Hertz is attending her 11th convention this weekend at the San Mateo Marriott. More than 200 overweight people are gathering for a four-day conference on everything fat. NAAFA was created 36 years ago to eliminate discrimination against fat people through education and advocacy. The conventions holds workshops ranging from tips for larger travelers to water aerobics and fat activism.

“Just the act of putting on a bathing suit and going out in public is a form of activism,” said Peggy Howell, chair of NAAFA public relations.

What started as a small fund-raiser with six attendees grew to a major function that has the power to change people’s perceptions about themselves and others.

For Melissa Taylor, the convention was a life-altering experience the first time she attended eight years ago in New Orleans. When she went home and looked at herself in the mirror, she said she literally didn’t recognize herself. Where she used to see flaws, she saw attributes.

Now she’s not afraid to wear a two-piece at the beach and when people look at her, she smiles back.

“It’s in your face,” she said. “It puts a human face on it. They look at you as a human being and not as a fat object.”

Taylor is fat and happy. That’s the message she portrays to people as an aerobics instructor at a Baton Rouge hospital. The class caters to fat patients and is the most popular program at the hospital, Taylor said.

Once, during a trip to the store, Taylor saw another large woman wearing a sleeveless shirt. When they made eye contact, the former student said “I’m wearing this because of you,” Taylor recounted.

It’s not always that easy. This year’s convention goers also have stories to tell of shameful discrimination based on their size alone.

When Howell worked as a counselor at a Christian church, her boss told her she had to shed her extra pounds or face being fired. Her boss was also her spiritual advisor and the ultimatum crushed her self esteem. She joined Weight Watchers and lost a lot of the weight, but wasn’t happy. She gained the weight back and then some.

Her sister has similar stories.

One recent study shows that maintaining a constant weight is healthier than yo-yo dieting and another claims weight is a genetic predisposition. It’s not a matter of fat people being fat because they want to, Howell said.

NAAFA members recently completed a letter writing campaign after a Seattle radio shock jock announced a NAAFA beach party and invited his listeners “to shoot the whales,” Howell said.

Fat is the last acceptable discrimination. People still make the jokes and lawmakers continue to ignore the problems faced by fat Americans, Howell said.

Only San Francisco, Santa Cruz and the state of Michigan prohibit hiring based on size discrimination, Howell said.

There is hope. In America, where fat people are quickly become the majority, businesses are finally beginning to get the message.

“We’re fat, we’re here and you’re going to have to listen to us,” Howell said.

Theaters are slowly beginning to install larger seats and restaurants are buying chairs without armrests. All because fat people are shedding the stigma and asking for what they need in public instead of being ashamed, said Howell’s sister Darliene.

When Darliene Howell walks down the street, she smiles at people who look at her strange. That’s the first step to getting others to accept fat people. The hard part is learning to accept yourself enough to believe people will smile back, she said.

“It’s the confidence you have in yourself. People see that in your eyes and something clicks,” she said.

Dana Yates can be reached by e-mail: dana@smdailyjournal.com or by phone: (650) 344-5200 ext. 106. What do you think of this story? Send a letter to the editor: letters@smdailyjournal.com