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Roxane Gay: ā€˜Fatā€™ is the first insult

Prominent US academic and cultural critic Roxane Gay has spoken to the Ö÷²„“óŠć about the contempt she has faced due to her weight.

ā€œPeople really do view fat as this repulsive thing that they should treat with disdain. Itā€™s the first insult,ā€ said the writer, best known for her book ā€œBad Feministā€ and her memoir ā€œHunger".

ā€œOne of the most frustrating things in my career has been that no matter how much I achieve, no matter how high I rise there is some Fred over there who reminds me ā€˜oh youā€™re fatā€™. And that, in his mind of course, negates everything I have accomplished.ā€

Speaking to HARDtalkā€™s Stephen Sackur while visiting London, the author said she believes that peopleā€™s attitudes to being ā€˜fatā€™ are slowly beginning to change. ā€œNo matter how much weight I lose, I still think itā€™s important for people to be treated with respect and dignity at any size.ā€

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