I use the F word a lot when I’m writing about body image, and every so often, my iVillage editor gently takes it out of my copy and replaces it with something softer, like “overweight” or “portly”* because she doesn’t want to offend anyone. (She’s nice like that.)

So we were discussing the “is fat offensive?” question and realized that maybe it would help if I just straight-up explained why I use fat — because I actually have a whole secret mission behind it. Which is now no longer a secret. You can read the whole thing here.

*Sidebar: Really, if you’re offended by “fat,” is “portly” any better? Forget size bias, I just think it is one of the most unattractive words in the English language. Also for some reason, I picture anyone described that way dressed as an old time-y ship captain. So there’s that.