A plus-size model has bowled over a fat-shaming bowling alley in a landmark legal ruling that says they discriminated against her because of her size.
Sofia Ortiz, 26, was left humiliated at the entrance of the nightspot in Mar del Plata, a resort city on Argentina’s Atlantic coast, on a girls’ night out with friends.
When they arrived at the popular venue, all of the girls were given wrist passes and let in, except Sofia who was told to wait.
Staff at the Bruto club checked her reservation and reportedly kept her waiting for half an hour as her friends started the celebration without her.
The bowling alley let her four friends in but made her wait to one side while other people continued to be allowed in, she said.
Eventually, her furious friends stormed out of the bowling alley and took humiliated Sofia to another venue.
Now, nearly three years later, Sofia has won a complaint she filed with the Argentine government’s discrimination watchdog INADI, the National Institute Against Discrimination, Xenophobia and Racism.
Sofia hailed the ruling as “an achievement”, adding: “It is the first time they have ruled in favour of obesity discrimination.”
But she warned: “Let us keep in mind that there are many complaints, not just mine.”
Despite her victory, Sofia said it should not have taken so long and she is dismayed that the bowling alley bosses escaped unpunished.
She said: “I am distressed that too much time has passed, the ruling was late.
“If there was a punishment or something, or someone who said it couldn’t be done and that it should be done, it would be different.”
Sofia, now expecting a baby, told how the fat shaming sent her into a spiral of depression.
She said: “When that happened to me, I entered a hole where I didn’t know what to do. I had several very difficult days.
“I didn’t have bulimia, but my mind made me want to vomit every time I ate.
“I lost a couple of kilos because of that, but then I gained twice as much.
“It affected me a lot because I had been undergoing psychological treatment.”
Even three years later Sofia is reluctant to go to high-profile venues because she is terrified of being rejected.
She said: “I don’t want to go to some places for fear that the same thing will happen.
“I don’t like to frequent those places. The owners of the places invited me, but I have that fear. It is not that the place generates that, it is that I am afraid.”
Sofia said she hopes more can be done by INADI and other organisations to help victims of discrimination, like providing victims with legal representation.
