As I get older I am finding new ways in which to be crotchety and unpleasant. I am not being difficult on purpose, mind you, but I can be pretty rigidly opposed to things. But I don’t think that I will ever be one of those old people who hates for no reason. Quite the contrary, I am far more socially accepting that I once was, and I am always trying to, if not identify with others’ beliefs, then at least understand where they are coming from. It’s not only the noble thing to do, but it’s also more emotionally healthy for me.
With that in mind I thought I’d examine an area in which I could probably be more sensitive, namely the issue of obesity. An article on ABC News’ website–with the unfortunate title “Study: ‘Weight-ism’ Is Bigger Problem Than Racism”–describes an “accelerated” pattern of discrimination against fat people. Now, to put things in perspective, racism was an institutionalized, systemic and often violent abomination that flourished in the United States, particularly the South, for hundreds of years. It touched the lives of every individual of color in ways that no “weight-ism” ever could. But I cannot deny that in our looks-are-everything society overweight people could easily feel ostracized.
There are several possible reasons for this. Obesity is perceived as a sign of laziness; the poor are disproportionately fat versus the well-off (and nobody likes poor people), etc. But, statistics now seem to show that we’re at about the point where half of Americans are overweight. So what does this say about us? It says, I think, that labels are a refuge for those of us who are unwilling to see people for who they really are.
As for my own role in perpetuating an anti-fat bias, I admit to having used the word “fat” in the past as a general pejorative, even when it was not meant literally. A person might be a “big, fat jerk,” and so on. I also used to call my friends “gayfers.” I don’t know which comedian said this, but I also didn’t “mean ‘gay’ as in ‘homosexual’, I meant it as in ‘retarded’.” I have never been homophobic, nor racist, and I have a profound empathy for the disabled. And I have never consciously discriminated against a fat person in a way I thought might cause harm. I have close friends who are overweight and I love them, so my attitude about them is informed by my appreciation of them as people, not as bodies. I certainly do not love my skinny friends more because they are skinny. But I have been insensitive in my rhetoric, and that’s not nice.