liv | (Reply)

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I'm not Liv, but I am fat, and my view is that I think 'fat' ought to be a neutral descriptive word, but socially it very much isn't - which I think is where your hesitation to call anyone fat comes from. The more I can matter-of-factly use it, the less the social disapproval has power over me (and perhaps people around me).

So e.g. when my son mentions that I am fat, I agree cheerfully. He is right, I am fat. I want him to understand that being fat is not a Bad Thing, and I do my best to model that to him. (I might not always feel that way, but the more I fake it, the less power the social disapproval has over me.)

I call myself fat. I find it harder to call other women fat because of the strong social sense that I might be insulting them. I do my best to ensure that I react to people calling me fat as though they have said something neutral and factually correct. (which they have)