My beloved is a self-labeled “Fat Chick”. I prefer to think of her as that wonderful sexy woman I can’t keep my hands off of, the one who is so much fun to roll around with in bed…
I’m trying to help her stop hating her body. Her perfect, lovely body.
<zones out for a moment>
Oh, yeah…
Uh.
Nevermind, I need to go say “I love you” to someone.
Ignorance would imply that I don’t know what it’s like to be called skinny. I know, and I would rather be referred to as skinny. That’s my own personal experience. No, I wouldn’t want to be called anorexic–I didn’t say it was ok to call someone anorexic (or even skinny, fat or whatever). The bottom line is that “skinny” has much fewer negative connotations than “fat”.
I never said it was acceptable to refer to someone by this type of physical description. I stand by that being called fat and called skinny are not comparable. Just my opinion.
I have to agree with Heart on My Sleeve on this one.
Even when someone has weight problems and wishes they weren’t so “skinny,” they must know that when the vast majority of people call them “skinny,” it’s not meant as a slam or an insult. It’s frequently meant as a compliment, or at the very least, something that is not negative or critical. I don’t see a lot of bumper stickers saying cruel, cruel things about skinny people, after all. (No, “Save a Whale, harpoon a skinny chick” or “No skinny chicks.”) This isn’t to say that there aren’t “skinny” people who mind being called “skinny,” or that I think that it’s okay to call someone “skinny” if it bothers them.
I try to be careful to not use the term “skinny” (preferring “slender”) because I know that some people are sensitive about it. However, no way, no how, do I think that the word is as loaded as “fat.” They are not the same.