Why we should use word “fat”?

Photo by AllGo — An App For Plus Size People on Unsplash

Yesterday I found here on Medium article with a question in its title: Is it Okay to Call a Fat Person a Fat Person? Instead of giving a straightforward response, we were asked to reflect and discuss. So far article has over 90 comments with different perspectives, which is cool and shows how important is to keep discussing those topics. What I am missing, is the strong presence of the fat activist voice, and therefore I want to write this article, and tell you a bit more, about why we need to use the word “fat”.

Using the word fat is a political statement, it is a form of activism, it is about reclaiming the word which is a simple adjective like short, funny or colourful, but we, people gave it this special understanding that it is something shameful, ugly, lazy, and worthless. If we want to stop the silent and invisible discrimination, that fat bodies suffer daily, we must take over the negative power of this word.

Here are 5 reasons why, we should use the word fat:

1. Reclaiming the Narrative: The word “fat” has its historically negative connotations. By using it neutrally, we seek to empower individuals to embrace their bodies without shame or stigma.
2. Normalization of Diverse Body Types: Embracing “fat” as a neutral descriptor promotes the normalization of diverse body types. It challenges the societal norm that…