He was right. (?!?)

"Wait. He was right?!" you say, "That surgeon who called you and your accomplishments meaningless simply because you were fat was right??"

Yes.

What he was saying, in essence, is that people won't see you as a person when they're too busy being disgusted by the sight of you. Even generally kind, enlightened, intelligent people respond differently to others based on what they see.

Size, like skin color and expression of gender, matters.
The more people deny that, the truer it is.

People treat me differently.
Sometimes blatantly, sometimes subtly, but often in ways I never imagined or expected.

Please understand, I wanted him to be wrong. But people treat me differently.

No one expects me to apologize for being in the way.
No one shrinks away from me on the bus or light rail train.
When I buy soda or snacks for my kids, I no longer get "The Look" from fellow shoppers or store employees.
I no longer catch people surreptitiously checking the contents of my basket or sneering when my cart is overflowing (Yes, this is actually a thing).
I've been invited to do more things by more people than have ever shown an interest in spending time with me before.
Men (and a few women) who have never looked twice at me before are now flirting. (Guess what? I'm the same damn person!)
I'm taken seriously when I make complaints at stores or restaurants.
I'm taken seriously when I complain that I'm tired or in pain.
I'm no longer ignored when waiting to get assistance for something and I'm experiencing real customer service for the first time in years.
People listen, and hear me when I speak (except about eating issues, but that's for another post).
They actually talk to me, make eye contact or smile at me.
Medical professionals show me more respect and show more trust that I know my own body.
People look surprised that I haven't been in a romantic relationship for the last 13 years.
People no longer look surprised or confused by my intelligence and education.
More people - markedly more - have told me they are proud of my weight loss than have told me they were proud of my Master's degree.

Let me say that again:

More people are more impressed by the changing number on the scale and the changing shape of my body than that I, a single, working mother, earned a graduate degree. 

These are just some examples. I could list more, but honestly, it's hurting my heart a bit to see all of this in black and white.

It's funny (peculiar, not "ha ha") the kinds of things you learn to expect and accept when you're in a larger body. It's sad how much of others' respect and kindness is contingent on being a socially acceptable size.