Comments on: Dear Media

By: Fat is a macronutrient, not a sin: Act Three at Hoyden About Town

Fat is a macronutrient, not a sin: Act Three at Hoyden About Town — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 18:15:57 +0000

[...] But it’s not. Fat is a descriptor or a nutrient, and it’s value-neutral. It’s not a disease, and it’s not a poison. For every negative connotation of greed and greasiness, there is a positive one. Bountiful. Ample. Abundant. The richness of the marrow. The fat of the land. (This has been discussed as an ongoing theme at Shapely Prose.) [...]

By: chickenstar

chickenstar — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 22:56:43 +0000

Who uses fat to mean “mentally ill”? Besides, having a mental illness is no worse than being fat. It’s just a trait that some people have and other people are critical of.

By: Muse142

Muse142 — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 18:57:08 +0000

To RedQueen, who won’t “date dumb or poor”…

You won’t date a poor person?

Poor does not equate to “lazy”, “stupid”, or “selfish”, as anyone with a passion for a low-paying field (social work, nursing, much research science, etc) will tell you. And even if a person does work a typical blue-collar hard labor job, it doesn’t mean a damn thing. I hope that no one here rejects possible romantic partners for nothing more than their earning potential.

Rawr.

By: Lexy

Lexy — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 17:52:16 +0000

So I don’t really have anything to add except a funny story from last week.

I was out with a girl from my office and we were talking about birth control, and I told her that I’ve been on Depo Provera since I was 17, she asked if I had any side effects and I shrugged and said “I think it might be why I’m fat” she’s like “you’re not fat at all, you must weight like, 130lbs?”

At which point I LAUGHED and laughed and was barely able to squeak out “try 190″

It just goes to show how little concept people have of what a particular weight looks like… people look at me and don’t think I weight close to 200 lbs because 200 lbs is ZOMG SO FAT AND UNHEELTHEEEEE. But I am… so… there.

By: fillyjonk

fillyjonk — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 12:21:02 +0000

Lynne, that totally sounds like an Aunt Fattie question to me! It’s a good one, so we might as well bring it to the top and let everyone weigh in.

By: Lynne

Lynne — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 11:50:58 +0000

Meowser, that’s a good suggestion. My concern isn’t offending the thin folks, either, but maybe fat folks who aren’t comfortable with the reclamation of the word (yet?). I also don’t think that *all* thin people uncomfortable with the word personally fear fat like it’s the worst thing ever. Some are genuinely sensitive to how stigmatized it is and want to be compassionate, but they aren’t sure how, so they avoid the word (and the subject) to avoid making anyone *else* feel bad.

In any case, I was thinking of situations where fatness is the subject of conversation, rather than just identifying people by a certain characteristic. I don’t think I generally say, ‘Oh, she’s the fat one!’ though clearly, I could do that. :)

By: Becky

Becky — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 05:01:40 +0000

Bras are the one thing for women that, theoretically, have a standard sizing. 34″ is 34″, 40″ is 40″, etc. And yet, even still, when I tried on bras in my new size, some were too snug and some were too loose. Measuring tape = NOT COMPLICATED. Argh.

I know, right? I normally wear a 36″ band but I’ve tried on bras in that size that are way too loose in the band even on the tightest setting, and bras in that size that I can’t even do up on the largest setting. They’re supposed to all be 36″! So yeah, I don’t think going to a clothing size based on waist measurement would solve anything. Just because it says the waistband measures 40″ doesn’t mean it actually will.

By: Moonlight0806

Moonlight0806 — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 04:43:59 +0000

To Red Queen and mshell67 . I have been on the thin side my whole life. But despite my actual size i have days where i feel horribly ugly. On those days I may say derogatory things about myself. I try desperately hard to keep the fat talk to a minimum because i don’t think society needs my help solidifying its fat phobia, and i understand that people larger than me may take it as an insult, but sometimes on an ugly day I just need to vent. But i would like you to know that on those days i am not comparing myself to the others around me in any way meant to bring others down, So maybe it can be a compromise. I will keep my bitching about my size to a minimum in consideration of your feelings, and on the really bad days where i need to vent i hope you can give me some slack and understand that i just need a kind word and possibly a hug.

And of course i mean this as a theoretical proposition, not literally about me and you, but as a truce between females everywhere. I think the understanding has to go both ways.

By: Meowser

Meowser — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 04:25:45 +0000

Lynne, it’s great that you are thinking about this stuff, but personally *I* don’t mind if you call fat people “fat.” I mean, we’re trying to redefine the idea that the word itself is a pejorative, no more so than “short” or “bald,” so I don’t think that applies any less to you than it does to anyone else. But it’s interesting that it’s probably thin people who’d have the biggest “gasp” reaction to you saying the word, like, “that’s not nice!” But if you just can’t, hey, you could always just describe a fat person by some other physical characteristic of theirs, like, “the one with that really cool hat,” or, “pink-haired Jennifer.”

By: Bekbek

Bekbek — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 04:01:46 +0000

I have liked the term obese since I started saying it wrong. Old beast. As in ” I was a morbid old beast, but I starting my summer bike riding and now I’m just a boring old beast.” I’m doing a series of paintings and drawings of “morbid old beasts”. When my magical BMI skooches into overweight it’s disappointing, since I haven’t come up with a fun way to screw around with that word, except the “over who’s weight?’ question.