perhaps the last "safe" insult in the American culture. Using the term "fat" as an insult is about as silly as using the term "black" as an insult; "fat" is not a cuss word. It does not translate into the term "ugly"; society (specifically, American society) has interpreted the term to mean "ugly." The current hullabaloo over body image supposedly began back in the early 1900s when clothing companies modelled their clothing on thin women to draw attention away from the feminine bodies and towards the actual clothes. Naturally, years of this kind of activity has caused a backlash; there are now preteens who are already dieting and suffering through anorexia and bulimia in an attempt to feel attractive. However, larger people are slowly becoming accepted; there are actually a fair number of fat admirers in existance, and magazines like Mode Magazine (http://www.modemag.com) display models with full-figured forms.