Jargon Translator

I go to the barber, I say "my son would like a haircut", they do not question me about whether he is my son on either point. This has worked perfectly so far. You just don't give anyone a reason to question you? If I say he is my son it is so unbelievably rude for someone else to go "um are you sure?".

But yesterday the barbers apprentice looked at him and asked if he is getting a woman's cut, and instead of arcing up and explaining trans theory and respect for kiddos gender to someone who I knew heard me the first time and had clocked him, I just channeled the spirit of a Christian Mother In The Toy Aisle and said "well, he is a boy so no, he will have a boys cut".

With an update since getting it back:

every fat person you know for the most part probably has a story like this, of medical neglect. many of the stories i've heard personally are when the complaint or the doctor wasn't related at all, like being told to lose weight at the ear nose and throat doctor or at the dentist. it's straight up just bias. it's such a thing that in the show Shrill it's portrayed, when Aidy Bryant goes to the gynecologist and her doctor suggests she get gastric bypass.

the studies on health and fatness are simply not that black and white and there is basically no research that shows that more than an incredibly tiny minority of people can lose weight and keep it off for more than like 2 years. bodies have set points that they gravitate towards, it's not a personal failure. this also is how the weight loss industry succeeds so well - repeat customers.

some of the harm associated with fatness is also due to weight cycling, which is very hard on your body and is even worse if you get off a GLP1, which according to a recent study causes weight to be regained at a rate that is 4x faster than without taking a GLP1.

you don't have to hate yourself. you don't have to hate other people for their body type either. it makes me so sad to see the thinspo tag going around again in 2026 a lot like it was back in the day.

some resources to learn more here:

https://www.reuters.com/article/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/feeling-fat-may-be-worse-for-you-than-being-fat-idUSTON079061/

The reason it was so important for narrative purposes, was that the plot concerns the visit of the Astronaut, in his completely opaque spacesuit, to a planet populated entirely by self-aware robots (originally from Earth) who have built their own society and are petitioning to be allowed to interact with Earth again as equals.

They have a democratic government and free choice of careers etc. as the orange robot serving as guide tells the Astronaut.

The Astronaut notices that there are two different types of robot on this world; the orange ones, who are in charge, gifted access to all information and facilities. and the blue robots, who are seen as more limited in function, have less access to information and resources, and are not allowed positions of power or as wide a choice of employment opportunities. Even transportation is segregated.

The Astronaut investigates further and discovers that the blue and orange robots are actually structurally identical, there is absolutely no difference between their potential or capabilities, and it is only because the orange robots are instructed by their Educator system to consider themselves superior, that the difference exists.

The Astronaut tells the robots they are not ready for re-alignment with Earth, until they come to terms with their own unfairness, and how Earth had had to deal with this issue themselves. When that time comes, the robots will be able to ally with Earth.

Then he leaves in his spaceship, and it's only in that one final panel that we see the Astronaut is black.

Not subtle, nor should it be, but for 1950 this was a breathtakingly powerful statement, perhaps the first of it's kind in the genre.

“First season of LEVERAGE - so he's 21 years old - he shows me his watch designs. I'm expecting, y' know, celebrity strap branding or faces. No, it's engineering schematics of GEARS and shit. Pages of them. Even then, there were none so cool.” - John Rogers

Fat liberation is the idea that fat people deserve the same dignity and rights as non-fat people, essentially.

Not only if we’re “healthy,” not only if we’re trying to lose weight, not only if we exist to help others feel good about themselves, and not only if we’re not “encouraging obesity.” There’s no if ands or buts.

We deserve equal medical care, access to clothes, chairs, transportation, etc, the right to be believed about our own bodies, and safety from harassment, discrimination, and violence.

Fat liberation is recognizing that fat people aren’t tragedies to prevent, or horrors to be gawked at. We are just people living our lives like everyone else.

- my neighbors telling all their friends and family about my landscaping and woodland restoration. I have never discussed this with my neighbors! But hearing last night that it’s been positively noticed and they are so appreciative really did make me feel Quite Good. They also wanted to use my yard for photos because of all my native plant blooms lol and they can’t wait for winter for me to clear out more vines and bramble. The part that really made my heart sing was that everyone said they noticed a distinct increase in fireflies this year compared to last.

- a mom and her smol daughter are introducing themselves to me. Daughter gives me a very English sounding name, mom says something under her breath like “that’s not your name!” And I say to the smol girl “My Anglicized name is ____, but my real name, my Hebrew name, is ____. Do you want me to call you by your real name? Because I’d like to call you by your real name. I can pronounce it, I promise.” And both mom and smol daughter LIGHT UP and immediately ditch their English names.

- all 16 families give speeches about the high school grad and then suddenly I am also asked to give a speech about this girl I know only in passing. Made a joke, crushed it. I am the Cool Neighbor now.

- having Very Bad Scotch with all the men outside discussing Immigration, the Economy, and Agriculture. They were fascinated that I am the one who does all things outdoorsy, that I am the landscaper and gardener and farmer, not my cishet spouse. I give many facts about bats, I have convinced many to invest in saving bats by citing how much money they save Society in crop pest control annually. I give many impassioned talks about the prairies and learn a tremendous amount about rubber trees and rubber tree plantations in India.

- I have been over to their house a few times before this and there’s never ever been any alcohol so I assumed none of them drank but then this One Guy shows up and I am informed that he is The Guy. Next thing I know I have three drinks in my hand of three different liquors and I am thinking to myself “oh OKAY you guys party hard actually”

- when I am inside dancing with all the 50+ year old women, they are Impressed that I am picking up the moves so quickly and I say something off hand jokingly like “my people love to dance too” and then they stop the music and ask me to put on MY people’s music. Imagine it if you will, this Lone Jew, teaching 20 Indian women how to do the hora.

The age of eligibility for an ABLE account, allowing USAmerican disabled people to save up money without losing their government assistance for having “too much,” is going to go up to cover disabilities diagnosed by age 46 (currently it’s age 26), meaning a much larger number of people will be able to access them. As the article notes, many Americans don’t know these accounts exist, let alone whether they or someone they care for could qualify for one, so please share this information around.