Often those who are larger than size eight or shop in the plus size section are stereotyped and reduced to being ‘unhealthy’ and ‘not taking care of their bodies,’ despite what they may or may not do in spare time to improve their lifestyle. Some even dedicate themselves to trying to offend others because of their body type, an aspect of themselves they often cannot help.

One of the most popular and recent examples of this is Nicole Arbour’s video Dear Fat People. Arbour not only promotes eating disorders as a solution to weights she considers to be an issue, but also offends those who are of a certain weight and implies that various medical conditions only apply to those who are fat.

About 30 million people currently suffer from eating disorders in the United States. These include bulimia, anorexia, and binge eating. Eating disorders can lead to malnutrition and are often accompanied with depression. Knowing that, one would think they are very serious issues, but apparently not according to Arbor. Arbor says that if you’re too fat “you should stop eating.” In this statement she not only encourages eating disorders, but ignores that fact that weight is not completely reliant on what one consumes.

Being larger often is a result of one or a combination of different medical conditions, along with one’s diet and the amount of exercise they partake in. For example, thyroids, depression, cushing’s syndrome, and an influx of hormones can often cause weight gain. Weight gain does not affect a person in the opposite manner; a person’s size is not conclusive to their health, as Arbor tried to argue in her video.

Anonymous sophomore says, “I was diagnosed this year with high cholesterol and have had a history of kidney stones, and yet I have been underweight my entire life. I never ate candy, sweets, cake, soda, sugar, coffee, etc. So, as seen in my own experience, ‘fat’ people are not the only people who are unhealthy.”

Additionally, unlike Arbor tried to argue, there is no such thing as “fat people parking spots.” There are handicap spots that are available to those with conditions that disable them, including some of the conditions previously listed.

The biggest flaw in the video though is the manner in which Arbour has chosen to spread her argument. She uses a very condescending tone when alluding to her experiences with overweight people and crosses the line from comedy and satire to bullying and hate speech.  As said by Lamar White, Jr. when chronicling his experience with comedy that had crossed the line into bigotry, Satire is not “intended to be personal; it is [not] intended to inflict pain; it is intended to dehumanize me, to reduce me to a slur.. . . This isn’t satire; it’s hate speech.” Satire is meant to expose those who are in power or people’s vices or stupidity, not to tear down one’s self-esteem, quip by quip.

Calling someone fat is not an insult, it is an explanation of their body type. Don’t let anyone tell you that you are less because of your body type, an aspect of yourself that you cannot change; don’t let anyone degrade you with their ignorance.

If you are seeking support or help regarding eating disorders or depression, please visit: http://www.teenhealthandwellness.com/static/hotlines