Is skinny always considered a compliment?

in my experience, it depends on the context. i personally always stay away from complimenting people on their body type, but if you have a close relationship with the person that you're complimenting and you're absolutely sure of the context and situation surrounding it, then i think it can be a compliment. however, it could have negative consequences. i have struggled with disordered eating, and being called "skinny" always triggered me and encouraged me to lose more weight. in that context, it would not be a compliment. also, "skinny-shaming" is a terrible practice where, similar to fat-shaming, people shame someone for their body type, which is never a compliment.

No, skinny is not always considered a compliment, and fat isn't always considered an insult. This is because it's just weight, and weight doesn't define you, and as long as you're healthy, I feel you can be whatever weight you want. You can wear whatever you want, and you an eat whatever you want. Just as long as you're happy, and healthy, then it's all good.

Not always. For someone with an eating disorder, this can be triggering and even distressing sometimes.

In todays society, 'skinny' can be insulting as it can be related to not eating enough, ect.... I wouldnt say 'skinny' is the best way to compliment someone....

Nothing is ALWAYS used as a compliment. It usually depends what context it is in or the intent behind it. Someone could say, "She's really skinny, she's so cute!" Or they may say, "She's really skinny, I think it's gross." It ALL depends. And at the same time it may not be used as an insult OR a compliment, they may just be describing appearance In my personal opinion someone could be a size 0 and have a terrible personality and look like a hobo. And someone who is 200+ pounds may be extremely sweet and have an amazing fashion taste AND vise-versa. Weight should not define someone. It may be used as a compliment, insult, or just a descriptor. It's all about context.

No, sometimes it may end up being taken harshly and hurt someone's feelings. Try complimenting personalities over looks.

Skinny is not always a compliment! As someone who has struggled with disordered eating, calling someone skinny is not okay. I either feel like you're lying and calling me fat, or it proves that I look good and should keep losing weight

For the majority of us, yes! There is a massive pressure on society (especially females) to be and look skinny; and skinny right now is a praise and the in thing - where as being 'fat' is the total opposite. It hasn't always been this way though - for a long time skinny was unattractive and 'curvy' was the in thing. Quick history lesson: it actually comes back to the much older days where if a person was 'fatter' they were beautiful because they had more food to survive, and therefore healthier. I think in a way we're trying to change these sorts of compliments; people can be any size and still beautiful and worthy.

Skinny can be a great compliment, especially if you are/were trying to lose weight. But that's not always the case, you can be called skinny and hate it. You might be trying to put on weight, and nothing is working, you might hate how skinny you are, you might even hate the word skinny. But lots of people think of skinny as a compliment, and usually don't mean to hurt you, although there are lots of people who say bad things out there. Just remember to love yourself, no matter if you're skinnier or larger, black or white. .

No it is not, people tends to use weight as a compliment or as an insult. Depending on what the person believes and their concept of beauty they will tell you skinny or fat as a compliment or trying to offend you, that’s exactly why you shouldn’t care.

Skinny is a word that is often used instead of words like thin, healthier, petite, fit etc. The problem is, society, the media and people in general tend to define body shapes with the usage of words such as fat, thin, big, skinny etc and over time skinny has been seen as a good thing to be, and big as something not as desirable.. But people are more than just what they may look like, and labelling people as thin, skinny, fat or big can cause a lot of problems for people who for whatever reasons are self conscious about their image, who perhaps lack self esteem or have body issues. There are those who are naturally thin, who can eat and eat and yet it makes no difference to their weight. Complimenting someone on their outer appearance ignores their inner beauty. Someone undergoing radiotherapy and chemotherapy was complimented on their weight loss by someone unaware of their illness and treatment and asked them how they had achieved their weight loss which was being seen as admirable. The response given was that of the chemo diet! The person who originally complimented them on being skinny was shocked by the response and realised the stupidity and naivety of their 'compliment'. People also when suffering with depression or grief will often stop eating out of the emotional distress they are in, so would someone knowing that, go onto compliment them on looking skinny, surely the emotional distress someone is in would take precedence over the appearance of that individual. Too many people both male and female have suffered over many years with eating disorders and struggle with their obsession on body image, body anxiety, self image/self esteem issues and some develop body dysmorphia and for some they will resort to cosmetic surgery to correct the defect as they see it. People are not just bodies to be labelled as skinny or fat, they are not just bodies to be looked at, judged, and constantly in need of fixing or changing. Skinny does not always equate to being a compliment even though for those who are trying to lose weight it may be taken as such. Being skinny can sometimes cause a lot of heartache and misery for a lot of people. Perhaps society and people in general could try and work on spending less time defining someone by their body size and more time on recognising an individuals beauty in other ways, compliment people on their achievements, their caring natures, their loving gestures, their hard work professional, their role as mother, father, etc. and be one more person who tries to break the stereotypes of what is currently considered acceptable in terms of body size or as a compliment when this can be so potentially hurtful and harmful.

Skinny is a quality. Just like fat is. Or blond hair is, Or brown eyes. It is what it is. Unfortunately, someone might have an idea that one quality is better than others. The important thing is that you can appreciate your body and mind for what they are, and work towards being the best you - WHATEVER that is. If you feel you are uncomfortable overweight, that's fine, you can eat differently, exercise etc. So long as you are doing it for your well-being and not for the satisfaction of others. Because no matter what you look like, someone out there is gonna love it. So it's best that you love you, however that is. ;)

Not really if you are talking with a sufferer of some eating disorder, specially anorexia. Actually you must be very careful about mentioning shape, weight or appearance to a patient with that condition. On second thoughts maybe is better if one refrains to comment about any physical feature of other people. I think in some cases victims of bullying might be specially sensitive regarding comments about shape, weight and appearance. Summarizing, "skinny" can not always be considered a compliment and sometimes if we are not careful could become a trigger or may not be well taken by others. My two cents.

No, I don't believe skinny is always a compliment. If you're suffering from an eating disorder and somebody tells you you look skinny and "look good" it's going to further that eating disorder and make it even worse because the person is reaching their goal. This can also be applied vice versa. Some people feel bad about being skinny but struggle to gain weight. Weight can be a very touchy topic for a lot of people and I feel as if saying somebody is skinny can be as harmful at times as saying somebody is fat. We have to be thoughtful and choose our words carefully.

Skinny can be taken in many different ways according to the context. If it was meant in a derogatory way, then no it is not a compliment. But if it was meant in a positive way, then yes, it is a compliment.

Brief answer: no. Skinny is actually nothing more than a description of a person. A person can be tall, short, chubby, skinny, red haired, brown haired... It doesn’t actually say anything about a persons beauty. While of course, skinny and beautiful is tightly connected in western culture, it isn’t actually an equivalent. And slowly that perception of it starts to cease luckily. However there are many people who would not take it as a compliment to be called skinny. For example men, who often worry about not being muscular or strong enough. Or women who believe that they do no look “feminine” enough and lack curves. Body image issues are very widespread and very individual. Ultimately, I think that there are better compliments than “skinny” and there’s so much beauty to be discovered and appreciated in every person.

Everything depends on the way you feel and love your body, being skinny can be healthy or unhealthy but everything depends on the love you give to yourself

It depends. Some people will take it as a compliment but some of them may feel bad after hearing this. Usually when we saay ,,you're so skinny, i'm really jealous of it..." we don't want to upset anyone. In the mentality of people of 21th century is a thought that being thin is something good, so that's normal that we want to compliment someone by calling someone ,,skinny". But there are groups of people with problems such as anorexia, bulimia... those people may hear it in two situations. First one is when they just started to suffer and they don't see anything wrong about it. Hearing compliments about their weight may make them continue bad eating habits. Second situation is when that kind of person is trying to recovery. That person knows that he/she needs help but hearing those kind of ,,compliment" it makes even harder for them to beat their illness. All I want to say is that those kind of ,,compliments" can have different results depending on what person is getting that kind of compliment. I hope that I helped you.

No, unfortunately. The word "skinny" has been warped and changed rather recently. Now, if or when people call me skinny, I almost *always* question their motives. Are they serious? Are they trying to be kind? Or mean? I'm sure that part of it is I deal with an eating disorder, so others' comments about my body, my weight, etc can be very triggering.

No skinny isn't always a compliment, it can be something that is used to hurt someone too

No, some people say it when they're concerned you have an eating disorder. When I struggled with an eating disorder, people will tell me I was skinny or I had lost weight all the time, but it wasn't a compliment, it was a concerned comment or question.

Sometimes people say what's on their mind without thinking how their words could affect others. Even if they think it's a compliment (because of their personal opinion or experience), it can be uncomfortable or even harmful for another person.

I think that would depend on the person it's coming from. Either way, I don't think it's something you should spend time dwelling on. Either way, it makes no difference to you or your body whether the person means it in as a compliment or not. Only you need to be okay with what you look like, there are always going to be people who have their opinions, it doesn't mean you're going to change every time to match everyone's preference.

Our society sadly values one body type over others. However, not all comments on a person being skinny are always positive. It is important to develop a strong feeling of self worth regardless of your body type, because unfortunately people will always comment on other people's bodies whether skinny or not.

Not exactly. Usually, people will use it as a compliment, but skinny does not always mean healthy. I know people that have always struggled with weight gain- they developed a lot of bad habits and their weight dropped, despite being healthy before. People noticed and complimented them, but they really weren't healthy at all. It's always important to consider the circumstances around it, because it can go both ways. I've also met people that have struggled with weight gain, and lost it in a healthy and natural way. In that case, I'd say that it would be taken as a compliment.

Not in my mind. I think that there's a level of too skinny where you just look like a skeleton with skin. It's a lose-lose situation because you can't be too fat or too thin. But if you're healthy, I think that should be the goal. no matter the number on the scale.

Not necessarily. Society and culture have attached a lot of extra meaning to the word skinny. It is hugely based on context, but it would be nice to step away from commenting on people's bodies.

Definitely not. Being skinny doesn't necessarily mean healthy either. It can be easily overlooked, but being underweight can have as bad consequences as being overweight. Examples of consequences can be anemia, vitamin deficiencies, osteoporosis, very low immune system, feeling cold a lot of the time, growth development issues and more, but now we're talking about actually being underweight, which is having a bmi lower than 18,5. The healthy range for bmi is 18,5 to 25. So of course, you can be skinny without being underweight, and if you've been overweight and lost some, it can definitely be a compliment!

Being called skinny can have different meanings. Some people might mean it in a mean way such as "she's /he's too skinny", which isn't nice at all. But others would actually really often mean that when they call you skinny it's a compliment! It's of course different from person to person, and why what kind of tone you can get called skinny in, but I'd take it as a compliment. I mean, if people told me I were skinny, I'd be happy. Not necessarily because they meant it good, but because of the fact that they took their time, to say it to me, and because they needed to call me skinny, instead of focusing on themselves.

No. I am considered skinny everywhere I go, but it is more than just skinny. Everyone says I am a twig and that really hurts. People are always saying that they wish they were skinny, but why would someone want that if people only see you as a stick? Being skinny is not better than being over weight.... in so many ways it is just as tough. I feel like the world has turned being skinny into something that everyone should be when it is actually not. For me, I have a very fast metabolism so all of the food I eat... just goes away. People tell me to eat more and I always reply back "I do". People don't understand how tough it is to be skinny. If you gain weight they will notice, and that is what causes so many eating disorders. The fear of gaining that weight... I don't know I guess that's my personal opinion. Based off my experience of course.