Calling people obese is more abusive and hateful than telling them they're fat. People need to control what goes out of their mouths and the slurs they use. Too many people are fatphobic and discriminatory against big-boned individuals. Being called obese is annoying, embarrassing, and tough to hear. I am a Fat-Affirming Dietician w/ a Ph.D. and I can positively tell you that having excessive body weight is NOT a choice.
So I ask all of you to be more considerate of your words and not to be fatphobic because fat lives do matter!
I know you're only goofing around but nevertheless I'll bite because the sentiments you express may be sincerely held by some people in the world...
Obesity is a widely recognised medical term. Indeed, clinical obesity is categorised as a disease by some organisations. Pretending the word 'obese' is a hateful slur is akin to pretending that 'jaundice' is a hateful slur.
If I were fat, I think I'd find Orwellian euphemisms like 'plus-sized' or 'big-boned' far more offensive (or at least more irritating) than straightforward and accurate language. It's like that old George Carlin routine, isn't it? You know the one? The one about 'shell shock' morphing into Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder?
Changing to softer, more circuitous language doesn't alter the reality of the condition.
Well, maybe it is a term we should consider changing. It's a crude and very offensive word to people of a healthier nature. Calling a person that is thicker than you obese isn't any different than calling the Washington football team Redskins or using a pancake syrup that represents a stereotype that is premised on the idea of Black inferiority and otherness.
Several medical terms have been changed because people came to see them as slurs, such as "retard", "mongoloid", or "hysteria". Medical terminology changes over time, because of fashion, or changes in thinking.
If people want to waste their lives railing against a medically descriptive word, it won't be the first time.
Fat people mostly just don't want to be dehumanized because of their size, you know, just like regular people don't want to be dehumanized based on anything regarding their appearance. Calling them obese may be factual to their existence, but if you're saying it to their face out of spite to bully them, as if they don't already know their own weight, then yes it can be demeaning, just like calling a bald person bald, for example. Bald people know they're bald, so there's no need to point it out unless you are in fact their physician and it relates to their health.
The problem lies within the system. Systemic fat phobia tries to weigh down larger happier people. I'll feel much SAFER when I can order food inside a restaurant instead of having to order through the drive-thru because of judgment and discrimination.
Whenever I go to Mcdonald's I like to order a Big Mac combo meal with extra Big Mac sauce, Double Quarter Pounder with Cheese combo meal, 2 Deluxe Crispy Chicken sandwiches w/ BBQ sauce, never spicey because spicey food gives me heartburn, and 3 Apple Pies with a Carmel Sundae on the side. Everything is super-sized with diet cokes of course.
I can't tell if you're being facetious or not, but I don't know if I agree that systemic fatphobia has anything to do with feeling safe enough to order food from McDonalds. I don't know anyone who feels unsafe ordering food from McDonalds, regardless of weight.
In light of all that you have stated police shootings affect the plus-sized community substantially more than heart disease since we are both bigger targets and have a harder time running away.
I'm not sure who you think I am, but I can assure you I am not them. I am not here to offend or fight with any members of this forum. Even if you disagree with my introduction, it is not necessary to use violence or hateful words. One can only conclude both of you have deep seeded ill feelings toward plus-sized people.
The heavier community isn't any different than you. We have emotions and feelings that can be hurt just like any other human. No need for name-calling. Once again, I apologize if I offended you.
If you took my post as mocking larger people then maybe the problem is within yourself. Your reply comes off as very discriminatory and fatphobic. I made a promise to never stop standing up against fatphobic people, but my ankles hurt a little so I’m going to sit down for now.