#but then when we (general culture) talk about fat people it's “why don't you exercise more and eat less?” “why don't you control yourself?��

[simontheweirdo]

Thank you so much for your advice! I'm currently planning on making a Web comic and I'm just starting to develop the main three protagonists (I haven't even given them names yet) and I was looking for a way to better represent one of the protagonists, who's a vampire teenager girl who rebels against her vampire family, but instead of becoming goth or punk or another darker alt subculture, since that's what's considered normal and acceptable for vampires withing their culture, she starts wearing clothes with bright or pastel colours, and listening to pop music and corny love songs as well as hanging out with diurnal species within that world (always protecting herself from the sun, of course). She always has this super hyper personality, always excited to learn and make friends to the point of being annoying to some, but she can also be extremely dangerous when you mess with her or the people she loves and a little stubborn when an idea gets on her mind and can get mad pretty easily with her family for the smallest things... And she also happens to be fat. And I didn't want to portray that last part of her in a way that could harm others.

I've been extremely skinny all my life. In many instances, too skinny for it to be healthy. Specially now that I'm losing a lot of weight really quickly even when I try to eat well. It has gotten to the point of my doctor recommending I don't do any kind of physical exercise besides going for walks until we can discover why I'm losing so much weight, and the people around me won't stop commenting on how they can see the silhouette of my bones and other shit I don't wanna hear.

Since I've never been above barely average weight, I really needed someone to help me represent fat people better because I'm scared I'm gonna screw up and make them another stereotype or frame their bodies in a way that might be insulting for people with the same body type.

My point is, being skinny isn't always the healthiest alternative and people should stop commenting on other people's bodies if they aren't gonna say anything nice. And even if you are going to say something you consider nice, you should still only comment on someone's body if they are close to you and sometimes you should avoid saying anything about their appearance unless they ask for your opinion.

I know fat people can be strong, energetic and healthy too because my boyfriend is like that. He's fat but he's also really strong and can lift me up with only one arm if he wants to. He's extremely hard working and if he has money to spare, he enjoys using it to buy someone he loves a gift or giving it up to help a family member or a friend in need. He also always wakes up early and is up all day long doing stuff around the house or spending time with other people (unless he's exhausted from overworking himself) and he's so soft and big and strong and handsome and I love him so much! I love to cuddle next to him because he's always so warm and huggable and since he's much bigger than me (he's a bit taller than me and has broad shoulders and big hands besides generally having more body mass) I feel really safe around him and when he hugs me I feel like everything's fine at least while I'm in his arms. I just love him so much! I could talk all day long about how much I love him and how perfect I think his body is.

Meanwhile, I never have energy and sometimes prefer to sleep all day than having to exist in this world, I can't even carry the small fan in my room to the living room without my arms aching for like three days and I can let my room become a disgusting mess before feeling it's necessary to clean it up. If my boyfriend and I decided to race from my house to the next block, not only would he win, but he wouldn't have broken a sweat while I would be lying on the floor trying desperately to catch my breath.

That goes without saying I'm generally more attracted to chubbier people than extremely skinny or muscular people. That doesn't mean I don't think those people aren't attractive, just that fat people are more of my type. It just feels easier and more comfortable for me to hug someone who's soft and squishy than someone who's body is all hard or full of sharp edges (not that it isn't pleasant to hug someone with a different body type as well. Hugs are always nice to receive if they're given by a person you love :3).

I just think all of these stereotypes are dumb and I'd like to see a strong and energetic fat character (like my boyfriend :3) and a weak and lazy skinny character (like me!) for a change. And more good fat characters in general! There aren't even a small fraction of fat characters in every single piece of media that are just normal people compared to the hundreds that are an ulgy stereotype. Maybe then my friends will stop feeling bad about their bodies even though they don't have anything wrong with them and are beautiful. I just feel like the world would be a better place with less stereotypes in media.

Challenging Fatphobic Language in Writing: Some Alternative Vocabularies

So I’m currently working on a short story for an explicitly fat-positive anthology, and it’s making me realize just how little language I have readily at hand for describing large bodies in positive terms! 

Putting aside for a moment the whole debate over HAES and fat positivity and everything else – and if you clown on this post, I’m simply going to block you, that’s not what we’re here for – sometimes you just want to write a story with a fat person in it and you need some adjectives/descriptive language that isn’t overtly gross and/or fetishistic. 

Well, I’ve got you, fam. I have compiled this handy list of descriptive terms and phrases for describing big bodies with positive connotations.

Why am I doing this? 

Because this:

And this: 

And frankly, we all deserve better. So let’s go. 

Positive (and Neutral) Adjectives for Fatness

Abundant

Ample

Big

Broad

Buxom

Considerable

Curvy

Full

Generous

Heavy

Large

Luscious

Plentiful

Plump

Replete

Robust

Round

Rubenesque

Soft

Solid

Stocky

Substantial

Thick

Voluptuous

Zaftig

Movement Verbs Evoking Fatness

Amble

Bounce

Lope

Mosey

Pad

Plod

Pound

Ramble

Scoot

Shuffle

Trundle

Some Points to Keep In Mind

A big part of challenging fatphobia in writing is inverting or subverting stereotypes. Here are a few lazy/played-out tropes and things to think about: 

Fat = Greedy I think we can all agree at this point that there are better ways to show greed – such as excessive wealth, entitlement, selfishness, and so forth. There is really no need to use fatness or gluttony as a metaphor for these concepts. Just write your greedy character doing greedy things and resist the urge to make them also be fat. If you need a strong visual metaphor, go for opulence and wealth instead. 

Fat = Gross  A ton of media, especially horror, loves making fat people slovenly, smelly, covered in food stains, farting and belching, etc. etc. So if you want a more positive representation, just presenting the character as clean, well-dressed, tidy, etc. actually goes a very long way. Consider playing against type by making your fat character dapper or fastidious about other elements of their appearance, like their hair, or wearing very nice custom-fitted clothes (or even just “dressing up” a bit more than everyone else). 

Fat = Out of Shape Yes, absolutely, many fat people are also out of shape couch potatoes. But so are a lot of skinny people. And fat people absolutely can be athletic – go google “fat athletes” for several lists of them if you don’t believe me! Sure, you probably won’t find a ton of fat long-distance runners, but you’ll definitely find plenty of hefty weight lifters, fighters, folks with physical jobs, etc. A lot of super muscular people are also carrying extra fat, and that is in fact way more common and natural than the super-defined, well-cut muscles you see on TV. Keep that in mind the next time you’re writing an army of strong hand-to-hand combatants – they’re likely to be physically big, not in a bulging muscle He-Man way but more of an “absolute unit” way. Keep in mind, too, that even regular folks packing extra pounds will often tend to be a lot stronger (on account of spending every day carrying extra weight!) You can be fat and graceful, fat and strong, fat and with endurance. Just something to keep in mind. 

Fat = Pig  Pigs have a reputation for being huge, dirty, smelly, garbage-eating slobby creatures, and “disgusting fat pig” and “porker” and their ilk have been insults against big people for a long time. Of course, in reality pigs are also super smart, highly social (and fucking terrifying) but that’s not usually waht gets invoked when people think of them! Really, avoiding animal language when talking about people is often a good idea (since animal comparisons can be dehumanizing), but if you are going to evoke an animal, go with something else. Like a seal (super cute, very graceful in its natural environment) or a bear (big and solid and intimidating) or a bull elk (thick and majestic). 

Fat = Ugly  Fat people can be beautiful. I mean, sure, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and inner beauty is a thing and all that – but that’s not what I’m talking about. I mean that fat bodies are great! They’re warm and soft and huggable. They’re big and solid and comforting. They can be strong and protective. They can be super-feminine and curvy. Cute as a button or powerful and demanding with their presence. 

Obviously dismantling fatphobia is a whole big (ha, ha) topic all on its own, and there’s a ton more to think about. But this is at least something to get you started! 

Context matters a whole lot in description – words can be positive or negative based on how they’re utilized! But these are at least some terms intended to be a bit less loaded with negative baggage than those often used in less flattering descriptions. 

Have you read a book with a fat character who had a great or interesting description? Please reblog, I’d love to see how other authors have handled it!