Take Back the Fat

A response to a post at Fierce, Freethinking Fatties about reclaiming the word "fat."

Just like gay people reclaiming the word "queer."  I say, yes!

I don't mind being called fat, as long as it's said in a factual manner rather than in a sneering way. I'm fat, I'm middle-aged, I'm medium height, I have long hair. All of these things are simple facts. None of them is "good" or "bad."

I do despise the word "obese." It's such an awful word. It implies "unhealthy." I am a healthy fat person. I have fibromyalgia so I do have to choose my workouts a little more carefully lest I feel like I've been run over by a truck for a week, but I do my own aqua aerobic workouts in the therapy pool at work, and I walk a LOT on my job. I do not have type II diabetes, high blood pressure, or heart disease. And in my line of work (caring for the elderly) I notice that these diseases occur equally as often in slender or average weight individuals. Ergo, they are primarily AGE RELATED diseases, in my opinion.

Larger people are more prone to arthritis in the lower extremities. Very slender people are more prone to problems with osteoporosis. Everyone has certain issues. But it should not be automatically assumed that a large person is unhealthy or that he or she doesn't exercise.