“Fat” Is Not An Offensive Word. Here Is Why.
Hey, you. Yeah, you, the person reading this article! You’re fat!
Now, here’s a quick question: did you flinch while reading that sentence? Did you frown, or perhaps even feel a sense of dread and offense beginning to pool in the pit of your stomach? If so, then congratulations! You, like most other people reading this article, probably view the word “fat” as an insult. Now, truthfully, I have no idea if you are fat or not. What I do know, however, is that the idea of “fat” being some horrifying, cruel word that is never to be uttered as a descriptor for another human being — unless you wish to go down in history as an evil monster, of course — is majorly dated. Not to mention, it is just plain incorrect.
Here’s why:
Did you know that ‘fat’ isn’t an offensive word? Seriously! It isn’t. When describing a fat person, you are not required to take a dramatic pause that runs longer than the Nile River through Egypt, only to then wrestle with yourself while racking your brain for some lame synonym to use in place of the word ‘fat.’
Love your body.
Simply using the word ‘fat’ is fine. Why is it fine, you may ask yourself? Well, because fat people are fat. Skinny people are skinny. Blue is a primary color, and the Earth is made of mostly water. These are all facts, each of them obvious in nature. Besides that sentiment, people are — for the most part — acutely aware of their own bodies and how they look on the outside. Every curve, every crease, and every rolling flap of freckled skin does not go unnoticed. Being fat is not offensive. So, describing someone as such is not offensive. Context is what matters most, when considering the word “fat.” If someone is using it as a plain descriptor, then it should not be seen as something immediately “offensive” or “wrong” to say aloud. It is merely a word, as well as a type of body, one that is actually quite common to have. Easy peasy, lemon squeezy.
However, that word has been used to ridicule and to shame and to embarrass men and women alike for having the bodies that they do. It is the mere implication of that word that makes us flinch. We have wrongfully made “fat” a synonym for “bad,” and “skinny” a synonym for “good.”
Therein lies the problem.
The issue here is not the word “fat.” Rather, it is the stigma surrounding it. So, let's squash the stigma!
The reality is, all bodies are good bodies, so long as they are healthy in nature. Being fat is not a clear indication of poor health. Being skinny is not an indication of excellent health, either. Healthy is not and never has been a body type. So, why do we often pretend that it is? Why should we pick apart bodies and the souls who live within them until they are aching? What do we as a society gain from that cruelty?
We gain nothing.
I for one believe that we should live life unafraid of being fat, or of saying fat, or of acknowledging that yes, some people are fat and yes, that makes them no less worthy or desirable as other people who are not fat.
Fat, fat, fat. Say that five times fast.
The sooner we normalize and take away the unnecessary, inherent fear that we as a society have built up around something as simple as a word — and a body type — the closer we’ll get to true body equality and positivity.
