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The big and the beautiful
By Nick Robbins
December 21, 2004 | Our society is
continually evolving with new social norms and levels
of political acceptance. One might, for example, be
reprimanded for making fun of a handicapped person,
frowned at for joking about homosexuals, or sued for
criticizing minorities. In our world of politeness and
political correctness, we have padded every opportunity
for offense or misconception; however, we have overlooked
one group of people, the overweight.
Why is it still OK to make fat jokes? Why can we acceptably
criticize their way of life? Like any other handicap,
obesity can be a genetic disorder, and yet it is still
socially acceptable to make fun of them.
As a society if we are going to demand sensitivity,
understanding and compassion to everyone, we need to
start practicing what we preach. We aren't dealing with
a minority group anymore. The overweight and obese are
now outnumbering.
I wouldn't consider myself to be a fat person, but
I have a good solid build. Recently I went shopping
for a pair of jeans. After trying on a pair or two,
the sales associate -- PC term for pimple-faced, high
school drop-out, pee-on -- told me her store didn't
carry clothes for someone like me. Someone like me?
I felt like I had been dropped right back into the Civil
Rights era, with comments like "those people" and "your
kind."
Someone like me? What did she mean? People with brown
hair? People with green eyes? Democrats? No, she clarified
for me, someone with such an "athletic build." I commend
her effort in trying to ease the pain; I hadn't heard
"athletic build" before. Chubby, solid, big-boned, husky,
even fat, but never athletically built. When I think
athletically built, I think of Lance Armstrong, Michael
Jordan and the entire men's Olympic gymnastic team,
but not me.
Imagine if an African American was told that; a gay
man; a quadriplegic; a woman. That store would be slapped
with a class-action lawsuit faster than the sales associate
could fold another sweater. But the overweight are forced
to take the criticism. They are forced to shop at stores
and departments with such alluring titles as big and
tall, and plus-sized.
Let's be honest, what's the point of all this political
correctness anyway? Is it supposed to make a sanitation
engineer (janitor) feel better about getting paid $5.15
an hour? It seems everyone but the overweight has new
and improved terms for jobs and titles. Mailman has
been replaced with postal worker, stewardess with flight
attendant, waitress and waiter with server. Actors and
actresses are now being referred to as entertainers
and artists. Someone with a disability is now deemed
less-able. However, the fat are still just plain fat.
Efforts have been made to improve this. I remember
horizontally challenged, and as I said before, solid,
big-boned, barrel-chested -- the list goes on, but overall,
the fat are still fat. It's so hard to try and remember
all the correct terms. Is it terrorist or foreign freedom
fighter? I don't want to offend anyone. Is all this
really necessary? Wouldn't it be easier to avoid all
this confusion and just be nice to everyone like our
female parental units taught us when we younger?
NW
MS |
