‘A U.S. 8 is fat now??’: Woman says seatmate on Delta flight asked to see her Instagram. She instantly regrets it
Striking up a conversation with a stranger is precarious business, particularly in an enclosed space like an airplane. A model says she had an especially uncomfortable exchange with her seatmate on a recent Delta Airlines flight. The woman called her fat.
Kate Kope (@kate_kope) posted a TikTok about the experience. In it, she says that the woman asked her what she does for a living. When she replied that she’s a “curve model,” she says the woman insisted on seeing her Instagram.
The woman listened to Kate’s Reels on full volume, which was embarrassing enough, she says. Then her seatmate zeroed in on a photo of her in lingerie.
“She goes, ‘Oh, no, don’t worry, you’re not that fat,'” Kope says.
She then makes a face at the camera and mimics her response to this unwanted and unwarranted comment about her body.
“Yes, thank you, thank you, yes, I know I’m not that fat. Yes, that’s kind of the issue with the whole industry,” Kope concludes.
At the end of the TikTok, Kope notes that she wears a United States size 8.
What’s a ‘curve model’
Most people conjure an image of a rail-thin, tall person when they think of a model. But there are models of all shapes and sizes.
Plus-size models are relatively well-known. This refers to a person, typically a woman, who wears a U.S. size 12 or above.
Stereotypical models, on the other hand, usually wear up to a U.S. size 4.
A curve model, like Kope, falls in between. They generally are within the size 6 and 10 range.
Sometimes, curve models and plus-size models are lumped into the same category, as Kope told her seatmate before the woman blasted her with the backhanded “not that fat” compliment. She captions the post, “There’s nothing quite like getting humbled on your early morning @delta flight.”
What’s a ‘normal’ size?
The medical and fashion industries are often accused of giving people, particularly women, a distorted view of what constitutes a normal and healthy weight and size. The reality is that there are lots of different shapes and sizes that are both normal and healthy. It varies by person and body type.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the average woman is 63.5″ tall, weighs 170 pounds, and has a waist circumference of 39″. This correlates to being somewhere around a size 16 or 18, which can vary depending on height and body shape.
Thus, only plus-size models actually look like the average American woman.
As a size 8, Kope is what most outside the modeling industry would unequivocally describe as thin. No matter what Meryl Streep’s and Stanley Tucci’s characters in The Devil Wears Prada would have us believe.
‘We’re doomed’
Kope’s tale of being called fat by her seatmate set people off. Skinny culture has ravaged many women’s self-esteem.
That trauma resonated in comments on her post.
“Great. I finally get to a size 6 and now an 8 is plus-size,” wrote one exasperated woman. Another said, “A US 8 is considered curve now? We’re doomed.” A third questioned, “A U.S. 8 is fat now??”
The fact that Kope’s seatmate was a woman further irritated viewers. One person deemed it “woman-on-woman negging.”
@kate_kope There’s nothing quite like getting humbled on your early morning @delta flight ?? #curvemodel #plussize #plussizemodel #delta #travelstory ♬ original sound – Kate Kope
Many went the positive route and wrote affirming things about Kope.
“Did she watch your most recent workout video because body is teaaaaaa,” a fan gushed.
Kope didn’t respond to an email sent Thursday morning.
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