The journey from there to here
Or, why I don't mind being called "fat"
Published on December 2, 2007 By Gideon MacLeish In Misc

Locamama wrote an article about political correctness recently. The idea was that it was a good thing, and, of course, opinions of all stripes were offered. As a larger than average person, I have my own perspective, as obesity is one trait against which it is still politically correct to discriminate.

I don't want someone to come up with a "quaint" term to describe what I am. I am what I am, and that is FAT. A cutesy term doesn't change that fact, it doesn't change what I see when I look in the mirror, and most importantly, it does not change the perceptions people have towards me or the prejudices that often accompany those perceptions. All it does is put a "sanitary" label on it.

As a fat man, however, the offense isn't in the label, the offense is that anyone would see me as a fat man in the first place. Same with crippled, black, developmentally disabled, etc. The fact that people need to attach a label to describe who I am in any other context than describing me to police looking for my body or hunting me as a suspect in a crime is where the offense lies. All a "clean" label does is appease one's conscience.

I agree that in creating the idea of political correctness, someone somewhere thought they were doing some good in the world. But the irony of political correctness is that every time a new term must be invented, it calls attention once again to the differences and reminds people of those prejudices rather than simply allowing them to become a matter of course. And as the PC movement creates divisions within divisions for these labels, they further enhance the distinction.

I'd like to live in a world where we are called "people", and where adjectives arent necessary in creating a description. Becausde those adjectives are misleading. I, for instance, am African-American. I'm also Native American. I'm also Jewish American. Because of my ancestry, all of those labels could apply, and none of them would be misleading (making me think how fun it would be to play with the census man in 2010!). But while I am all of these things, I am also none of these things. But these labels, if I chose to apply them, would automatically create an artificial barrier to the fact that I'm human.

So, call me fat. Call me a gimp. Call me anything you choose. Because ultimately, if you see me as anything other than human, there's still a lot of work to do.


Comments
on Dec 02, 2007
I gotta agree with ya fat boy, the PC thing just perpetuates the problem instead of solving it.

By the way, I'm a little fatter than I ought to be and one of my favorite tee shirts to wear to a bar reads, on the back, "Ever ride a fat boy? Want to?"
on Dec 03, 2007

I'm a fat guy as well and I've learned to live with it.  I haven't heard anyone talk shit about me for the longest time, though.  Probably because I am capable of giving someone a thorough ass whippin' if I'm in a bad mood.

I certainly don't want to delve into that PC crazy shit.  Call me as you see me...although it's a little redundant...I mean, I know what I look like, but if anyone feels the need to point it out, well...whatever.  Making up some weird "non offensive" term isn't going to change anything.

~Zoo

on Dec 03, 2007
I think that PC was created so that the liberal elite could still judge people while claiming to be open minded and care about people.
on Dec 03, 2007
Calling you fat is not some deep social or psychological means of "separation". It's simply a function of language. Humans have a need to label everything because we base our entire society on language. (it's the only way we know how to communicate with others)

You're "fat" because, yes, you are different than the majority.....so there's a need to call it "fat". Inside our minds, we can understand that there's very little difference between average weight people and fat people......but in language, we need to differenciate.

When people actually *DO* think of the word "fat" as being negative, it's usually because of the connotations attached to it.....lazy.....not caring for one's self, etc. I think it's common that the people who take offense to words like "fat", are the ones to whom the negative connotations apply.
on Dec 03, 2007
The only time you're fat is when giving the physical description.
on Dec 03, 2007

I think that PC was created so that the liberal elite could still judge people while claiming to be open minded and care about people.


Bingo!
on Dec 03, 2007
I think that PC was created so that the liberal elite could still judge people while claiming to be open minded and care about people.


I agree...some years back, when the move "The Other Sister" came out, one of my clients and I were discussing a movie review by Roger Ebert that we'd seen. In the review, Ebert panned the actors because they didn't "act" like they were developmentally disabled.

My client wrinkled his nose and said "what do developmentally disabled people ACT like anyway. We all act differently, just like anyone else!"

Seems to me the REAL retard in this case was the one who wrote the movie review!
on Dec 03, 2007
I, for instance, am African-American. I'm also Native American. I'm also Jewish American. Because of my ancestry, all of those labels could apply, and none of them would be misleading


They are, all of them, utterly misleading - because none of the above mentioned categories take precedence over the fact that you are an American citizen. They're useful categories only in the sense that they can provide information as to how you label yourself. Other than that all such labels and stereotypes are nothing more than markers for which American ghetto you think you belong in.

You're an African - American? If I could I'd drop you, and everyone else who uses that ridiculous phrase, into the heart of Africa and leave you there. You'd be dead within 12 hours. Because what you actually are is a fat American used to all the comforts and conveniences of American society, and you know as much about Africa as I do about the far side of the Moon.

You're right in one way though. Political correctness is the sanitising of language to avoid offense to others - but not because offending others is wrong in itself. The motive is simply to avoid causing outrage that leads to a lawsuit. And the odd thing is that since the advent of this sanitised language, everybody appears to be outraged by something.

Sanitising language doesn't lead to less offense, it increases the number of ways in which offense can be caused by drawing ever finer distinctions in language, distinctions which must be observed from then on. And the people who profit are the damnable lawyers.
on Dec 03, 2007

You're "fat" because, yes, you are different than the majority.....so there's a need to call it "fat". Inside our minds, we can understand that there's very little difference between average weight people and fat people......but in language, we need to differenciate.

Just to be pedantic I'd like to point out that approximately 2/3 of north American adults are considered overweight. Of course that isn't an exact ratio and it does change considerably depending on which study/metric you want to go by, but anyway you look at it, as a society we're a bunch o' fatties.

Why hasn't this been accepted as the norm? Because TV is full of photogenic younguns with hard bodies and toothy grins. We go by the metric that's pushed on us everyday to accept as the norm. The reason why heavier people aren't accepted as that norm is because people are mostly isolated from the world and never get to see each other save for a relatively small circle, and so only have TV to go on as a measurement of normality. Think about it- we live encased in cocoon like homes, apartments or condos. Then we cocoon ourselves in a car on our way to work, where we are then cocooned in a building (most of us) all day. The average person doesn't spend much time outdoors and the idea of public commons has been replaced with shopping malls and the odd football game (for those who have the time and money) so for the average joe to get a real exposure to the majority of those around them is actually something that very few of us get to experience any more! Of course there's the bar, though, which remains one of the few socially acceptable mingling activities of the masses. And of course alcohol is also healthy and helps us lose weight, right? Right??!

 

on Dec 03, 2007
So what is the PC term for " the only Red~Headed, Blue~Eyed, Freckle~Faced, Left~Handed, Colorblind, Guitar Teachin', Harpoon Blowin', LDS, Disabled Vet on the Net"? :~D
on Dec 03, 2007
So what is the PC term for " the only Red~Headed, Blue~Eyed, Freckle~Faced, Left~Handed, Colorblind, Guitar Teachin', Harpoon Blowin', LDS, Disabled Vet on the Net"? :~D


ParaTed2k ...... that is it.
on Dec 03, 2007
if you see me as anything other than human, there's still a lot of work to do.


Well said...

I am thin. Always have been and, by the looks of things, always will be. But society doesn't look at me differently. One of my closest friends has a thyroid problem which means he is very large. His experiences, however, are completely different to mine. He has been abused on the street, had names yelled at him from passing cars, small children pointing and starring, and more besides.

It is not his fault he is large any more than it is my fault I'm thin. It simply is the way things are. Anyone that can't see beyond the body to the person beneath is obviously shallow and undeservant of my time or attention.