Starting from most socially acceptable:

A working woman with an extra ten to thirty pounds on her who still dresses in business attire without visible back fat can talk to a skinny woman, as long as she defers to the skinny woman when the skinny woman says something, especially something catty.

A stay at home or work from home mom with an extra ten to thirty pounds can engage in conversation with a skinny woman if the skinny woman is: a) a family member, by blood relation or long-time marriage, b) someone the fat lady is serving by working for her or helping in some way, wherein the fat lady must concede that the skinny woman rules over the fat woman and nothing will be done by the fat lady's schedule, and c) someone who is being paid hourly and who's boss is looking, i.e. the cashier at Wal-Mart, although conversation must be limited to the weather or the skinny lady's boyfriend troubles.

Any woman with more than 30 extra pounds must either intimidate or have an unassuming but intelligent air about her in order to hold her own with a skinny lady. No polite chit chat is allowed. Business or direct problem solving must be the crux of the conversation. No speaking about spas, boutiques, beaches, or sex.

Any woman with more than 100 extra pounds must be apologetic or severely deferential when speaking to someone smaller than her, skinny or not. The fat lady must acknowledge that the skinnier person is doing her a favor by showing her polite interest.

Fat men are allowed to speak about favorite restaurants, foods, and beverages, and are allowed to engage in sporting activities where he is not only not physically fit enough to participate, he embarrasses everyone by baring his man-boobies. Fat woman are not allowed to speak about anything regarding weight or appear to be doing anything physical, so that skinnier people are not embarrassed by seeing her rolls jiggle or her sweat. Fat women are only allowed to complain about wanting to lose weight, but not allowed to discuss how it feels to be overweight and the hardships she comes up against during the weight loss removal process.

Any women with over 100 extra pounds is automatically considered lazy and unmotivated. Medical excuses will only get you a response like, "Losing the weight will take care of that" or "They have so many surgery options for people like you now."

Any woman with an extra 100 pounds or more is considered invisible, unless she steps in your sun at the beach. Any woman with over 200 extra pounds or more is considered deaf and unable to comprehend the English language.

It's kinda funny to sit here and have been at all ends of the spectrum. When I was 19 and 127 pounds, I thought I'd rather die than be 200 pounds for the rest of my life. I am almost 30 now, and well past 200 pounds. I thought medical excuses were a load of crap, until I had Handsome and realized that the proper balance of rest and nutrition isn't a given and requires a ton of energy, which lack of sleep doesn't help. I thought that fat women were not interesting or were less than competant members of society. I now realize that a lot of them are larger because they put everyone else and other's needs ahead of their own in order to further other's lives. I used to think that I was only judgemental because I was skinny and scared of being fat. Now that I am fat, I realize, no, I'm just judgemental, even when I am in the same category. I look at fat people and make assumptions of their character and mental capabilities. I guess I'm learning about being a human, and hope that I can lose an ounce or two by laughing about my learning experiences of being fat and still feeling like me and being surprised to see myself in the mirror. Chuckles, everyone.