Calling someone “fat” can be a hurtful insult. But why is that?
This question came up when a mother named Allison shared her story about a recent swimming trip with her children. When her daughter called her fat, 30-year-old Allison had a clever response, and her message is now spreading quickly online.
Allison Kimmey began dieting when she was just 14 years old. She managed to stay at a size two to four through graduate school, but it was tough, and she wasn’t happy. Three years ago, at age 27, Allison reached a size eight and realized she would be much happier if she stopped fighting against her weight gain.
To motivate herself, Allison started an Instagram account, @allisonkimmey, where she shares pictures and inspirational messages. Her body positivity spreads joy and encourages her followers, but her important message doesn’t always reach everyone.
**Me:** “Actually, everyone, every single person in the world has fat. But each of us has different amounts.”
**Her brother:** “Oh right! I have some to protect my big muscles! But you have more than me.”
**Me:** “Yes, that’s true. Some people have a lot, and others don’t have much. But that doesn’t mean one person is better than the other. Do you both understand?”
**Both:** “Yes, mama.”
**Me:** “So can you repeat what I said?”
**Them:** “Yes! I shouldn’t say someone is fat because you can’t just be fat, but everyone HAS fat, and it’s okay to have different fat.”
**Me:** “Exactly right!”
Not only did Allison want to teach her children how to talk to others, but she also felt it was important to spread the message that everyone is equal, no matter their body shape. Now, her post on Instagram has gone viral.
“If I shame my children for saying it, then I’m proving that it’s an insulting word and continuing the stigma that being fat is unworthy, gross, comical, and undesirable,” writes Allison.
Rescue takes in severely matted dog who looks like a wig — today she’s unrecognizable
It’s truly remarkable the difference a haircut can make, especially for a dog. Many stray and neglected dogs go ungroomed, causing them distress as their fur becomes tangled and matted.
Recently, one stray dog was found with so much fur she “looked like a wig” — until a rescue gave her a life-changing makeover.
Mac’s Mission, a special needs dog rescue nonprofit based in Missouri, recently rescued a severely matted dog found in the middle of the road. The dog, now named Pear, was in terrible shape, completely covered in thick, matted fur.
The rescue wrote that Pear “didn’t even look like a dog” but rather “looked like a wig” — “just a wad of hair.”
The rescue took her in and a team of volunteers got to work helping Pear, giving her a “spa session” to remove all her dirty fur.
“We got her cleaned up, shaved down, and a bath to get rid of any grime and fleas,” rescue founder Rochelle Steffentold Newsweek. “She got settled into one of our spaces and fell asleep pretty quickly.”
Throughout the process, Pear was a patient good girl: “She was the sweetest and just sat there while we got all the terrible thick matts of her which took quite a while.”
She added that Pear thankfully did not have maggots in her fur, and said the dog was lucky she didn’t get hit by a car. However, Pear is missing an eyeball, apparently from an older injury.
Mac’s Mission shared photos of Pear before and after her treatment, showing a remarkable transformation:
“Pear has a new life ahead of her thanks to you all,” the rescue wrote on Facebook, thanking their supporters.
Pear looks beautiful — it’s hard to believe that it’s the same dog! Thank you to Mac’s Mission for giving this sweet dog a much-needed makeover!
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