Do overweight people feel insulted by the word fat?

[PunkInDrublic]

Might be a dumb question but it is a serious question, is it wrong or mean to describe a person as "the fat one"? Like, say you are watching a movie or show and a friend says her favorite character is a name you don't recognize and you ask which one that is and she responds with "the fat one". Answers the question and is probably the quickest and easiest way to answer the question but I don't know, seems kinda mean spirited. Have a friend that says some shit that I feel others would find offensive but she claims that it isn't offensive at all. I have no idea, do bigger people consider fat as an insult?

 

[Gen]

I don't think the word is offensive just in and of itself, but that it's been treated as an insult for so long that my immediate reaction is to take it as one.

It's like when you're doing a show on MFC and guys are like "mmm I love your fat belly". There are a TON of guys who mean that genuinely and really do love it, but I'm used to people using that as an insult, so it immediately puts me in that headspace of feeling self conscious and it makes me defensive that they must be just kidding/they're laughing at me.
Or how I wouldn't refer to a camgirl as a BBW unless I saw her doing it herself. I don't think BBW is an insult but a lot of girls take it as one/don't like the term so even if I think it fits, I'd just use something else.

Sometimes it is logical and I wouldn't lose sleep over calling a character fat, but yeah I do think it can be taken as mean and I usually try to avoid it.

 

[LioraVox]

I guess it depends on how the person on the receiving end feels about being called fat or "the fat one". There are plenty of ways to describe a person but people usually pick the easiest/most different attribute they have compared to the group they are around. "The skinny/fat/black one" for example.

Some bigger people call themselves fat or "fat kid" but that's their decision, and in my experience I've never looked at them and said "Yep, you're the fat kid of the group." Or used that to describe them to other people. Cause that's rude.

 

[zippypinhead]

I don't think it's a particularly sensitive way to refer to a person, boiling down a description of a person to a single-syllable word that points out their most apparent physical attribute. However, it is a generally neutral descriptor, so it isn't inherently insulting. The problem stems from the fact that, because it is a neutral word, it's easy to ascribe some very negative intent to it, depending upon how you use it.

If you call me fat as a matter of fact, then I'm not going to disagree with you. I know what I am. However, if you say it with a sneer, and try to use it as a way to somehow cast dispersions upon my character, then that's bigotry, and that's when we'll have problems.

 

[Worship Jaclyn]

I do but only because of what Gen said. It's so often used as an insult that I just assume it is meant to be one. Guys who are into bigger girls, if they refer to me as fat, I'm going to ignore them. It hurts my feelings even though it's true. Call me chubby, curvy, big, none of that offends me. So yeah, it is sadly been used as an insult for so long and so frequently that it's very hard to take it as just an honest adjective.

 

[HiGirlsRHot]

I guess you could call them horizontally gifted. :-D As a fat person it doesn't bother me, it is a statement of fact, just like being white, having curly white hair,and being middle aged. Now it certainly can be used as insult. In the context of camming, BBW seems to be the preferred word so I used that instead.

 

[AshleyNicole_]

I don't take it offensive even if it is meant as an insult. I AM fat, that is a matter of fact. I, however, don't use the term to describe others because so many DO take offense to it. If I was describing someone I would say the 'bigger one'.

 

[Sevrin]

If you care about someone's feelings, I would focus an attribute other than weight. Besides, with 69% of the US adult population being overweight, it doesn't narrow things down by much.

 

[Rose]

Am I the only one who just uses "large"? Large could also mean tall, or hulking with muscles, but you don't know which until you see said large person and at that point it becomes clear what the word is being used for. It could just be a local thing though.

 

[ramblin]

Am I the only one who just uses "large"? Large could also mean tall, or hulking with muscles, but you don't know which until you see said large person and at that point it becomes clear what the word is being used for. It could just be a local thing though.

I tend to use "big" or "tall" as the situation merits. "Large" feels ambiguous to me.

I try not to be insulted by words, but rather by context/intention. If you called me "the fatter one" it wouldn't bother me a bit, but "hey fatso" will forfit your invite to the next shindig.

 

[PunkInDrublic]

I usually go with bigger girl when describing females and fat dude when describing males, gonna stop using the word fat tho. I get annoyed when people call me skinny or scrawny(cause I'm super ripped and toned and like not scrawny at all bro) so I don't want to be a dick and use words that might annoy others. Not trying to compare the problems of bigger people to smaller people but I know that it sucks to be judged or described by your body shape. Not trying to be part of the word police trend that seems to be taking over but eh, don't want to unintentionally make people feel bad.

 

[SaffronBurke]

I'm not overly bothered by "fat" anymore, but what really bugs me is when people use terms that are TOO nice or mincing around. A while ago, someone I was chatting with asked me "Are you a fullsize beauty?" That really felt icky to me, like he was fetishizing my size a little too much and not really seeing me as a person. He said he used that because most people are offended by "fat", which is true, but there are less creepy/objectifying terms/words that you can used to describe a fluffy lady.