When a person is fat, it means that they have an excess amount of flesh on their body. When a person is ugly, it means that they are unpleasant to look at. Contrary to popular belief, these words are by no means synonymous nor do they go hand in hand.
That being said, both the terms fat and ugly, in my opinion, are subjective. They are different to each individual who uses it. While I might consider myself fat, someone else might not. You might think that you're ugly but I might not agree. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, my friends.
While everyone's qualifications to meet the definition of these adjectives are different, it does not mean that the definition of the actual word changes. Fat still means with an excess amount of flesh and ugly still means unpleasant to look at (however, it is possible for a person to feel that a qualification for being ugly means that you are fat).
So what am I saying? Basically, we live in a society where it is easy to forget that these words mean two completely different things. Since the beginning of visual media itself, our minds have been practically trained to believe that ugly is fat, and fat is ugly. In the entertainment world, people who are considered "fat" are often chosen to represent humor, or anyone who is not to be sexualized or simply viewed as the pretty one. They are never put in the spotlight, and are pretty much underrepresented as a whole.
I could go on and on, but I'm starting to sound like a college media studies text book, and that's not the point of this article. The point of this article is to challenge people to think about the way they use the term fat. It is to bring awareness to the idea that fat and ugly are not married adjectives, and are strong and independent from one another.
As a "fat" individual, I am sick of hearing people throw around the term as a means of insulting people who they just find "ugly." I am tired of feeling like I am unpleasant to look at because I do not wear a size 2 jeans (disclaimer: I am in no shape or form fishing for compliments or an "Aw don't say that you're not fat!" comment, as that would be the exact opposite of the point I am trying to make. Fat is not an insult, it just means I am telling you that I have a few extra pounds).
All people are beautiful in their own way, and there is beauty in all shapes and sizes. We should all strive to look for what is good, instead of picking at what is bad. If you have a negative opinion about the appearance of another, I believe it is in your best interest to keep it to yourself.
"If you have nothing nice to say, don't say it at all" - someone's mother, somewhere.
