Woman's weight loss transformation has created wild interactions, thanks to her ID photo
“‘So, you used to be fat?’”
An odd case of keeping up appearances...
Hardly any of us feel waves of joy when whipping out our ID photo in all its poorly lit glory, but very rarely does it cause quite as many problems as it has for Alex McCartney. In a video recently shared to her TikTok, the Pilates instructor in training recalled two separate events in which looking different than her driver’s license image caused major headaches.
The first ordeal was at Trader Joe’s, as McCartney was attempting to purchase a bottle of wine. The cashier, who thought the image “looked like a completely different person,” ended up asking her to recite her birthday, address, and card issue date.
Understandably, McCartney had no earthly idea what the issue date was, and a manager had to be called up to get a second opinion. It's here that we learned McCartney had lost a bit of weight…enough to be completely unrecognizable it seems.
But wait, there’s more! Previously, McCartney had been on a date at a pub, and she found herself in the exact same situation when she tried to order a pitcher of beer, handed the bartender her ID, and the bartender asked someone else to verify it.
@alexmccartneyy Who really looks like their id anyways??? #hingedating #storytime #rant #id ♬ original sound - Alex McCartney
McCartney’s date had been curious as to why she received so much scrutiny for her photo, and the bartender chimed in with, “‘Yeah, I’m not gonna lie. She used to be a lot heavier in this photo.’” A bit embarrassed, McCartney tried to make light of it, confirming, “Yeeeeah I lost a little weight but I didn’t think I was unrecognizable.”
Apparently not picking up on any social cues, her date then says, “‘So, you used to be fat?’” And even though McCartney warned him that, “I’m not having fun in this conversation, like, this is not an enjoyable topic,” he still ended up making a few jabs, like making fun of her for ordering only one pizza slice instead of two. Needless to say, this date didn’t become a relationship.
Both of these fiascos led McCartney to offer this PSA: “Take this as a reminder that you should go get your ID photo changed.”
Seems like McCartney isn’t the only one to have dealt with this kind of issue. Quite a few folks shared their own not-so pleasant stories of seemingly getting punished for not matching their license photos—whether that be from weight loss, or simply looking older.
“I am also turning 30. My photo is from when I was 21. Someone at the grocery store literally said ‘wow, some things have changed since this photo.” LIKE MA’AM I DID NOT ASK FOR A COMMENT,” one person wrote,
Another added, “I quite literally had my real ID questioned because my hair was longer in my ID photo." As if haircuts do not exist.
It’s an interesting conundrum. Obviously, the employees in these scenarios are by and large just doing their job by questioning a person when they don't match their photo ID. However, what people are truly taking umbrage with is how it seems to open the doors for unsolicited criticism. As with this instance, even losing weight doesn’t protect you from body shaming remarks that just don’t feel good. Maybe we can take this as a reminder that commenting on someone's appearance—even on an outdated ID—can do more harm than good.