Posts tagged fat

As a writer, I know how emotionally charged words can be. What was once simply a means to communicate has become a weapon of choice for many people. Words have the power to mar souls and bruise egos, turn relationships sour and alienate people. Take the words “nigger”, “intsik”, or “indio,” for example.

I have a Chinese friend who hates it when people refer to his race as “intsik” because back in the days, the Chinese were discriminated against by Filipinos. It was a dirty word used to denigrate his ancestors. It didn’t matter if the person who said “intsik” meant to be hurtful or not, it was just the act of saying it that was offensive to him.

I had another friend who quit his job as a head chef at a restaurant because his employer, who happened to be pure Spanish, became angry and called him an “indio.” If you didn’t know, the Philippines underwent 300 years of Spanish colonial rule. Filipinos, referred to as “indios” by the Spaniards, experienced all sorts of hardship and inhumane cruelty at the hands of the Spaniard.

Behind these words is a history; a painful history that involved dehumanization, cruelty, anger, hate and violence. No one ever dares say these words because they want to avoid bringing up that history and stirring those old feelings.

The same goes for the words “fat” and “thin.” If you’ve read this tumblr, you’ll know what I’m talking about and you’d be lying if you told me that those words meant nothing to you. At one time, or many times, in your life you may cringed and shrunk at the word “fat”, and beamed and glorified in the word “thin”. If you look at society, there exist stigmas and stereotypes behind these words, and we all find ways to connect ourselves to them.

Fill in the blanks, “If you’re fat you are ______, _______, ________, and _______.” or “If you are thin you are _________, _________, ________, and _________.” 

Now look at what you filled those blanks in with. See what I mean? These words, once used to communicate the way a person looks has now become determinants of who these people are. WRONG! ALL WRONG! The way I see things, words are just words. It’s all about how YOU put meaning to them.

“Fat” DOES NOT mean unhealthy, ugly, dumb, stupid, lazy, disgusting, repulsive, gluttonous, undisciplined, unattractive, retarded, idiotic, ridiculous, unworthy, undeserving, boring, uninteresting, dull, eyesore, sick.

“Thin” DOES NOT mean healthy, pretty, beautiful, radiant, admirable, respectable, worthy, valuable, intelligent, fun, interesting, vibrant, lovable, disciplined, powerful, inspiring, better, best.

They’re just words used to describe what a person looks like, but they are in NO WAY determinants of WHO THEY ARE. To be fat or thin does not mean you are any more or less human than the next person. It does not mean you are unworthy or undeserving of love, care, compassion, respect, kindness, generosity, mercy, forgiveness, happiness, fun, excitement, gentleness, satisfaction or contentment.

Whether you are 75lbs, 90 lbs, 100lbs, 120lbs, 130lbs, 200lbs or 250lbs, inside of you beats a heart and inside of you dwells a soul; there is a mind capable of thought and a conscience that feels. Whether you are fat or thin, you are still HUMAN and you are every bit as deserving and worthy of all the traits of the heart.