An open letter to Conan O'Brien: Fat jokes hurt. Fat jokes make it okay for
everyone, even children, to discriminate against large people. Last month I
was appalled to hear Conan in his monologue move into fat joke territory. He
started off by saying, "Earlier today in California millions of people took
part in a massive earthquake drill. Either that or Kirstie Alley's
jazzercising again."
Having Conan make fat jokes makes large people fair game for everyone.
Fortunately, Conan and other media types have moved beyond obvious gay
bashing and woman hating, but it is still acceptable to bash fat people
because of their size. Let's not forget that a person's size is determined
by genetics and is affected by eating disorders.
Way back in 1993, Newsweek magazine published an op-ed by Jennifer
Coleman, entitled "Discrimination at Large: Jokes about Overweight
People are as Wrong and Damaging as any Racial or Ethnic Slur."
I couldn't have said it better myself. I am compelled to write about
Conan's faux pas after a session tonight with a young twenty-something male
patient who is struggling with a serious eating disorder. He told me how he
still is hurt by the teasing about his larger-than-average size that he has
received for as long as he can remember. "Kids were so mean to me because I
was fat," my patient told me.
Coleman ends her piece by saying "Hating fat people is not inborn; it has to
be nurtured and developed. It's taught from the moment most of us are able to walk and
speak. We learn it through Saturday morning cartoons, prime-time TV and
movies. Have you ever seen a fat person in a movie who wasn't evil,
disgusting, pathetic or lampooned? Santa Claus doesn't count."
Let's let Conan know that he has crossed the line. You can tell NBC and Conan
know how you feel at http://www.nbc.com/contact/general/
Just "select show" and scroll down to Tonight Show/Conan, click and write your message.
Marcia Herrin and Nancy Matsumoto, authors of the Parent's Guide to Eating Disorders, Gurze Press, 2007.
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