Writing about the F-word. Not that one.

"Does my butt look fat? Well, it is. And it's OK to say it, because after decades of agonizing over my weight, I've finally realized that the F-word isn't dirty."

I didn't write the above lines, but I'm awfully glad Kate Harding did, because I've often had those exact sentiments. Harding writes the Shapely Prose blog, and is one of my fellow contributors to the essay collection Feed Me! Writers Dish About Food, Eating, Weight and Body Image.

Today, Salon excerpted her piece on the front page of their site. By noon, it had already spurred more than 75 letters, and wow – talk about a spectrum, from supportive to snake-like vicious, from literate and well-informed to…well, you get the picture.

Quite separate from how anyone may feel about the issue, I think Harding's essay -- slightly humorous, thought-provoking, and with a strong voice -- is well-written and worth a read.

You'll find it here.