I recently traveled to Panama for a much needed vacation and on my way back, my friend and I were sitting next to each other in seats neither one of us could comfortably fit in. I was hanging off my seat into the aisle (which of course led to the stewardess constantly going ‘EXCUSE me’) and my friend actually had sore arms from having to hold them up so as not to infringe on her neighbors space. We were too big for our seats and it made the ride mildly humiliating, uncomfortable and frankly, annoying.

And we got off relatively unscathed. No one made a direct fuss about our size, probably because we can pass as “average” and if asked people ...