I had an idea in my head about the main character’s fear of monsters, who were afraid not of death, but of a more terrible fate for themselves, to become fat, fat monsters who would say by their appearance that their intentions are not so predictable, but more sophisticated for the main character
I would like to study this topic a little, in general there were such horrors in which the main character was afraid not of monsters and death, but of weight gain and was terrified of the sight of their fat bodies, as if he could get infected with it from them with any contact and it would be worse than death
Are there any thoughts on this matter and have you found people who may have such a phobia?
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It sounds like giving the MC a binge eating disorder would lead to more fun outcomes.
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Is this an idea you had about your own game, someone else’s game, what game?
I can’t tell if you are asking for feedback on an idea for your project or you want someone to critique your take on someone else’s project. I feel like i am missing context that would be important. My thoughts would be very different in each context.
sorry that it sounded vague, in fact I wanted to get a little information about fetishphobia, so that the hero would not be uncomfortable with getting fat, but he was afraid of it and we would see how it would look for him (well, not completely harsh, I just want to look at fetish horror from a different angle)
While i am no closer to knowing what it is you want, since you neglected to answer my clarifying questions, i am going to just throw out a wild guess.
Sources of fear for growing fat can be as such:
1:Societal shame “What will society think of me? The society at large has expressed contempt for fat people, and i don’t want to be subjected to any more contempt than i am now.”
2: Medical concern “I am worried about my health. Obesity has been linked to various health problems, and i don’t want to deal with those.”
3: Dysphoria " That isn’t what i want to look like. I have my own ideals of what i want to look like and fatness doesn’t match that."
4: Repressed desires " I deep down, want to look like that, but societal pressure, shame, and self denial have built up a wall between me and that feeling. I can feel those defenses cracking, and i don’t want to let those desires out. I put them behind a wall for a reason." This one can include the others as to why the denial happened in the first place.
5: Freedom of choice " I chose what i look like, and how i behave. Something is trying to take that choice away from me. " This can get dicey because making a fetish game about violating consent or free will can really irk and squic some people. Me included.
6 or 5B: Freedom of choice 2 " This isn’t on my terms. I may want to get fat, or be a little plump, but not like that. I want to get there my way, but these things, they want to push me passed what i want and are not giving me a choice in the matter. They want to turn me into something i didn’t choose for myself."
Don’t know if that is what you are after, but there it is.
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A couple of things:
1.) there’s a psych article talking about how fetishes are actually the opposite of phobias, dealing with psychological discomforts from childhood trauma. There’s a Reddit thread quoting it.
2.) fatphobia is a buzzword that is the incorrect use of root use of scientific terms. Most of those words that are used for things like phobias or the scientific names of plants and animals are actually derived from the dead language Latin; a dead language being that it’s no longer in use, therefore the meaning of the words do not change like our English language does. Don’t forget, not too long ago “yeet” was not even in our language, and “cool” just meant things were cold. And there’s more slang and lingo that goes through our revolving door of language all the time.
The proper terms for different fat related fears are:
A.) Obesophobia, or pocrescophobia: a fear of getting fat or gaining weight.
B.) Cacomorphobia: a fear of fat people.
C.) Lipophobia : a fear of eating the fat on meat.
Edit: it seems folks are judging the psych part with without actually looking at the link I posted. I’ve changed it to make more obvious, but it’s not just a generic Reddit link, it will actually lead you to the post I’m talking about.
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Hybrid words exist. You’d sound very silly trying to tell people they aren’t allowed to use words like “heterosexual” or “bicycle.”
Furthermore, linguistic prescriptivism delenda est.
1: Fears and phobias are sometimes used in fetish material as a method of dulling, coping or examining them. The OP did not mix “Phobia” and “philia” and is indeed, if you examine the language used, talking about Phobias, since they use the term ‘horrors’ and ‘afraid.’
Also do not forget they are talking about a HORROR GAME, that happens to include fetish materials and themes.
2: You defend the use of “yeet” and “Cool” as new words, but are incensed by “Fatphobia” when all three can be considered Neologisms, which are a current and ongoing factor in the evolution of langue, the thing that keeps it living.
A neologism is “a new word or phrase that has come into common use or a new meaning that has been given to an established word”. The word ‘neologism’ comes from the ancient Greek words ‘neos,’ meaning new, and ‘logos,’ meaning word.
There is a literal technical term for why use of a dead language is permissible in modern speech, yet you wish to chastise the OP for not using specific technical language?
There is also the aspect of colloquialisms that comes into play with Fatphobia as a word, to expand the meaning from just fear, to “Disdain, contempt, and discrimination against” that is commonly demonstrated in the word “Homophobia” which is used in cases in which queer folk experience hatred and not fear.
Your argument is self contradictory. Your position is blinkered, and hypocritical because you arguing against the evolution of language by citing that one of the languages that forms the root of many our clinical terms is a dead language, and forgeting to mention that those terms you cited were created, IN THE MODERN ERA, by clinicians to discuss psychological topics.
They were not created by the Romans or any other Latin speaking society.
Which is it dude, do you want language to be stagnant or to evolve? Just Chill and let us talk.
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I don’t know English at such a level as to understand all its subtleties and nuances, my level of English is at the level of common words, nothing more, I can write that this (and other messages) were written through a translator, so that people don’t get the feeling that I’m an illiterate fool
You were absolutely fine. Fatphobia is the much more popular word and the one your audience is more likely to understand. Skirret_Resetar was just wrong.
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My friend, phobias like “homophobia” have a clinical basis in their formation.
On that note, the OP stated their game was about the fear of gaining weight, I just pointed out the proper clinical term for that. If fatphobic is about discrimination, then there is no reason to be getting upset, as discrimination was not the stated concept of the game.
If you are upset by my statement on the word “fatphobic”, sorry to burst your bubble but it has become a source of mockery when someone goes as far as to claim someone else having a smaller portion of cake is a form of discrimination upon their own very being.
You are also being needlessly pedantic in casual speech settings.
You also did not read the part where i pointed out that phobias are sometimes included in fetish games to be examined and picked apart, thus its inclusion and discussion.
and just because someone mocks something that does not mean it is without merit or use. You bringing up as a subject of mockery is a complete non-sequitur. There are people that mock the idea that the earth is spherical, that does not mean we must become flat earthers.
you are not being clever in any sense.
Again, you brought up the distinction in your own quote
There is also the aspect of colloquialisms that comes into play with Fatphobia as a word, to expand the meaning from just fear, to “Disdain, contempt, and discrimination against” that is commonly demonstrated in the word “Homophobia” which is used in cases in which queer folk experience hatred and not fear.
Also, homophobia does have clinical, technical basis still.
The difference in your example is that flat-earthers are a minority belief, and actually incorrect. Meanwhile, folks who mock “fatphobic” are much larger demographic due to the fact that the term is used for instances where someone is claiming discrimination when it is in fact a natural consequence of the state of things. A restaurant cannot predict someone of an obese size will enter when they’re in an area of fairly healthy people, nor could an activity center with, say, a rock climbing wall be able to assist someone so heavy because there is a chance it could injure the assistants.
For an example so that it’s understood it’s not just a heavy folks thing, a blind person will never see someone’s picture. A deaf person will not understand the sound of music. There are accommodations that can be made, but certain actions are just… impossible.
There is a reason our fetish is fringe, and usually only seen in fiction.
Edit: Also, something I noticed but it seems you hadn’t even clicked on the link before commenting about the article:
1: Fears and phobias are sometimes used in fetish material as a method of dulling, coping or examining them. The OP did not mix “Phobia” and “philia” and is indeed, if you examine the language used, talking about Phobias, since they use the term ‘horrors’ and ‘afraid.’
Had you actually looked, you’d see that was one of the aspects addressed:
Fetishes and kinks which added extra thrill and charge…
It’s been well stated that sometimes, people cross the feelings between danger and lust. It’s part of why so many women like novels where the male lead is rather abusive, because the thrill of danger remains in the fantasy.
Did you really just argumentum ad populum and expect me to take your seriously?
Guys, guys, it’s not that serious. The clinical definitions can help, but leaning either towards saying it can only be clinical, or we can only use it colloquially doesn’t matter. It’s just information you offered to help the OP to make a more informed decision. Especially since the terms and root words for phobia (especially fatphobia) have found their ways into both ends of the communication spectrum.
Let’s take a breath, please.
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Hey, they used the much more well-respected “argumentum ad Redditum” proof
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Yeah, i am gonna admit, i got heated. Especially since i have a history of running into this “Only clinical levels or precision” as a form of shutting down discussion. I am pretty sure that is what that was. Fallacious argument after fallacious argument that are often self contradictory are usually just an attempt to shut down a conversation and appear to be smart in doing so.
Also, i want to clarify, i was never arguing “Colloquial only” i was arguing that “colloquial should not be dismissed” especially since the OP later mentioned that English is not their first language.
My initial responses to Dapk’s post should also be apologized for since i did not know that at the time.
I shouldn’t have fed the troll, but then again, intellectualizing bullies need to be resisted.
Also, i have a degree in philosophy, and when people learn that, they think i am exactly the type of overly pedantic discussion gatekeeper the Skirret was being, so… i took it a little TOO personal, and i am going to admit, i shouldn’t have.
It was either a sincere but corny and clunky owning up to my behavoir or a joking response of “Let’s take a breath? Who’s breath? I will get the plastic bag” which might be a little dark.
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