If you’re not familiar with the popular game show Jeopardy! the premise is that they have two rounds, each of which have six categories of questions with five questions per category, and then a final round with one question. Last night one of the categories was “These Words Could Go on a Diet” and it was a category of…wait for it… slang terms for fat bodies. And it includes a reference to pigs. Charming.
The answers included husky, portly, corpulent, paunch, and porcine. I have no idea what it was like for the fat contestant who was on the show to have to participate in this absolute tribute to fat shaming,
Source: http://j-archive.com/showgame.php?game_id=5059
To me this speaks to how normalized fat bashing and diet culture is in our society. I typically don’t compare oppression among different groups – there are definitely differences – as I write this blog I am acutely aware that I will be criticized for being “oversensitive” or, ridiculously, that I’m asking people to be “too PC.“ So as a queer woman, I wonder what the reaction would be if they had a category “These terms just haven’t found the right man yet” that was comprised of slang terms for lesbians.
We have to speak up when we see this kind of casual fat shaming, especially on a national stage. Jeopardy! can ask questions about literally anything in the world and they decided to create an entire category dedicated to negative terms for a group of people who already face tons of stigma, harassment, bullying, and oppression. I’m calling bullshit. They can do better, and they should.
The Fat Activism Conference is this weekend!
This is a virtual conference so you can listen to the talks by phone and/or computer wherever you are. Whether you are looking for support in your personal life with family, friends, healthcare providers etc. or you’re interested in being more public with your activism with blogging, petitions, protest, projects, online activism, or something else, this conference will give you tools and perspectives to support you and your work, and to help you make that work intentionally intersectional and inclusive, so that nobody gets left behind. Click here to get all the info and register!
Like the blog? More Cool Stuff!
Book and Dance Class Sale! I’m on a journey to complete an IRONMAN triathlon, and I’m having a sale on all my books, DVDs, and digital downloads to help pay for it. You get books and dance classes, I get spandex clothes and bike parts. Everybody wins! If you want, you can check it out here!
Like my work? Want to help me keep doing it? Become a Member! For ten bucks a month you can support size diversity activism, help keep the blog ad free, and get deals from size positive businesses as a thank you. Click here for details
Book Me! I’d love to speak to your organization. You can get more information on topics, previous engagements and reviews here or just e-mail me at ragen at danceswithfat dot org!
I’m training for an IRONMAN! You can follow my journey at www.IronFat.com
If you are uncomfortable with my offering things for sale on this site, you are invited to check out this post.
