Connie Levitsky didn't think using the F-word would mean losing her job.
The third-year MacEwan University student describes herself as fat, has no problem referring to herself that way, and is proud of her body.
So as a sales associate at Edmonton plus-size women's retailer Addition Elle, she described her job title on Facebook as, "Conquering the world, one well-dressed fat lady at a time."
She removed the post last week, at her manager's request.
When she arrived at work on Tuesday, she was told she no longer had a job.
"It was explained to me that the company simply just does not want to be associated with the word 'fat' because of the negative connotation attached to it, and they prefer to use the words 'curvy or shapely' or other euphemisms," Levitsky said.
"I remember feeling just incredibly shocked."
'It was explained to me that the company simply just does not want to be associated with the word 'fat' because of the negative connotation attached to it.'
– Connie Levitsky
Levitsky took to Facebook on Tuesday night with a post explaining why she's comfortable with calling herself fat.
She's always been fat, she explained, something that used to cause her anger, shame and anxiety.
She said body-positivity movements helped her accept using the word fat to describe her figure.
She said she's upset that Addition Elle, a company she admired for the way it advocates for acceptance of all women's bodies, can't accept a word many women use without worry to describe themselves.
Her original post was shared more than a thousand times.
"I don't see fat as being a negative thing anymore," Levitsky said. "I realize that when I take offence to a word that is used to hurt me, I'm essentially reinforcing this perpetuation that fat people should be and are ashamed of themselves, that there's something wrong with being fat."
Addition Elle responded to Levitsky's post with a statement on its Facebook page. The company said firing Levitsky was a mistake and that it
"took the word 'fat' out of its context," worried it might offend customers and employees.
She hasn't spoken to her manager, but if she's offered her job back, she said, she won't be taking it.
"I feel it would be a disservice to the women I was trying to empower if I continue to work for a company that has said ... that they still don't condone the use of this word," Levitsky said.
"I don't feel what I was trying to say has truly gotten across to them."