Playground insults are still painful to many of us who grew up as fat kids and large targets for hurtful words. As a writer, I am fascinated by words. As a woman of size, I don't even have to go out to be pelted with painful ones. Simply turning on the television or opening a magazine will net me a bountiful harvest of messages telling me I am unhealthy, greedy, unattractive, unlovable, and sometimes downright evil, simply because of the percentage of fat in my body mass.
Words are slippery because our language changes every day and words go in and out of fashion.
In the last few years fat has become the demon that health-conscious people in particular love to hate. Losing fat is thought to always be a good thing, even if it is caused by a life-threatening illness. Fat may not be a four-letter word, but it is definitely a shock word. Whether a fat person decides to use it or not will depend on his or her own personal style. If you are a little more shy, or happen to be say, talking to an unsympathetic boss, it makes more sense to protect yourself.