56 Women Share The Comments They Received About Their Bodies That They Didn't See Coming

I was 14 and a family member said 'i can't wait until you're 18 and i can pay to get that nose of yours fixed'

apparently they'd approached my parents already and they said no.

A classmate once commented that I have very shiny knees that looked like newly oiled bald heads. Fifteen years later and I’m still not sure if that was a dig or a compliment.

Walking down a street one day, some guy says to me, "Nice face, lose the weight". That was over 40 years ago.

A bus driver said he liked my legs. I have the wrong kind of Scandinavian ancestors and those trunks are STURDY, but I guess he appreciated a girl he couldn’t easily run over.

I have a lot of negative ones that I could share, but I'll go with one that wasn't. 10 years ago a friend said I have beautiful shoulders, and as silly as that sounds, it completely changed the way I percieve my body. It made me realize that there *are* parts of it that look genuinely good and that people appreciate, and that I had been so hyperfocused on my not-so-attractive features that I never even noticed there might be some to appreciate as well.

I was in sixth grade and I remember clear as day looking at my Mom to smile at her. In front of multiple people she said “Yeah, you need your eyebrows and mustache waxed”

I was a little girl in freaking sixth grade - I was insecure and awkward enough without that comment.

Tore my self confidence up.

My friend's nan once said to me: "You've got fat. Oh no, I mean, you've had your hair cut"

I was 18 my sister was pregnant with her first and she had gained about 70lbs, I had just lost almost 70lbs. I had gotten to my goal of 135lbs size 5 pants. My sister was hormonal and crashing out to my mom. She was upset that she had gained and I was losing. My sister was always the tall, thin, blonde attractive one. When she was crying about it my mom said "you'll lose the weight and you'll always be the pretty one". I know my mom didn't mean it that way as she's the type to say anything needed if fix a problem. I'm 40 and still think about it.
She was right, she lost all the weight, I gained some back (I gave up after hearing that).

Wanted to get my nose pierced, mum said “no you don’t want to draw attention to that nose”.

I was a year younger than the kids in my grade, and where I live at the time you had elementary school split from high school, so grade 7 was elementary then you were in high school in grade 8, no middle. I hit grade 8 at 12 years old and immediately was targeted by the girls in school. Gym class I recall specifically. I was asked why I hadn't shaved my disgusting legs. I was 12.

I was trying to recover from an eating disorder. My then boyfriend laughed, poked at my stomach and called it my snackpack. So yeah, relapsed right then

Recently on a date he asked how many guys I was dating because “I’m so beautiful”. I’ve always been insecure and it was really nice to hear the compliment. It’s stuck with me as a reminder not to be so hard on myself. Most of the things we worry about no one else notices.

In college I went to my first gyn appointment to get birth control. The doctor said she wanted to run some labs. She said she could tell by looking at me that I had PCOS because I had a "basketball belly." And since that's how men gain weight, not women, it was a sign of high testosterone.

I did indeed have PCOS. But what an *awful* way to diagnose anyone, especially a 19 year old who hasn't even finished her first quarter of college.

I was on holiday in Hong Kong about 30 years ago. I was a size 14 UK size, at one of the markets, one of the women shook her head and me and said ‘no no no’. When I looked confused she said ‘we have no clothes here for a fat lady like you’.
I mean she was right all the clothes were tiny, but ….

Someone I was seeing told me I had a "grandma face" and started laughing while claiming it was a compliment. Things went south but we somehow rematched on Tinder a year later. The moment I saw who it was I blocked them. I still feel bad for anyone who has to look at me.

It's so small but still lives in my mind. I was an ugly duckling during puberty. I had severe acne, glasses that didn't suit me, braces, etc. I was already getting bullied but that's another can of worms.

I was interested in babysitting to make some cash to fund my hobbies at the time. My local library was hosting CPR classes. So my mom signed me up for it and off I went. The class was mainly catered to teens so there were a lot of teenage girls in the class.

As soon as I walked in, I knew I stook out like a sore thumb. I remember making eye contact with one girl. I thought she was really pretty but she obviously didn't think the same about me. She just said "Ew.".

“I like your hair better straight” - traumatizing curly-haired girls everywhere. Disappointed in myself for staying with that boyfriend another year when it was clear he didn’t love my authentic self.

A female massage therapist asked if I've ever been told I have the softest skin they've ever touched. I said yeah, 4 people have told me that.

She responds with well I can assure you if they haven't told you they were thinking it.

My mother had knitted me a jumper - it was the 70’s - but it was brown and green horizontal stripes. The first day I wore it, she said to my grandma ‘she looks like a little fat bumble bee in it, but never mind’.

It was the first and last time I wore it and she kept asking me why I wasn’t wearing it…. I was 9 yo. Now 59F.

In 5th grade I was eating lunch with a girl who randomly said “you’re fat”. I instinctively said “no I’m not?” to which she doubled down and said it again. I stopped eating my lunch and threw it in the trash. My perspective on my appearance was forever altered.