In a country where obesity is rampant, it’s hard to imagine why people would engage in conversation about being overweight when they aren’t. However, everyone knows someone that has been (or on occasion you have been) that girl telling everyone else they’re fat when the person, in reality, weighs less than the majority of women in America. This phenomenon has sparked a new field of research. The idea of “Fat Talk” as described by Jan Hoffman, a New York Times journalist is, “The body denigrating conversation between girls and woman.” Fat Talk is your everyday conversations with friends on why your thighs are too big or your hips are too wide. Very few college women are immune to this discussion; in fact, 93% openly admit to engaging in these discussions. Collegiate campuses are not the only victims to this disgusting dialogue. It ranges to nearly all ages and generations of females. From mothers to daughters, coworkers to friends, all kinds of people use these belittling phrases to fill empty spaces in conversations.
Unfortunately, many women don’t realize the implications of these conversations. The psychological impacts may not be evident immediately, but the 13 year-old girl who hears her older sister constantly tell friends and family she is fat (while she wears a size two) may very well grow up to have self-image issues. The overweight college sophomore who spends everyday in the gym trying to get herself healthy, but constantly hears the most slender women talk about what spots of their body they would get rid of, won’t recognize how amazing an accomplishment taking off a pound or two every week is.
Almost everyone has complained time and again about something they don’t like about their body. When is it time to tell ourselves and our friends that this has to stop? While it’s almost impossible to eliminate these conversations without full cooperation, there are ways to downgrade the prevalence of these harmful words. As the next generation of mothers, teachers, doctors, and lawyers, we must stop the Fat Talk so it does not affect future generations the way it has affected ours.
When it comes down to it, being healthy in a generation that seems to be fostering self-deprecation and insecurity can be difficult on more than one level. Everyday, young people become more consumed with the idea of “me” that they forget to notice how their actions can affect others. The idea of Fat Talk is just one example of how seemingly harmless words can harm others and ourselves. Fortunately, it’s one that can be corrected.