This summer I had the wonderful opportunity to assistant direct a children’s show. It was an ideal summer job for me, and I walked away with not only mounds of experience but also numerous little anecdotes. Children have a way of opening your eyes to things you may have not thought about before, and the kids in my show were no exception.
I had a child with autism cast in my show, and he was one of the sweetest boys I had ever met. Let’s call him “Andrew.” When asked a question, he would answer candidly, with very little filter.
One day a heavyset girl in my show ran up to me, pulled me aside, and said, “Miss Wendy, ‘Andrew’ just called me fat!”
When I pressed for details on the incident, the girl informed me that Andrew had called her a “pretty, fat girl.” This was a hard situation. I couldn’t tell Andrew the girl wasn’t fat; she was.
The only thing I could do was explain to him that there are some characteristics that people prefer not to be mentioned. I explained that “the f-word” (fat) offends a lot of people, and he should refrain from calling people fat.
But, then, what is the politically correct term for people who are fat? Overweight? Big? Round?
I’m in no way abdicating bullying; I’m speaking mostly about a physical description of someone. Whenever describing people’s body types, there are certain words we dance around, and “fat” is one of those words.
Why? When did “fat” become the new f-word? Some words are just that, words. While some can cut like knives, but some of those same words can be used effectively to paint a mental picture of someone’s appearance.
According to Webster’s dictionary, “fat” is defined as: notable for having an unusual amount of fat. Isn’t that an appropriate word, then, for describing someone larger than average?
What I am asking is, what is the appropriate way to describe someone weighs more than the medically considered healthy weight for their height? I’d really like to know what is considered offensive, and what is not.
There are some people who are proud of their size, and flaunt it; they have no fear of any of those words. But this attitude doesn’t send the right message to people either, especially children.
The fact that no one can deny is that being larger is not healthy; it has negative impacts on your skeletal system as well as your internal organs and circulatory system. It is an increasing problem in our country, and causes a slew of health risks.
It’s not a healthy choice, but it is everyone’s right to make healthy choices or to not.
So we’ll continue to tiptoe around those words.
Wendy Morell is the opinion editor of The Reflector. She can be contacted at [email protected].