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Fat is typically seen as a negative thing. For some, it’s the worst word they can be called.
I have always been overweight pretty much my whole life. No matter what word you use, I’m fat. Honestly, that’s all there is to it. So why am I afraid of a word that literally defines me?
We assign negative values to the word fat, which effectively targets and alienates a large portion of our population. The average woman in America is a size 14 or above. If the average woman is seen as fat and gross, what am I as a person who is several sizes above that?
Fat. I am fat, and I’m taking time now to reclaim that word.
Yes, I’m also pretty, intelligent, funny and beautiful (humble brag over), but I’m all of those things in addition to being fat. None of that is mutually exclusive.
I’ve been on a journey for the past year or so of self-acceptance and self-love. A lot of that involved getting more into spirituality and other woo-woo and magickal things. I believe that part of my journey was important, but I recently discovered I was missing something big without realizing it.
Recently, I’ve been in a bit of a backpedal. I’ve gotten lost again. It took me a while to realize and admit that, but here I am. So, I turned to an endless source of resources and inspiration: books. I browsed some books at Barnes and Noble and checked out a lot of books from our local library on witches, spirituality, etc., to help me figure out how to get back on my right track again.
I loved some books; I ended up not reading others because I just didn’t vibe with them anymore.
Then one day I was browsing for new podcasts on Spotify and found one called She’s All Fat. First of all, I used to love the movie “She’s All That,” so I was immediately intrigued by the title. But then I felt a part of myself recoil at the blatant use of the word fat in the title.
I am fat, but I was ashamed at seeing that word being used in an honest, open, not shameful way. Yowza.
My instinct told me to start listening to it, and I’m so glad that I did. The show features Sophie and April, two friends who discuss a variety of topics, including feminism, fat narratives in the media, the difference between body positivity and self-love, privilege, race and so much more. I have learned a lot, laughed a lot and reexamined my views on a few topics based on their discussions.
After listening to a few episodes, I decided to start supporting them on Patreon so they can keep doing this very important, necessary and helpful podcast.
Their frank discussions about being fat, what that means in our world today and people who own their bodies regardless of size all helped me to come to terms with my body.
So yes, I am fat. My body is larger than that of most of my friends and family members. But so what?
I’m sick of “fat” being used as a hush term to make others feel ashamed for taking up space. Everyone deserves to take up space in the word, regardless of their body weight.
I believe the next part of my journey of self-discovery is delving deeper into body positivity and figuring out how I can honor myself and other people, as well as be an ally to everyone who’s struggling in their own body positivity journeys.
My content on here may look a little different in the future. I still want to talk about my favorite items, self-love, self-care and some spirituality, but I also want to dive deeper into the topic of fat and how it shows up in pop culture, media and the world in general. I will do more book reviews, TV show and movie reviews, share more of my favorite resources where people can learn more, etc. I don’t have an exact game plan yet, but I feel like this is the direction I’m supposed to be following right now.
Being fat has always defined me. Now I’m taking back that word and learning how to help others do the same.
