"I know what it feels like to carry a lot of weight in a society that's very image-conscious. It's a thin person's world, and we try to navigate within it without being made fun of"
About this Quote
The intent is protective. “I know what it feels like” isn’t just empathy; it’s credentialing. Smith positions himself as someone with standing to name the bias, not as a distant advocate. Calling it “a thin person’s world” is blunt to the point of discomfort, which is the point: it frames thinness as an unspoken passport rather than a personal virtue. The subtext is about social friction, not just aesthetics. “Navigate” suggests constant calculation - what you wear, how you sit, whether you eat on camera, how you anticipate a joke before it’s delivered. The phrase “without being made fun of” reveals the real threat: humiliation. Not medical concern, not “health,” but policing through ridicule.
Context matters: Smith rose in a ’90s-to-2000s media landscape where fatness was an easy punchline, even in supposedly progressive comedy. His career also unfolded under the camera’s harsh arithmetic - a director who became a visible character in his own fandom. The quote works because it shifts the gaze back to the audience and the system: if existing in your body feels like “navigation,” the environment is the problem.
Quote Details
| Topic | Equality |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Smith, Kevin. (2026, January 17). I know what it feels like to carry a lot of weight in a society that's very image-conscious. It's a thin person's world, and we try to navigate within it without being made fun of. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-know-what-it-feels-like-to-carry-a-lot-of-78830/
Chicago Style
Smith, Kevin. "I know what it feels like to carry a lot of weight in a society that's very image-conscious. It's a thin person's world, and we try to navigate within it without being made fun of." FixQuotes. January 17, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-know-what-it-feels-like-to-carry-a-lot-of-78830/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"I know what it feels like to carry a lot of weight in a society that's very image-conscious. It's a thin person's world, and we try to navigate within it without being made fun of." FixQuotes, 17 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-know-what-it-feels-like-to-carry-a-lot-of-78830/. Accessed 13 Feb. 2026.





