This month for my Ask Michelle video, I got asked why do I use the word fat.
In the video I also cover how a thin woman can be an ally in her use of the word fat and the main thing a thin bodied person needs to become aware of is that FAT IS NOT A FEELING.
It never has been and never will be because fat is not an emotion. If you mean full, use full. If you mean you feel bloated, use that. If you mean that you feel insecure in your body, say that because if you keep using fat as a word to mean insecure, you perpetuate that all fat bodies are insecure and that fatness is associated with insecurity and self hatred. Because let’s be honest, most thin bodies using the word fat are doing so in a derogatory way.
This is why we must use it.
This is why we must neutralise it.