Fat Chicks

I turn right off Springhill Road into Masters Road, when I notice a ute in front of me bearing a sticker. The only word that I can reliably make out is ‘Fat’ and I think that the next word is ‘chick’. Surely not, I think. Curious I think. Is the driver a fat chick? Does the driver have some form of fetish for a ‘fat chick?

The vehicle momentarily speeds away but then takes the Figtree exit that I am headed for. The vehicle slows down to meet the 50 kilometres per hour speed limit and to negotiate the exit onto the Avenue. I am now able to get a better view of the sticker. It seems to read ‘Fat chick make me sick’. I follow him along the Avenue and our cars stop for the red light in front of Figtree Grove – formerly Westfield. So, I have another opportunity to read the sticker.

My first reaction is one of disgust at the cruelty of the message. But this is also mixed with the thought that the sticker maker and sticker buyer are both a bit thick because the statement either contains a grammatical error or is a command. As it is written it is a command for a fat chick to make the owner sick. I surmise that this is a mistake and the intended meaning is that Fat chicks make the driver sick. Another set of traffic lights at the intersection of the Avenue and the Princes Highway avails me a chance not only to confirm the statement but to gain a glimpse of the driver and his passenger before they turn left and disappear. He’s probably in his twenties as is his pony tailed female friend.

Then my mind goes to a different place. Firstly, I wonder about the thought processes and actions that led him to get the sticker. Did he search for and then buy it online after seeing a young fat woman that he found ugly? I assume the term ‘chick’ refers to a young woman. Did he come across the sticker in a shop, and on a whim, decide to buy it because it reflected his attitude about young fat women.

A quick search online when I got home made me realise that I was on the wrong track entirely. There is a whole series of ‘fat chicks’ stickers which it is cool to place on a car bumper. Amazon sells them as does an Australian motor head’s website, Street FX Motorsport, where stickers bearing the message ‘no fat chicks – car will scrape’ are promoted as the perfect addition to your car or as a laugh for your mates.

Aghast at this new knowledge, I wondered how the females in his life reacted to his purchase. Did his mum, or his sister or his girlfriend question his motives in placing it on the back window of his ute. Who is he talking to? Does he want other drivers to honk their sympathy or agreement? What about his dad or his brothers or his grandad? What about the other people with whom he works. Does any of them think that there is something unkind and dehumanising about the sticker? I really hope so.