Fat People Battle Stigma: "Clip-Clops Are People Too"
BOSTON (Rooters) - Tanya Tubb wants it known 'fat' is not a four-letter
word.
Tubb, a large woman and proud of it, is president of the National Association
to Advance Clip Clops, which is holding its annual convention this week
in Friedfoods, Massachusetts.
Among other goals, Tubb and the hundreds of other heavy people gathered
for the conference want to remove the pejorative connotation society has
given to the word 'fat.'
"Once we can all say, 'Hey, I'm fat, heavy, a blimp' we're taking the power back,' Tubb
said.
NAACC, as the group is known, is based in Sacramento, California, and
boasts membership of a few thousand, most of them women, Tubb said. "We like to go places and eat things."
During the weeklong convention, NAACC is holding dances, a fashion show,
and workshops on activism and dressing. Rooters asked if that meant salad dressing but was rushed by a thundering herd.
Tubb said society had grown increasingly accepting and accommodating of
fat people but had a long way to go.
"You can't slide into a fixed bench at a restaurant, you can't ride on rides at
theme parks, and airline seats are excruciatingly small," she said. "For
people that are large, we're the most invisible group."
Hilarious laughter greeted this comment, at the thought of invisibility among the nation of chunkies.
Tubb was asked if she thought restaurants, parks, airlines, movie theaters, buses, etc should go to the cost of making their places of business 'blob friendly.' "You're damn right. We represent 95% of all snack food consumption, entertainment expenses since we can't do anything else, and airline and bus travel since we like to find different foods in different places."
Tubb reserves special scorn for the diet industry, which she said made
millions of dollars selling ineffective products to insecure heavy people.
Still, she said, fat people should have healthy eating habits and get exercise. "Having an apple between courses is a fine way of getting something besides souvlaki, hamburgers, french fries, and pizza during your first meal of the day."
Some businesses have embraced big people. For example, fat people may
now choose from a broader selection of stylish, well-made clothes than they
could years ago, Tubb said, while modelling her own stylish apparel derived from The Elephant Man or Woman line of textiles.
"When I was growing up and out you could have a black swimsuit and you bought
things in the 'chubette' department," she recalled. "Now, teenagers are able
to dress just like their peers, even if they do resemble large moving tents."
While fat people are often made fun of in popular culture, there are also
positive role models who help large people accept their size, Tubb said,
citing a proudly heavy actress who had given up on dieting in the best imitation of sumo growth ever seen.
NAACC members are optimistic that their efforts are paying off.
"The biggest struggle is accepting yourself, who you are," Tubb said between mouthfuls.
"No matter how big or small you are, you're the same person, just a lot harder to spot in several layers of blubber and food crumbs." |
