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"Grossly"?
Posted by: portenopete 05:35 pm EDT 06/18/18
In reply to: re: Slender, Medium and Stout Seating Options: Bring It Back!!! - gothamplaygoer 03:23 pm EDT 06/18/18

Might I ask that you refrain from using the word "grossly" as a modifier for "obese"? Do you have any idea how hurtful that is? Can you imagine the reaction if someone was described as "frighteningly black" or "creepily Jewish"?

Your use of "grossly" leads me to wonder whether there's more than just the pilfered space that's problematic: sometimes I think people just don't want to be near fat people as a matter of aesthetic principle.
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There are accepted degrees of obesity
Posted by: broadwaybacker 11:38 am EDT 06/19/18
In reply to: "Grossly"? - portenopete 05:35 pm EDT 06/18/18

I can’t believe I’m posting this on this board, but the World Health Organization does have subgroups of obesity, based on body mass index. They are: severe, morbid and super, which correspond to Class I, Class II and Class III obesity. I wonder what the reaction would have been if the OP had used the term “super obese”. By the way, the WHO characterizes super obesity, or Class III obesity as someone whose BMI is greater than 50.

But of course, you can’t look at someone and know what their BMI is.

So, I don’t have a strong objection to the adjective of “grossly” to modify obese, as it seems to be a reasonably perceived “unscientific” description.
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re: There are accepted degrees of obesity
Posted by: broadwaybacker 11:53 am EDT 06/19/18
In reply to: There are accepted degrees of obesity - broadwaybacker 11:38 am EDT 06/19/18

Too late to edit. I meant gothamplaygoer’s description, not the OP. It was the OP who objected to the word “grossly.”
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re: "Grossly"?
Posted by: gothamplaygoer 06:05 pm EDT 06/18/18
In reply to: "Grossly"? - portenopete 05:35 pm EDT 06/18/18

Morbidly?
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Better.
Posted by: portenopete 10:26 pm EDT 06/18/18
In reply to: re: "Grossly"? - gothamplaygoer 06:05 pm EDT 06/18/18

It's a medical term, but sure. It doesn't present a value judgement like "grossly".

And I would suggest that rather than use the word "obese" at all, just stick to "fat". It's not a pejorative word on its own, unless you choose to make it so.

I'm glad you say you want to avoid embarrassing the fat person in question, but you do get that calling something "gross" is pretty....gross, right?
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re: Better.
Posted by: gothamplaygoer 09:33 am EDT 06/19/18
In reply to: Better. - portenopete 10:26 pm EDT 06/18/18

I apologize for inadvertently offending.
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This should be under portenopete's post
Last Edit: AlanScott 06:24 pm EDT 06/18/18
Posted by: AlanScott 06:23 pm EDT 06/18/18
In reply to: re: "Grossly"? - gothamplaygoer 06:05 pm EDT 06/18/18

I agree that grossly is a poor choice of modifier, but the problem can be a real one. I've experienced it a few times myself, one time on a trip to London. I had to ask for another seat, which I tried to do as quietly and unobtrusively as possible so as not to embarrass the person in the seat next to me. At first I was told that there were not empty seats, but then one was found for me. I don't know what I would have done if there had not been one. It really would not have been possible for me to sit there leaning over to one side and with my knees over to one side for all those hours.
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re: This should be under portenopete's post
Posted by: portenopete 10:31 pm EDT 06/18/18
In reply to: This should be under portenopete's post - AlanScott 06:23 pm EDT 06/18/18

Believe me, when I request a different seat because of space, I am thinking of my neighbour at least as much as I of myself. I am often aching at the end of a show after contorting my frame to keep from impinging on the space of my neighbours. I am always glad when a show is poorly sold so I can move back and have a seat on either side of me.

Boxes are a godsend, despite the sometimes less-than-perfect vantage point. And if I am in one and someone is sitting behind me, I always offer to change places since because of my largesse, I tend to sit higher than a thinner person of my height.
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re: This should be under portenopete's post
Posted by: AlanScott 02:43 pm EDT 06/19/18
In reply to: re: This should be under portenopete's post - portenopete 10:31 pm EDT 06/18/18

As with people of all sizes, some are considerate neighbors at the theatre, and some are not. I'm sure you're among the considerate ones.
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