
An overweight girl
is afraid to get on
the school bus
because every time
she does, certain
boys on the bus make
fun of her and call
her names.
-
An overweight
teenage boy can’t
find friends.
People ask
him why he looks the
way he does and he
doesn’t learn to
take care of
himself.
-
A young woman who is
overweight got
dressed up for a
school dance and was
told by two guys
that she should not
wear the kind of
clothes she had on
because she is fat.
Common misconceptions
are that overweight
people are lazy and
don’t know how to take
care of themselves; that
they don’t care about
looking or feeling good;
that they are
insensitive, slovenly,
and deserve to be
criticized openly and
freely.
Too many people
tend to exclude and
ostracize peers who are
overweight.
In the face of teasing
-
Recognize that the
person doing the
teasing is ignorant
about what causes
others to become
overweight and
insensitive to their
feelings.
That person
is behaving in a
cruel and toxic
manner.
-
You might want to
educate the person
ignorant of these
issues by making it
clear that
-
largeness is
genetically
determined
-
people are not
meant to look
one particular
way or exactly
alike
-
large and
overweight
people are
typically fit
and healthy
people;
typically
they are
athletic and
live long,
productive and
fulfilled
lives
-
if anyone is
offensive to
others, it is
the bully,
not you.
-
If the offender is
being cruel and
hurtful, it would
make a great deal of
sense not to seek
his or her
friendship.
There are too
many good people in
the world to
befriend.
Stay away
from toxic people.
-
If bullying at
school becomes a
problem, bring it up
with your parents,
guidance counselor
and/or your teacher.
The schools should
do what they can to
discourage such an
environment that
interferes with
learning and social
growth.
