”I gained even more weight, which meant I was picked on even more. I started self-harming, and I got picked on again,” she said. ”I just had a really horrible self-image. I hated looking in the mirror.”
Shopping for clothes had been another source of pain. Amalie recalled how, even as a little girl, she had to shop in the women’s department because children’s clothing didn’t fit her.
Amalie couldn’t wear the trendy clothes other kids her age wore. Instead, she had to settle for adult clothing, which only added to her feelings of isolation.
Her feelings of isolation grew as she noticed the lack of representation for people like her in books or media. And when overweight characters did appear, they were often portrayed as caricatures.
A life-changing connection
Things began to change when Amalie, originally from Denmark, met her husband, Sean, a British man, through an online video game. Their unlikely connection grew into a friendship that blossomed into something more.Continue reading…
