In my experience it’s a jealous insult. I’m very thin and always have been. I could eat all day and not gain weight. I’m also very happy with my body type and work on being healthy.
When I was younger I got snide remarks about being thin, but the worst was when I was in my early 20’s at a bar. I was wearing spandex jeans (early version of “skinny jeans”) and a crop top (it was the 90’s, lol.) A total stranger walked up to me and said “Can I ask you a question?” I said okay and he said “How much do you weigh? Can I fit my hands around your waist??” Later that night I was outside eating pizza and another total stranger said to me “Are you anorexic? Do you make yourself throw up??” It goes without saying that I did not take either of those remarks as a compliment.
The only time that someone has mentioned my weight and I did not feel insulted was when I first started running in 2009. My boss coached his daughter’s triathlon team so I felt comfortable asking him for advice. One day he asked me if since I’m running now am I consuming enough calories to make up for what I’m burning “…because it looks like you’ve lost a little weight.” I realized that I hadn’t adjusted my diet and that yes, I had lost a few pounds. All he said was “Remember that your body is an engine and you have to keep it fueled.” That comment about my weight was from a place of genuine concern from someone who I already had conversations about fitness with and who I trust.
I know I’m thin. I’m very happy being thin and comments such as “There’s Juicy, still as skinny as ever” and “You don’t need to work out, you’re already so skinnny!” and “I’d give you some of my fat if I could” are not welcome.
I’ve had coworkers walk by and hiss at me, “skinny bitch,” as I passed by, with a smile on their face. It’s supposed to be a compliment but I do not take it that way. I’ve also been told I didn’t need to work out. I did not bother explaining that the reason they look at me and see a skinny bitch is because I literally worked my butt off to lose 40 pounds. And the reason I continue working out is because, if I stop, that middle-aged-spread weight will come right back. Even “skinny bitches” work out, especially after the great metabolism slowdown that happens around age 40.
It would be really nice if I were complimented on my muscle tone (because I am ripped in places), but catty competitive types just see people in terms of “thinner than me,” and “fatter than me.”
The term skinny is an insult – plain and simple. The various definitions of skinny are not complimentary – lacking sufficient flesh; lacking usual or desirable bulk; emaciated; unattractively thin; very lean; very thin or too thin. Would you refer to a thin person as being scrawny, bony, gaunt, skeletal, pinched, undernourished, spindly, or gangly because these are the synonyms of skinny. Not very flattering, are they? How about using terms like svelte, slim, slender, willowy, lissome, trim, or lithe to describe a thin person. As someone who has battled this for years, I will whip out the F-word in retaliation to the typical, “oh, don’t be so sensitive” excuse. Don’t call me skinny if you can’t handle the term fatty. In other words, think before you speak.
On its own, neither. I’ve heard it used both positively and negatively. I mean, people who say “I wish I were as skinny as you” clearly aren’t using it negatively, while people saying “She’s too skinny” aren’t using it positively.
If pressed, I would fall on it having a slight negative connotation, compared to its synonym “thin.” But that’s just a weird feeling, not something inherent.
And, yes, I have heard of it being used as an insult. That gets into complicated territory, though. If you’ve faced being insulted with “fat” and fat jokes all your life, you might want to turn it around and push the other direction. I wouldn’t say it’s right, but it’s understandable.
(I remember a YouTuber who moved to Japan and loved that no one ever called her skinny there. That was probably the first time I’d heard of skinny being used as an insult.)
I think it depends on context. Here’s my story: in my 20’s I was 6’2" and weighed around 160 lbs. I had no visible muscular development, especially not in my chest. I went to buy a decent suit, and the poor tailor trying to fit the jacket kept muttering under his breath “so skinny, so skinny.” In context, that was a criticism, in that my body shape was so far from normal that it was difficult to make the jacket look right.
I didn’t mind because I knew the facts and was comfortable with them. If I had been trying in vain to build myself up my point of view would probably have been different.
It’s completely contextual. If it’s said to someone who you know is trying to lose weight or is uncomfortable in their current weight, it’s a compliment. If it’s said to a guy at the gym in between sets of bench pressing, it’s probably a criticism.
The popular music archives argue for a mixed interpretation.
Now, who’ll take the woman with the skinny legs?
C’mon somebody please take the lady with the skinny legs
Now, you all know the lady with the skinny legs got to have somebody too, now
Joe Tex
On the other hand:
She’s so skinny it’s a sin
I’ve got to make her mine
The Spongetones
Long lean Lena is the girl that we adore
Whenever we go surfing we use Lena for the board
yeah yeah yeah
Welcome to the SDMB, Janet-19. Hope you enjoy your time here.
I note that this conversation had languished for two years before you came along and resurrected it. Could you satisfy some friendly curiosity and share the circumstances that led to your finding this particular thread and deciding to settle the matter for us once and for all?
You were nearly fat compared to me. I went from 5’2" and 85 lbs at 16 to 6’4" and 135 lbs at 19. I heard the term skinny nearly every day of my life. I still hear it occasionally but now at 185 lbs it doesn’t bother me. My pant size went from a 29" waist/36" inseam to 33" waist (same inseam). Pants are a lot easier to find these days although they still aren’t common.
