One Man’s Outlet

Most people need a creative outlet. Well, I really have no idea if most people need a creative outlet, and I don’t really care. I need another creative outlet, in spite of the fact that I am a musician. I want to publish writings, art, pictures, music, and whatever else strikes me. I don’t know if anyone will ever see anything on here, but it’s okay because that’s not the reason I’m doing this. That’s not to say that I don’t have meaningful things to share; I feel that I do. Share I will, but it’s up to you to decide if it’s meaningful. Let’s see what we can get done…

Is the Name “FatBoyFight” Insensitive?

Insensitive to whom? I know that fat shaming can and does hurt people, causing a host of issues for the victims. I have been a victim of fat shaming, particularly when I was a child. In one case that I recall, a cousin of mine from South Florida was visiting during the summer, as she and her brothers did almost every summer. She is a few years older than me, and I was probably 8 years old at the time. She told me that if I still had a fat gut when she came back the following summer, that she would take a butcher knife and cut off my fat. Talk about freaking out an 8 year old. I knew at the time that she wouldn’t really cut off my fat, but it still freaked me out. So much so that I can still remember where she and I were sitting in my grandmother’s kitchen, the angle of the sun coming through the windows (it was mid-afternoon, based on the beams coming in through the west, going right to left), and the way her hair was arranged in a banana-clip. Coincidentally, does anyone miss banana clips? I do not.

The name of this site has nothing to do with anyone but me, and I’m beyond the point of being ashamed of my physical constitution. So I’m certainly not fat shaming myself. If you’re reading this and are offended by the name of the site, or any other content on here, please accept my apology and move on.

That having been said, I have been in a fight with myself for my whole life. I am now in the best physical shape I have been in since I was a teenager, but it hasn’t been easy (I’m now 41). I also still have a long way to go in order to be in the condition I want. I am writing more on the subject of how I got to where I am, and why.