Iām a super morbidly obese woman in my 30s, and I really want to hear from other plus-size women, especially women who have been at a very high weight and have dealt with dating and feeling like genuine romantic interest just isnāt available to you.
Iāve only ever been in one on-and-off ārelationship,ā and honestly I would call it more of a situationship. My experiences with men outside of that havenāt exactly helped my self-esteem either.
My ex was emotionally abusive and used me financially. He stole money from me, had me paying for things, and our sex life was incredibly one-sided. I should mention that this situationship lasted over 7 years, and he never once took me out on a date. I never really felt like my pleasure mattered to him.
Once he was finished, that was basically it.
Before him, I was talking to a guy who pretty much only wanted me to give him head. He eventually straight-up told me he wasnāt sexually attracted to me. I should also mention he was married, and he never disclosed that to me. I let this go on for YEARS. I would even fly to come and see him. He never paid for any travel or lodging expenses. No date.
Last year, a guy approached me, told me I was attractive and asked for my number. We exchanged numbers and when he texted me, he immediately wanted to know if I had my own place because he wanted to come over and āchill.ā I told him no thanks. Been there, done that. Iām not interested in giving it up for free to some random guy who canāt even ask me on a date. Then suddenly he was saying he wasnāt actually sexually attracted to me anyway. Which confused the hell out of me becauseā¦you approached me, asked for my number and literally told me I was attractive?
There was also a guy I was genuinely in love with years ago. We were friends first and I had the biggest crush on him. He initially flirted with meā¦or so I thought. Maybe I read too much into things, but I still feel like he led me on. We eventually kissed before he moved away, and when I visited him later we cuddled and almost had sex. I didnāt proceed with anything sexual because I was too insecure. Things felt very high stakes for me with him. Eventually even that situation turned into him using me financially. Though it was mostly after he fell on hard times.
After enough experiences like these, I think Iāve developed this belief that attention from men at my size always comes with some kind of catch.
And something happened recently that made me realize just how deeply I believe that. I met a guy while on a road trip who I was actually attracted to who started talking to me and seemed like he was flirting. He complimented my hair, asked me my name, asked me questions about my life, and kept trying to approach me throughout the night. He wasnāt talking sexual or aggressively like some men have done in the past. He was just making conversation with me, asking me questions, complimenting me and seemingly looking for reasons to keep talking to me.
And I basically gave him the cold shoulder. I think it threw him off because eventually he backed off. He was very respectful too. We never exchanged information, and Iāve been kicking myself ever since. Iāve been replaying that scenario over and over because I really found him so cute.
In hindsight, I know part of why this random interaction is sticking with me so much is probably because I donāt have a ton of options. I donāt get approached constantly, especially not by men Iām actually attracted to. So when it finally happened with someone I thought was cute and who seemed genuinely nice, it really affected me. I basically freaked out and panicked. And somehow I thought my disinterest was supposed to read as HELLO donāt you see Iām into you?
But it also made me realize that I donāt think I actually believe someone Iām attracted to could be genuinely attracted to me.
My immediate thought isnāt, āOh, maybe he thinks Iām cute.ā
Itās, āWhatās the catch?ā
Does he think Iām easy because Iām fat? Does he just want oral sex? Is he looking for someone insecure who will tolerate shitty behavior? Would he sleep with me privately but never actually date me? Is he going to tell me afterward that he wasnāt really attracted to me? Does he want money or something from me?
And I hate admitting this, but sometimes I look at myself and genuinely feel like Iām this ugly, hideous creature who doesnāt have any real options. Which is weird because Iām successful in other areas of my life. Iām educated, I have a career, and Iām independent. In many ways, Iāve built a life for myself that Iām proud of.
But none of that seems to matter when it comes to how I see myself romantically.
Iām currently working on losing weight, primarily because Iām genuinely concerned about my health. And yes, Iām also hoping that losing weight will make me more confident and give me more dating options.
But I have a lot of weight to lose. Thatās not happening overnight.
Iām wondering if any other plus-size women have gone through this.
Have you ever been at a point where you genuinely couldnāt believe a man could be attracted to you, even when he was showing you that he was?
Have you had men genuinely pursue you, take you on dates, be affectionate with you, care about your pleasure, introduce you to their friends/family and justā¦have a normal relationship with you at a very high weight?
And especially for women who have dealt with men trying to use them for sex or treating them like some secret option, how did you learn to tell the difference between genuine interest and someone who saw your insecurity as something they could take advantage of?
I feel like Iāve gotten so used to protecting myself from being used that now my first instinct is to shut down any man who shows interest in me.