Ann Coulter made fun of Hillary Clinton’s weight on national television.
OTOH I heard few liberal complaints about Al Franken’s book title, Rush Limbaugh is a Big Fat Idiot.
Note also the juvenile pun used by MSNBC.
Are fat jokes are back in style. Is it now acceptible to insult someone for being overweight?
Nah… fat jokes aren’t back in vogue. It’s July.
December is where I look for really lame jokes.
So, this fat neo-con Jew walks into a message board…
Well, I remember back during Clinton’s first term, Rush Limbaugh made cracks about Bill Clinton being fat. Rush Limbaugh. I mean, c’mon.
Liberals don’t raise a ruckus about Al Franken’s making fun of Rush Limbaugh because although Franken clearly keeps up with current events, he’s not a serious commentator and doesn’t present himself as one. On the other hand, Limbaugh and Coulter are also not serious commentators, but for some reason some people seem to think they are. While I enjoy Franken and I don’t enjoy Limbaugh and Coulter, I class the three of them as the same kind of entertainment and I don’t hold them to the same high standards I would a journalist or a serious political commentator. The fact that Diane Sawyer is actually interviewing someone like Coulter makes me question her professionalism, to say the least.
Fat people are the only group whom it’s acceptable to publicly insult, and there’s still a sentiment that they, for the most part, are supposed to take it without complaining. This isn’t new.
Oh gall, not “the last acceptable stereotype” again. While I agree we shouldn’t insult people based on such features, this really isn’t even close to being true.
Okay, then, netbrain: what other features are acceptable for people to insult other people about?
I tend to agree with Chance on the “last acceptable stereotype” stance, no matter how cliche.
I don’t really notice any other stereotypes and jokes being so widely used and still accepted.
People still find fat people funny, and with so much political correctness going on these days, it really suprises me. I don’t think its ever not been acceptable to make fun of fat people. The jokes keep on coming eventhough more and more people are overweight.
I would like to hear the other stereotypes and jokes that you think are still acceptable and so prevalent.
What about blonde jokes?? Blonde jokes are still acceptable and blonde hair is a feature.
Well, though it doesn’t offend me in the least, the jokes sure seem to flow freely when I let people know I’m a West Virginia native.
Redneck jokes are prevalent. Southerers are still used as the butt of jokes. Conservatives can be joked about, sometimes in a pretty mean fashion. (Note the combination of the last two categories in the jokes about “Bushisms”.)
ISTM that there was a period when it was less acceptible to disparage people for being overweight. Laws and regulations were passed protecting overweight people from various forms of discrimination.
Now, it seems the pendulum may be swinging back. One or more airlines recently decided to charge more for obese passengers, and there was limited outcry. ISTM that the overweight may be losing their victim status.
I agree with Netbrian. Take “White Trash.” A whole ethnic/socioeconomic/geographic slice of our population is routinely sneered at, and it’s completely taken for granted.
I feel like there is a difference between blond jokes and fat jokes. I’m a blond and I take absolutely no offense to blond jokes. Fat jokes are more hurtful.
Nobody struggles with being a blond in todays society but millions of people struggle with there weight. Can you honestly say (if you are or were a blond) that you would be hurt by a blond joke? I don’t think many people are. But I certainly think that people are very affected by fat jokes and stereoptypes.
Any others?
Ok, yes. I do agree with the “redneck/white trash” example.
I’ll grant you the ethnic and socioeconomic, but I fail to see how “white trash” indicates geographical location. You can be trashy no matter where you live.
I come from white trash, can I still use the term? :rolleyes:
Watch out, now… 
Well, when I said “features,” I meant physical features, not socioeconomic or political ones. Attacking someone because of their class, national origin or politics is another issue altogether (but I should point out that december’s complaint of victimhood of conservatives is just silly. Liberals get the same crap.)
Mottpot’s point about blond jokes is an excellent point: while there is that “dumb blond” stereotype, there isn’t active prejudice against blonds, nor is the fact that someone’s blond used as a basis of attack. It’s not hurtful to have your blond hair pointed out by strangers on the street; weight is something different altogether. And I don’t think anyone actually believes a certain set of stereotypes about blonds; this is a red herring. There are accepted stereotypes about fat people that are often expressed: selfish, lazy and stupid, for example. Plus, it’s not pleasant to hear others exclaim how gross you are, which is also acceptable—and which is what Ms. Coulter was doing about Hillary Clinton. Fat doesn’t gross everyone out, though; that’s just the feelings of some people. Imagine someone thought blond hair was gross, and said so. That would hurt a blond’s feelings inappropriately, and that would also be wrong. But insulting someone’s hair color is beyond unacceptable; it’s more like bizarre.
By “White Trash” I meant to indicate the whole constellation of derision directed at poor, white, rural people, often conflated with Southerners generally. I wouldn’t tell you not to use the term, but it’s pretty clearly prejudicial whether you “come from white trash” or not.
I would say that bald jokes are even more widely accepted than fat jokes. I’ve seen many instances of people making fun of bald people to their face, with them expected to just suck it up - you don’t see this with fat jokes.
In general, jokes about people’s physical appearance are pretty much accepted by society, shortness being another example. If you are a fat short bald guy, you are doomed.
Liberuls
Bald men
Skinny people (see your post title)
People without teeth who live in trailers and wear overalls whilst chewing corn
Gay people (don’t believe me? Check out the views of your average citizen)
Oh, and, since when is Hilary fat?