I’m a plus-size woman weighing 265lb – people think anyone over 200 is a ‘monster’ or a ‘whale,’ but they’re wrong
STRAIGHT-SIZE people often have wildly incorrect ideas about what plus-size men and women actually look like.
One influencer opened up about her weight, her figure, and why it’s important to recognize 200lb is not a “magic” number.
For Sara Lash, an author and influencer, the trouble began when she noticed other people’s comments online.
“I see people throwing out comments to me and other women saying, ‘No wonder you weigh 200 pounds,'” she said in a TikTok.
A look of disbelief washed over her, then she shook her head. “I wish I weighed 200 pounds, girl!” she exclaimed.
“I want you to take a moment and reevaluate in that little brain what 200 pounds means to you,” Lash begged viewers. “If not just because you’re wrong, for safety.”
Standing in front of her mirror in a T-shirt and shorts, Lash showed her entire body.
“I’m tall. I’m wide,” explained Lash, who is 5’11. “This is 265 pounds on a good day.”
It was frustrating enough to read comments that mischaracterized her weight, Lash said, but she explained why it mattered.
Looking directly into the camera, Lash confessed her fear: “If I go missing, y’all are never going to find me,” she said.
“You’re going to be like, ‘Off to the woods. We are hunting sasquatch,'” she joked.
At hearing “265-pound woman missing,” Lash joked, straight-size people would say, “Grab the boat, it’s a whale. We’re looking for a whale.”
Even in her most vibrant and unsettling fantasies, other people got her weight wrong.
“You could spot me being dragged behind someone in chains, and you’d be like, ‘The person we’re looking for is the average size of a mobile home, so I don’t think that’s her,'” she said.
Lash explained that while it might seem shallow or unnecessary, reframing ideas around plus-size bodies could literally mean life or death.
She added, “200 is not some magic number where you go from a normal-sized person to a monster.”
“Get it through your head, for safety,” Lash pleaded.
Other commenters thanked Lash for her candid attitude and lamented the wild misconceptions people had about their bodies.
“I am nearly 200 pounds. I’m a size eight and a medium in most sizing,” one woman wrote.
Another said, “I’m 5’11 and fairly skinny, men thought I was 125.”
“Like, no, hunny,” she responded. “I would be malnourished.”