I Write Letters

[Content Note: Fat hatred.]

Dear Story Creators, Everyone Who Tells Stories That Involves the Creation of Characters in Any Medium, Whether Those Characters Are Drawn with Images or Words or Both:

Please stop using "fat" as shorthand to convey to your audience that a character is bad in some way, or many ways.

Fat is not a synonym for "evil."

Fat is not a synonym for "lazy."

Fat is not a synonym for "ugly."

Fat is not a synonym for "manipulative."

Fat is not a synonym for "duplicitous."

Fat is not a synonym for "bumbling."

Fat is not a synonym for "unintelligent."

Fat is not a synonym for "mean."

Fat is not a synonym for "greedy."

Fat is not a synonym for "dangerous."

Et cetera.

Fat is also, for the record, not a synonym for silly or jolly or carefree or simple-minded.

Fat is a neutral descriptor of someone's appearance.

If you are reading this and thinking, "I don't write/draw/create any fat villains!" then good for you. I hope that is not because you are simply not writing any fat characters at all.

Because it's not just important to avoid writing fat villains whose fat is used to lazily communicate their inherent badness. It's also important to write fat heroes.

Love,
Liss