To say that weight is a delicate topic would be an understatement. So delicate, in fact, that a good number of people would rather have a string of profanities hurled at them than be called fat. As a society, we sugarcoat the word "fat", use it as a weapon to hurt people, or avoid using it altogether. It's an emotionally-charged word for many, but for 23-year-old activist Lindsay McGlone, it's just a word that accurately describes her body. Lindsay, a self-described Fierce Fat Feminist, spends much of her time working to de-stigmatise the idea of being fat. <img class="wp-image-12628746 size-full" src="https://img.vt.co/2020/12/f5e5fb8b-unnamed-5.jpg" alt="Lindsay McGlone" width="2524" height="2524" />[[imagecaption|| Credit: Lindsay McGlone - The Fierce Fat Feminist]] "I describe myself as fat because I am fat," the Doncaster native told VT. "I think when we use the word 'fat' in a negative light that shows what we believe fat is. That shows what we believe fat means." "'Fat' doesn't mean that you are uneducated," she explained. "'Fat' doesn’t mean that you are lazy. 'Fat' doesn't mean that you are less in society. If people are using that word in a derogatory way that's because of their internalised belief of what 'fat' means." The outspoken influencer, who has more than 18,000 <a href="https://www.instagram.com/rollinwithlindsay_/">Instagram</a> followers, said she aims to "normalise" the word so that the "stigma attached to it will lessen". However, the road to self-confidence was not an easy one for Lindsay, who was at the receiving end of "relentless" bullying when she was at school. "I was bullied because of my size," she recalled. "I was attacked for going into a chip shop. I had Coke poured over me. Bets made on whether people could sleep with me when I was a little bit older." "Prodded with forks in the dinner line," Lindsay continued. "Telling me to kill myself. Told I looked like Heather Trott, Jabba the Hutt, a whale." <img class="wp-image-12628749 size-full" src="https://img.vt.co/2020/12/00f2e234-unnamed-2.jpg" alt="Lindsay McGlone" width="1440" height="1440" />[[imagecaption|| Credit: Lindsay McGlone - The Fierce Fat Feminist]] While Lindsay was happy with her size, she was naturally upset with the way her peers treated her. Her confidence grew when she came to the realisation that it wasn't her body that was the problem - it was, in fact, the bullies who were the problem. That's when her activism started and she took on the identity of the Fierce Fat Feminist. She even has t-shirts adorned with the alliterative title. "As a fat activist, I try to dismantle the views that people have of larger bodies," Lindsay said. "I dismantle the idea that fat bodies are ugly, that fat bodies are unintelligent, that we're lazy, that we're unworthy, that we're unable to progress in society like any other person. "I want people to stop treating larger bodies as though they are less in society. I want us to have the same treatment as people in other bodies." <img class="wp-image-12628755 size-full" src="https://img.vt.co/2020/12/3f077b3a-img_20191119_104006_423.jpg" alt="Lindsay McGlone" width="2105" height="2105" />[[imagecaption|| Credit: Lindsay McGlone - The Fierce Fat Feminist]] "I want us to be able to comfortably apply for a job and know that we're not going to turn up to the interview and they'll give us one look and already write us off," she added. Lindsay uses her activism to educate people on internalised fatphobia, sex positivity, and our society's "damaging" diet culture. She's even been known to call out brands that discriminate against fat people. She takes part in public speaking events, talks to media outlets, and has appeared on TV debates - all for the cause of fat acceptance. Her dedication to the cause is a far cry from a particular phase where she turned to weight loss organisations (think: Weight Watchers and Slimming World) around the age of 14 - when she was being severely bullied for her size. These days, however, diets aren't a concept that Lindsay can get behind. <img class="wp-image-12628748 size-full" src="https://img.vt.co/2020/12/d26e6341-unnamed-3-scaled.jpg" alt="Lindsay McGlone" width="2048" height="2560" />[[imagecaption|| Credit: Lindsay McGlone - The Fierce Fat Feminist]] "I think it's a really, really damaging and scary ideology around diets," she said. "Personally, I believe that diets are very negative in the sense of the culture around diets." "If people want to lose weight, it absolutely is their right," she added. "People can lose weight and be smaller than me. That's not the problem. The problem is how society treats larger bodies and makes us think that we have to go on a diet." Lindsay also stressed that we should be wary of using patronising language where larger people are concerned. "You could say to me, 'Oh, you're so brave for wearing a bikini on the beach'," she said. "And that's really internalised fatphobia because the reason you think I'm brave is because you think that I shouldn't exist in society in my body. You think it's a courageous act that I'm in a bikini on a beach." <img class="wp-image-12628747 size-full" src="https://img.vt.co/2020/12/b2d63259-unnamed-4-scaled.jpg" alt="Lindsay McGlone" width="2560" height="2560" />[[imagecaption|| Credit: Lindsay McGlone - The Fierce Fat Feminist]] For Lindsay, being fat and unashamed is not something that should be met with a round of applause or a pat on the back - and regarding it as "courageous" is hardly a compliment. But while she feels confident in her own skin, the idea of someone being attracted to her because of her size isn't something that sits well with Lindsay either. "Fat people should be seen as anybody else," she said. "It shouldn't be that people find them attractive because of their fat, which you do find as a larger person." "People will objectify you just because of your size and find you attractive just because of your size. But there is so much more to a fat person than what their body looks like." Unfortunately for Lindsay, there are a lot of people who take issue with the idea of fat acceptance, citing health concerns as the primary reason. <img class="wp-image-12628745 size-full" src="https://img.vt.co/2020/12/573ac5ac-unnamed-6.jpg" alt="Lindsay McGlone" width="2492" height="2492" />[[imagecaption|| Credit: Lindsay McGlone - The Fierce Fat Feminist]] Addressing this argument, Lindsay said that it was important to recognise why this conversation was being had in the first place.  "The reason we're having this conversation first is because of the stigma attached to those living in larger bodies. So, it's the way people see larger people," she explained. Lindsay then went on to say that an argument could be made that people who smoke and drink to excess also cost the National Health Service (NHS) money. "But because my attributes are physical and you can see my fat and people don't like the fact I'm fat, they immediately attack," she argued. Lindsay also suggested that the health argument comes from an "ableist" standpoint. "If you determine someone's worth by their health or the size they are, that is extremely ableist," she said. <img class="wp-image-12628911 size-full" src="https://img.vt.co/2020/12/479c948e-unnamed-7.jpg" alt="Lindsay McGlone" width="1080" height="1080" />[[imagecaption|| Credit: Lindsay McGlone - The Fierce Fat Feminist]] Lindsay has never had to access any healthcare treatments due to her size, but stressed, "That shouldn't be an argument that fat people should be having." "I pay my taxes like everybody else," she said. "It shouldn't be something that we need to justify," Lindsay continued. "And if my worth is determined by my health then what kind of society are we living in?"  It's certainly not an easy topic to delve into, with a solution to NHS spending being far from clear cut. But the 23-year-old continues to strive for a world where she and other fat people no longer feel demonised for their size. After all, what's so "radical about wanting people to treat me the same?" she offers as her final food for thought.

Fat activist bullied for her size dismantles fatphobic stigma of larger bodies

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