Merriam Webster’s definition for the word fat is, “having a lot of extra flesh on your body; having a lot of body fat.”
I carry my weight evenly on my body. Love handles, thunder thighs, stretch marks, baby face, cankles — you name it, I have it.
At 5-foot-10 inches, I am 195 pounds, and I am fat.
But I am also a writer for The Daily Reveille, student in communications and gender studies, sophomore at LSU, daughter, sister, worker, roommate.
People are so much more than simply fat.
But in a large number of responses to a column I wrote earlier this semester, I was reduced to the fat girl from LSU.
I was told I couldn’t have an opinion on something, or be taken seriously, because I was fat.
I was told that I was wrong, not because I didn’t get a fact right, misquoted someone or took something out of context, but because I was fat.
It feels ridiculous that anyone would feel so affected by the amount of surface area on the human body that they would feel necessary to point it out when arguing against an opinion.
Ad hominem, or attacking the persona behind an argument rather than the argument itself, is one of the most ludicrous logical fallacies.
Sadly, it is also one of the most common.
For those of you who are quick to spout off that you care about the person’s health — stop fooling yourself.
Health is not entirely indicated by body size, and you don’t really care. If you did, you would take time to talk to that person about the problems having excess body fat can cause.
If you really cared, you wouldn’t use it as an argument while you sit behind a computer screen, miles away from the person in question.
Or even across the quad, when a heavier built person dares to wear shorts.
This argument is used against men, but not nearly as much as it is used against women.
Women are shamed for being overweight, and told to strive for skinny so that we can be nicer to look at. There is a theory in feminism that says the need for women to be fit and thin is to keep us weak, so that we don’t worry about larger issues at hand.
When I was facing backlash for my body, I found it difficult to defend my argument.
In an effort to end fat shaming, several campaigns have proven to be catchy, but also dangerous.
Dove’s campaign for real beauty promotes the saying, “Real women have curves.”
Let’s not turn the tables. I’m no more of a woman than any of the thinner girls walking campus. The only requirement to be a woman is to have a heartbeat.
There should be no inflicted shame felt for your body. While to some this may seem like a motivation to improve your health, it’s more often just hurtful, as it affects people of all body types.
Shame on you, any of you who have ever made a person feel bad for the amount of space they take up. We all have a right to be on this planet, and to feel comfortable in our physical bodies.
The fact is, I take up more space than some people, but that doesn’t warrant disrespecting me as a human being.
Jana King is a 19-year-old women’s and gender studies sophomore from Ponchatoula, La.