I was reading an article called “Size Doesn’t Matter” by Samme Chittum, published by Diversity Woman. The article doesn’t seem to be online, alas.
The article is solidly pro-fat, which made it strange that, rather than using the word “fat,” Chittum used “plus-size.” I dislike “plus-size” for the same reason I dislike “overweight”; the term implies that there is an objectively correct size over which people shouldn’t go. Fuck that shit.
Then I came to this passage (emphasis in original), and realized that Chittum wasn’t to blame:
While many cringe when they hear the term plus-size, Wann, Lyons, and other activists believe it is time to take back the f word. “A lot of people don’t like the term overweight because it assumes weight is in itself a problem,” says Lyons. “Using the term plus-size has been very freeing for many women.”
It appears the editor missed the point — but found the search and replace key. Yipes.
UPDATE: And from elsewhere in the same article:
Outside the office, she performs as a belly dancer and helped organize the first Plus-sizeitude Festival, sponsored by the National Association to Advance Plus-size Acceptance (NAAPA).
Plus-suzitude? Puh-leeeze!
The weird thing is, someone did edit closely enough to change the “F” in “NAAFA” to “P” — apparently they don’t mind getting the name of the organization wrong, but they do want the acronym to match.
Posted in Fat, fat, and more fat 
wow…as a free-time editor, i must say i’m disgusted by this…i mean, it’s a little obvious that the article isn’t about being what people think is PC or whatever. i know i would be pissed if someone messed up my writing this badly. i hope the author raised hell about it. this isn’t some semi-colon vs comma thing. this is drastic…
YIKES. As a freelance writer, I have a few editor horror stories, but this tops them all.
I’m guessing one editor/proofreader/etc hit the search-and-replace key, and then later another noticed the acronym discrepancy and changed the F to a P, not knowing that it was the organization’s name, and not the acronym, that was wrong.
Reminds me of that conservative Christian paper that had a policy of changing “gay” to “homosexual” — and ended up changing a guy’s last name.
This (and the Yankees picture) are really ridiculous editing mistakes. Who just replaces-all in a commercial product without at least looking at each usage. Makes NO sense. And why would someone catch the acronym but not the other obviously wrong replacements?
AND, using the search and replace function to change a word in a QUOTE? I mean, that’s pretty bad.
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I am still cringing and I haven’t had any response to the email I sent to Jackie Krentzm about the “plus-sized” mistake it was to remove the fat from this document.