Why the word “FAT” is not an insult

I know, I know some of you are thinking, “ Um yea that’s an insult” or “Being FAT is bad” well I’m here as a fellow “FAT” person myself that the word “FAT”is nothing more then an adjective. When I was younger growing up overweight I would recoil at the word, it felt as if some one had punched me in the chest. I mean that’s valid as I am chronically ill and morbidly obese - well that’s what my medical records say of course . In my experience it took me years to deconstruct the negative connotations associated with the word FAT. Yes Fatphobia is everywhere and I’m sure there are people who still find offense in the word And that’s valid.

I am trying to help others see that the word “Fat” is nothing but an adjective it doesn’t define who you are only simply describing you’re outward appearance which can be changed with the help of some lifestyle changes. Don’t let society bring you down. It’s three letters. Three little letters that are simply an adjective. Remember you can be Fat and healthy , you can be fat and happy, Being Fat is not a bad word.

I have an example of a what caused me to look at the word fat a bit differently.

“ About 2 years ago long before I lost mobility in my legs (nothing to do with weight, it’s neurological) I had to go to the phone store with my fiancé who was just my boyfriend at the time, mind you my fiancé and his family are not from this area, unlike myself who was born and raised here. It was sort of a random outing Amd it was 4th of July and it was hot. So little did I know the phone store that he chose was inside the mall and I was wearing shorts and T-shirt. I was very uncomfortable because at this time I also gained a bunch of weight. I didn’t have anything but my cane at the time and I said okay I’ll give it a try, So I try to walk through the mall but I couldn’t do it so we walked back out and started googling for another store and we found one and at that given moment I was beating myself up for being too “fat” and other really mean words I don’t want or need to repeat. As we were approaching the car we noticed there was a BMW parked so close to the passenger door there was no way I could get in without damaging the BMW . So my fiancé told the guy in the drivers seat “hey can you please pull out just a bit so she can get in you’re parked super close to our car” and at the time I was beating my self up and was just not okay. The only thing I didn’t know that the guy had a female passenger in the car with him who then decided it was a good idea to tell me “ lose some weigh you FAT b***” even though not even a tiny child could get through the space and of course my fiancé goes into defense mode and they leave.

after that evening , my mother in law gave me the best advice ever. She goes “ yes you are Fat, that’s just reality. yes, you are fat but thats just an adjective. it doesn’t define you and you’re fat, that’s the current description of you’re body but that doesn’t mean that being called fat is inherently bad. It’s all about perspective.

For example the picture above I have of the cat passed out by a cup of coffee, he’s cute right? Then why is it that we can see a fat animal and think oh it’s cute but with ourselves or others it’s all the sudden deemed uncute and unwanted, can you kinda see where I’m going with this? Just because you are “fat” does not mean you are ugly or even unhealthy it’s just simply an adjective.

*disclaimer*

This article in no way is promoting obesity but instead helping de stigmatize being overweight and helping others exist in a world that’s fueled with body shaming and diet culture as well as fat phobia especially in medicine.