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| Drawing by Natalie Perkins |
FAT.
F.A.T.
How did a term for excess adipose tissue become a swear word?
I was called fat, to my face, by a little girl today. No big thing, because guess what? I am fat. It's a descriptive term, like someone telling me I have brown hair. Yes, and...?
I handled it like a boss. I just said, "I know. People come in all different shapes and sizes." Then walked away while her mother, who thought telling me "She says it to me all the time" was somehow relevant, tried to make her daughter apologize.
The mother seemed more upset than I did. Of course, when I walked away and started straightening up around the store, I started to become more and more bothered. It felt like my integrity or intelligence, things that hold much more importance to me than the size of my butt, had been insulted. Tears brimmed my eyes as I stared into the frame I was shifting around.
Then I became angry at myself for even beginning to feel that way.
WHY? Why was I getting upset at something a four year-old, who can barely tell the difference between carrots and orange crayons, had said?
I realized later on my drive home, it was because the word 'fat' has become a dirty word. A cruel slur to be hurled as an offense. Modern society has demonized the word in the same fashion in which they have ostracized the plus-size woman. It's gotten to a point where it feels like for anybody who is overweight it's open season to criticize and explain how they are living their lives incorrectly. Never forget Marie Claire Blog-gate 2010.
I felt upset because the little girl wasn't using the word as a descriptor, it was like she was repeating a bad word she heard one of her parents say.
There is an expansive Internet lead revolution going on right now about people, mostly women, trying to reclaim the word 'fat' and to restore it's original definition: an excess of adipose tissue. They are body size acceptance activists. In essence, size acceptance is the belief that all people, thin or fat, deserve dignity and respect. It isn't about approving of anyone's lifestyle but respecting their human rights. Most size acceptance activists encourage healthy habits, body positivity and celebrate diversity for all sizes, races and cultures.
It's far from easy to just flip the switch and wake up tomorrow perfectly happy and comfortable in my body, but it is a change I am trying to make. I'm trying to stop shaming my body and am instead trying to celebrate it. I think the healthy habits that WW teaches, eating good and filling foods and exercise, are a helpful start. I think learning how to respect my body and my relationship with food and exercise will help me open up to my own body reclamation.
F.A.T.
How did a term for excess adipose tissue become a swear word?
I was called fat, to my face, by a little girl today. No big thing, because guess what? I am fat. It's a descriptive term, like someone telling me I have brown hair. Yes, and...?
I handled it like a boss. I just said, "I know. People come in all different shapes and sizes." Then walked away while her mother, who thought telling me "She says it to me all the time" was somehow relevant, tried to make her daughter apologize.
The mother seemed more upset than I did. Of course, when I walked away and started straightening up around the store, I started to become more and more bothered. It felt like my integrity or intelligence, things that hold much more importance to me than the size of my butt, had been insulted. Tears brimmed my eyes as I stared into the frame I was shifting around.
Then I became angry at myself for even beginning to feel that way.
WHY? Why was I getting upset at something a four year-old, who can barely tell the difference between carrots and orange crayons, had said?
I realized later on my drive home, it was because the word 'fat' has become a dirty word. A cruel slur to be hurled as an offense. Modern society has demonized the word in the same fashion in which they have ostracized the plus-size woman. It's gotten to a point where it feels like for anybody who is overweight it's open season to criticize and explain how they are living their lives incorrectly. Never forget Marie Claire Blog-gate 2010.
I felt upset because the little girl wasn't using the word as a descriptor, it was like she was repeating a bad word she heard one of her parents say.
There is an expansive Internet lead revolution going on right now about people, mostly women, trying to reclaim the word 'fat' and to restore it's original definition: an excess of adipose tissue. They are body size acceptance activists. In essence, size acceptance is the belief that all people, thin or fat, deserve dignity and respect. It isn't about approving of anyone's lifestyle but respecting their human rights. Most size acceptance activists encourage healthy habits, body positivity and celebrate diversity for all sizes, races and cultures.
It's far from easy to just flip the switch and wake up tomorrow perfectly happy and comfortable in my body, but it is a change I am trying to make. I'm trying to stop shaming my body and am instead trying to celebrate it. I think the healthy habits that WW teaches, eating good and filling foods and exercise, are a helpful start. I think learning how to respect my body and my relationship with food and exercise will help me open up to my own body reclamation.
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