starksexual:

lastofthetimeladies:

GUYS.

HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO REITERATE THIS.

FAT IS NOT A BAD THING.

FAT IS A STATEMENT OF FACT.

“You’re not fat! You’re prett - “

#stop #seriously #S T O P #your continual reassertion that you don’t think i’m fat/you think i’m pretty is ACTUALLY HURTING MY FEELINGS #i know you mean well but JESUS #HOW IS ANY FAT GIRL (and we’re not even talking about me here) GOING TO ACCEPT HERSELF IF PEOPLE ARE CONSTANTLY SAYING #’you’re not fat you’re pretty’ #HOW #because you know what that phrase does? #it equates fatness to ugliness #and beyond that it perpetuates the societal belief that fat = useless and lazy and BAD #fat ≠ ugly #fat ≠ any measure of beauty #fat ≠ any measure of worth #fat = a fucking observation that one carries more weight on their body #STOP MAKING THAT SOUND LIKE FAT IS A BAD THING #FAT ISN’T A GOOD THING OR A BAD THING #IT’S JUST A THING #PLEASE JUST #STOP

Well, if anyone were to ever say to me, “you’re not fat; you’re pretty,” or any variant of the phrase “you’re pretty” for that matter, I wouldn’t complain. However, the mass of tags above me do carry a decent point.

“Fat” has become a word charged with social and emotional meaning. To equate fatness with ugliness is the same as equating tallness or brown hair or high voices or big feet with ugliness: it’s silly and leads to unhealthy things like shame and foot-binding and eating disorders. It should be an observation, but it’s become an insult—a one-word insult. Fat. Even when describing inanimate objects—the fats and oils themselves—it sounds rather pejorative: though omega-3 fatty acids are sometimes considered a beneficial thing, the name sounds repulsive. Why would you want a “fatty” acid? Why would you want any other fat in your diet? It sounds so…nasty. And yet it’s just a classification of molecular structure. They’re triglycerides—three fatty acids ester-linked to a glycerol molecule. That’s it.

Look at that thing. Is that what we equate with ugliness? No, that would be preposterous and stupid. It’s a group of atoms. It falls into the category of “Fat” because of its structure. 

Look at that person’s weight. Is that what we equate with ugliness? No, that would be preposterous and stupid. He or she is a group of atoms. He or she falls into the category of “Fat” because of his or her structure.

“Fat” is simply a word describing structure, whether on the microscopic or the macroscopic scale. “Ugly” is another insult, but, rather than describe the objective scale or structure of an object, it denotes an emotional or chemical reaction from the observer regarding the subject; it’s completely subjective. Thus, “fat” and “ugly” cannot be equated with logical means.  

 I’d like to be able to use the word “fat” without leaving the nasty rancor of insult on my tongue. Until then, however, I’ll just rely on other observations to describe myself and others.