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[keryx]

There's an interesting discussion (mostly in its veering into Rosie O'Donnell's racist comments) on fatshionista about Rosie O'Donnell and Donald Trump being asshats to each other.

The thing that particularly strikes me is O'Donnell saying He wounded millions of women by saying that I was fat, you know? Celebrities make really awful fat empowerment icons. Cause they say things like that - calling me fat is wounding me? The hell? Trying to diminish my arguments (which in this case sure seem pretty small anyhow) with attacks on my Otherness certainly makes you a sizeist, heterosexist shit, and I definitely see the contribution of public comments that reduce a person to their Otherness as contributing to the Fuckedupitude. But. I have a hard time perceiving the word fat as a wound, which I think is what she meant.

Anyhow. Worth reading.

Comments

[mellowtomysoul.livejournal.com]

I think it's really easy to say that when you are surrounded by people who are accepting of fat and the word itself, but that is not the rest of the world. and i think being called fat can be really wounding, she didn't say that EVERY fat person was wounded, she said that he wounded millions of fat women by saying that, which very well could be true. I saw the show when she said it, and I was really really impressed by the fat convo that was had on the show. the view is not a zine or book written by a fat positive/ radical person, it's for women who work in the home and are not really exposed to the world that we live in, so i think a lot of the stuff she says is pretty extreme for that group of people. (and yes, she said a very racist thing on the show, too... i am not saying she is perfect, far from it, but i know that i personally find a lot of comfort in turning on the tv and hearing someone talk about having kids and being gay and that being totally ok or talking about how fucked up the war is or how being fat isn;'t something that you should be discriminated against, but is.)

[keryx.livejournal.com]

Yeah, but I think when you say "you shouldn't be discriminated against for being fat" but still equate fat to an insult, you're reinforcing the idea that fat should be an insult. And most celebrity types are going to do that, and sound (as O'Donnell has on many occasions) like fatness is a failing - thus the problem.

There was a politician awhile back who responded to some asshat dude calling her a "fat dyke" with essentially "well, DUH, I AM", and I liked that. She was also a mainstream public figure, and it felt like that response derailed any effort to hurt people with anti-fat epithets. What are they gonna do, call her fat again? Oh, she's totally terrified. Ya know?

This is just a long lead-up to saying that O'Donnell says some good things and some stupid things, and I'd just as well not try to cast any television figure as the Voice of Fat. I think they'll all fail.

[cutegaychick.livejournal.com]

I was personally affronted when he called her fat - that was just uncalled-for. But then again, she made fun of his comb-over first. Perhaps we should all just grow the hell up?
Better yet, how bout if the damn reporters stopped pointing cameras at these people?