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Why the term “obese” is a slur, a thread:
As defined by google: “grossly fat or overweight”
“But hey, wait, isn’t obese just a medical term? How can a medical term be a slur?”
Allow me to shed some light on the subject.
Allow me to shed some light on the subject.
Symptoms of obesity: “occurs when a person’s body mass index is 30 or greater”
The term is based entirely on the concept of BMI, an outdated and extremely generalized way to categorize bodies based on body fat content.
The term is based entirely on the concept of BMI, an outdated and extremely generalized way to categorize bodies based on body fat content.
Not only was the BMI based primarily around white bodies, it also regularly categorizes athletes as overweight, and according to this scale would place them “in worse shape than a sedentary person” https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/is-bmi-an-accurate-way-to-measure-body-fat/
“Researchers found that 54 million Americans had been classed as overweight or obese, but with further investigation, they found that other cardiometabolic measures (blood pressure, blood sugar, cholesterol, etc.) showed they were actually perfectly healthy.”
“Another 21 million people were classed as "normal" in terms of BMI but were later determined to be unhealthy based again on those other cardiometabolic measures.”
“So okay, the word ‘obese’ is based upon outdated medical inaccuracies. Why isn’t it okay to use it though? It’s just a category to place bodies in right?”
Wrong.
“(This) study found the language that health care providers use when discussing their patients’ body weight can reinforce stigma, reduce motivation for weight loss, and potentially lead to avoidance of future medical appointments,” https://medicine.yale.edu/news-article/6382/
“(This) study found the language that health care providers use when discussing their patients’ body weight can reinforce stigma, reduce motivation for weight loss, and potentially lead to avoidance of future medical appointments,” https://medicine.yale.edu/news-article/6382/
Another sample from the article above:
“The word ‘obese’ is a medical word, but it has so many bad connotations that I never use that word with my patients.”
“The word ‘obese’ is a medical word, but it has so many bad connotations that I never use that word with my patients.”
“Likewise, Dr. Bell says he would not use the term ‘morbidly obese’ with patients, even though it is an insurance classification. ‘It’s not politically correct, it’s almost redundant, and I don’t care for the term,’ he says
Classifying a person by weight does not end with that word/classification. It seeps into every other aspect of life (emphasis on the word “grossly” in the first definition of obese).
It affects self-worth, desire-ability, trust in non-fat people, trust in doctors.
It affects self-worth, desire-ability, trust in non-fat people, trust in doctors.
It brings up non-fat people’s assumptions of low morals, poor self-control, little motivation, perceived laziness, poor hygiene, low intelligence, and entitlement.
None of which is universal to all folks categorized by the BMI scale as “obese”
None of which is universal to all folks categorized by the BMI scale as “obese”
Poor perception of the self affects someone’s desire to live healthily.
It affects the way an interviewer for a job sees a fat person, because our society has trained us to link fatness to little motivation and poor work ethic. Need I explain why this is problematic?
It affects the way an interviewer for a job sees a fat person, because our society has trained us to link fatness to little motivation and poor work ethic. Need I explain why this is problematic?
“But why then do you use the word ‘fat’ and not obese, aren’t those the same?”
And to that i point to you, the definition of “fat” is quite literally a medical term.
And to that i point to you, the definition of “fat” is quite literally a medical term.
This is not to say that there aren’t larger bodies who still take issue with being called fat and so refuse to use it, it’s a word we as a society often choose to see negatively or as an insult to fling at larger bodies.
However an increasing number of people are reclaiming the term “fat” as its origins are very different than the origins of “obese”
I personally see “fat” as a literal physical descriptor for myself and have worked hard to release the shame around the term.
I personally see “fat” as a literal physical descriptor for myself and have worked hard to release the shame around the term.
But the term “obese,” coming again from that outdated concept of body mass index (BMI) is an invisible categorization that has lasting social and emotional impact on the people who are labeled as such.
Therefore, when fat folks tell you that a word specifically and repeatedly used (especially outside of medical environments) to degrade and dehumanize is a slur, you don’t get to argue against that fact.
If you haven’t suffered social stigma from living in a large body, you decide absolutely nothing about how large bodies choose to include or exclude words that have specifically been used to describe us.
And just as women may opt against using words like “bitch” or “cunt” or gay people, black people, Jewish people, etc may opt against using slurs from their social degradation and history of oppression, fat people are allowed to use OUR words however we damn well choose to.
Fat hate is oppressive when it not only affects self-worth, but ripples out into a real set of limitations and experiences that COMMONLY result in social isolation or death.
I need everyone to understand that fatphobia is real and it is not not the same as simply having your feelings hurt. Having a smaller body comes with an entire world of opportunities that larger bodies simply are not afforded and so much of it is unconscious.
Listen to fat people when they tell you what they do and do not like to be called.
Respect fat people’s experiences with their bodies, even those fat folks that you do not personally like.
Respect fat people’s experiences with their bodies, even those fat folks that you do not personally like.
Most of us agree that you do not ever get to sling slurs at somebody no matter how much you think they deserve it. Why is that any different for fat bodies?
Dank u for coming to my tedtalk goodnight
Dank u for coming to my tedtalk goodnight
