How times have changed! As a teenager in the ’60s, if you were overweight, your clothing options were very limited. I remember going shopping with my mom and there was only one store that really had clothes for you if you weren’t an “average” size. But then the section for these clothes was called “gorditas” — what a shame that is! The clothes were something my Aunt Sophie might wear to the church bazaar. At the time we called them “old lady” clothes. Well, now I’m an old lady (well, middle-aged at least) and I still wouldn’t be caught dead in them. They had no style and were just plain ugly!

Now teens have a plethora of clothing, dating sites, blogs, and websites dedicated just for them. This is fantastic. Now you can get a “plus size” prom dress or “plus size” wedding dress and they are beautiful and elegant. What a wonderful time to be “not average”. We are BBW’s: big beautiful women for those who are not addicted to the Internet like me.

Although we now have more options, American society still considers being fat ugly. We are stupid, lazy and we cannot control our eating. We sit all day eating chocolates and watching TV. Fat jokes are one of the last acceptable cultural stereotypes. People can’t use racial or sexual slurs, but they don’t think of dehumanizing an overweight person with a fat joke or comment. Fat people are portrayed as losers who cannot attract the opposite sex. Most sitcoms have at least one episode featuring the proverbial blind date. Then lots of silly pranks ensue, but in the end all is well when they find out that the fat person is actually a nice human being (how enlightened we are!)

So if we hate being fat, why not change it? Well, how long can you go without eating? While an alcoholic can go without drinking, a nymphomaniac without sex, a smoker without cigarettes, an overweight person cannot go without eating. You can change the amounts you consume and vary the menu, but you still fight the battle at least three times a day. There is always that hunger that gnaws.

It amazes me that 40 years after “chubby” it still doesn’t matter how smart, funny, nice and generous a fat person is, the only thing some people notice is their size. Very sad.