I always appreciate your comments because they invariably add nuance. Yes, people can certainly have a preference or a type. Presumably, the larger men who went to the dances you described were there of their own free will and so it was being done consensually, but as Rachael said in her story, feeling like someone only likes you because you are fat doesn't feel good. If you are putting yourself out there as a person who just happens to be fat, and the person who is interested in you is primarily honed in on that, and not the rest of you, I think that's where the problem arises.

Presumably, if someone is actually in a relationship with someone, and not just engaged in a passing hook-up, they like more about them then just that one preferred characteristic.