"Fat" revolution?

[joystickd]

One of the most contentious topics of our age, is "beauty standards", "fat shaming", and in general what is a "healthy weight".

 

You can't escape the topic, nearly every woman thinks about it, or talks about...every person is concerned about it, millions of dollars are spent on dieting and you know the rest, I don't really have to make a case about such an obvious issue but an article on CNN caught my eye today in a disturbing way, and as I am not in my home country to see on the grocery aisle stands, I am really wondering if this is what people want or are asking for...

 

The article link to CNN: Size 22 SUPERMODEL 5'5 ft (165cm) 280 pounds (127 kg) on the cover of a popular magazine called PEOPLE

 

Is this REALLY what women are asking for?

 

I understand that as men we are basically as vicious and cruel as the marketing machine that force feeds all you women "unrealistic" images of beautiful skinny women, but when is it going too far? Do you really expect the "standard of beauty" to be defined by....well, just about ANYTHING? Is there even a "standard" of beauty anymore, or is everyone just "beautiful" these days?

 

I feel like there's a psychological revolution taking place with feminism, and it's this never-ending push to gain as much territory before men and even women to figure out what's going on and that's its gone too far...because essentially, men are being expected to be attracted to a woman that essentially looks like...

 

THIS

 

THIS

 

OR THIS

 

*all the same model in the magazine*

 

I understand that for women, you're all batting for the same team here...you don't want to be judged for a little fat there, or that perfect round butt or breasts you don't have, or whatever the situation may be...we'll pretend you're not jealous and wouldn't want it all as a woman and typically dislike other women that are better looking and skinnier than you even...

 

But seriously, if there's a sympathetic bone in your body, like the same bone that wouldn't let a little child starve...are you so completely removed from sensibility and what...dare I say, what a man should "expect" (without being beaten by 10 feminist bats) that you would just allow this kind of situation continue on? do you really need a woman who is double your size to be on the front page of a magazine so you don't feel fat or ugly about yourself or your body? are these the type of women you want your own daughters looking up to and feeling that it's "ok" to look that way, and all that mumbo-jumbo about BMI and "healthy" is just a farce and you should just be happy for "who you are" and "love yourself" no matter what you look like?

 

Is there not some line, where people at some point say "Ok, I want some leeway with my own laziness and inability to lose weight or not have to face the fact that I am a supermodel, but ok...this is a bit too much"...not that women would ever look out for men and what is "right" by us...because of course we should just accept every woman for who she is, or simply date the ones we want...even if the number of "wants" is decreasing ever so slowly, especially if this is where the bar is set for the future for "normal".

 

You can say whatever you want to men about what they should like and be attracted to, and yes there is a few small minority that do enjoy women of larger size...but let's be just realistic and honest, as men we can't all date supermodels, because we are not supermodels ourselves....but are you ready for fat, bald and ugly to become the "standard of beauty" for men...are these the "hotties" you want to see in the James Bond movies or actions flicks, are you going to drool over that? are you going to watch the "Notebook" a hundred times if the lead role was played by Danny Devito? I didn't think so, so why are men expected to be attracted to something most of us are inherently not? why is that ok? when is fat, bald, ugly guy making the cover of PEOPLE magazine as the a supermodel and a change in "standard of beauty"? not any time soon I'm guessing.

I'm tired of this whole fat shaming slut shaming etc. No one can shame you unless you let them. You feel shame because of YOU not what someone else says. Actions have consequences. A woman sleeps around will have to deal with the fact a man may not see her as a potential partner because of her past. A person that eats fast food may become unattractive to a lot of people. It's life. The thing a lot of women hate do admit is that looks matter. We are all on some level superficial.

[WasOtherWoman]

It's not why not. I think the thing is why change if the other person is ok with it.

 

Ok, i suppose that makes sense. Although, truly I exercise first and foremost for myself, always have and always will. But - regardless of how my spouse would feel about it, it is disrespectful to your spouse to let yourself go, because even if they don't say anything to you, in most cases they are thinking it or saying it to someone else.

 

Just my humble opinion, of course.

[acrosstheuniverse]

I actually find it incredible and very sad to see how much joy some people seem to get out of bashing fat people, it reminds me of school yard bullying where a group of people all get worked up and outta hand and end up saying the most awful nasty things they'd never dare say to someone's face if they were sat calmly in a room together.

 

It has always struck me that people put others down to try and make themselves feel or seem better in comparison, otherwise why would you spend so much energy trying to make someone feel bad instead of just quieting accepting they're not your cup of tea and walking away? Tess comes out of this as having self confidence in herself and people saying she's repulsive and disgusting and all of that come across very insecure. I don't believe you gain strength or appeal by trying to put others down. There are ways to say things respectfully, and the fact that so many people avoid this route and go straight for the jugular to be awful about someone else or a group of people is very sad indeed. If I were overweight I would feel worthless and less than human reading the responses to this thread. Maybe that's the intention. If I call someone else repulsive I'm not so subtly pointing out that I am better looking. Call them fat so people know I'm slim. Point out how 'easy' it is to lose weight makes me seem like I have it together and have willpower but fat people lack even that. Really disturbing stuff on here.

[Ninjainpajamas]

I think this is good example of one of those situations...where something is clearly inappropriate and undesirable, but for the sake of the side they stand for and self-serving beliefs, they are unable to express reason and good judgment, even when the situation calls for it and simply goes too far...this is an example of how bad it's going to get if people can't straight up be honest with themselves that this is a problem.

 

It's just not responsible as a society to place a 280 pound woman on a cover of a magazine and call her supermodel and protest to how great she looks, how beautiful and proud/brave she is as a woman like this is some positive thing. This kind of mentality is promoted by those who wish to push an agenda, whom are self-serving and trying to fulfill a void with themselves, the naive whom not know what they are doing, and people whom know no limits because they got a grudge against themselves and society...because let's be honest, does it make a difference to you then if it's 380 pounds, or 480, or 580? I have a feeling you're going to change your tune very little, even though inside you know it is wrong ...and I also asked if there was some kind of line that could be crossed, and no one that I've read expressed there was.

 

They're all stuck in this simple-minded thinking that it's just a small isolated demographic of people whom should do what they want instead of realizing the magnitude of it all.

 

What are you really promoting here?

 

It's a blind irresponsible agenda, it's a movement justified by self-love which is just shame and insecurity in disguise...because MAYBE if the world accepts you for who you are, then you will too accept yourself.

 

That's what this is really about, the women that support this are not about reason, health or change, it's about personal emotions and experiences and the US at least is providing these women a platform to justify a very unhealthy and irresponsible movement because nobody wants to throw themselves in the line for fire and say it's not right.

 

This is not about self-love, self-acceptance or whatever the BS you hear about on TV or the radio...this is about justifying to yourself like many others that this is in some twisted way acceptable, and neglecting the fact that your body has to do some pretty amazing and absurd duties to sustain that mass in order to work properly. You are essentially promoting the ideal and confirming that this kind of things is ok and acceptable, that's the point of the thread.

 

But since people aren't dropping over dead before your eyes, because she's not dead yet and you can't see her in 20 years in the future...somehow you tell yourself everything is fine because in this moment she is ok but even she knows this is not ok. Can you really tell yourself this is ok? we all know she's lying to herself and you are too if you are saying so.

 

If it were your daughter, would you tell her that she doesn't need help? would you just simply be ok with letting that person go down that road, after all you don't have to watch or care about what this woman does or goes through, but what if it's someone close to you, does it still feel the same when you can't turn your head at the consequences?

 

This is not like being gay, where if gay parents raise a kid the kid can and will be whatever they will be regardless of their parents sexual orientation, their own sexual preference is still their own. But a kid being raised in this kind of dynamic is likely to be overweight themselves, it is likely that kid will suffer the same fate as their parents or parent.

 

And if you think that people harm themselves and are allowed to, which is what overweight people are clearly doing to themselves...should we just legalize drugs then? should we just say hell with it all as a society and start putting drug addicts on the covers of magazines? (not that we don't already), should we just celebrate all the vices and self-damage that we place upon ourselves in their raw form?

 

It's obvious there is a major problem, especially in the US an the UK...should we just let the problem get worse before you realize it's a problem? will it take this woman dying to get you to notice along with many others?

but

And yet we shame smokers, we shame druggies, we shame alcoholics, we shame men who aren't "man enough", we justify all these arguments and discrimination...those things are NOT acceptable, but for some reason we should accept obesity as a society, for some reason this is the exception.

 

And then, you lack the sense to wonder why this is feminism? I mean, really? do you see the same arm being stretch to protect men? I don't see you running out in the world dating or protecting fat guys...where's the protest to put an overweight guy next to her on a cover of that magazine? do I hear women talking about how shorter, fatter, unattractive men should be celebrated for how "handsome" they are, and that all men come in different sizes and packages? and that they are all sexy and amazing in some way, even the ones with the small penises...hell no, words you never hear from a woman's mouth or society, but no politician will step away from the mic to remind you how much he supports women's rights, because that's not a free grab in the candy jar...whether he gives a damn or not.

 

And then you've got the nerve to compare this to handicap people? are you absurd? a person with an inherent unchangeable disability is compared with a person who neglects herself and doesn't help herself with a perfectly curable disease...while Mr. No-legs is stuck in a wheel chair for life because he's paralyzed from the waist down...is it not clear that there is a difference? that man could do nothing to change the fact he doesn't have legs, that woman has every opportunity to..but there seems to be no limits to what is justifiable for being overweight like it's some kind of uncontrollable disease.

 

How people manage to even formulate their thoughts is beyond me...It's like writing a book without all the pages. You can't even call this no-brainer of a situation unhealthy as a society, you can't even say that this is wrong so what would it take...yet you still ask the naive question of "how does this affect you?"....EVERYTHING affects you in your society right, do you not have kids or family that live in it? isn't that the argument you make for every inadequacy you feel as a woman, don't you blame society instead of doing something about? people whom want to simply complain that the odds are not in their favor or the red carpet isn't being laid out for you to do it so that's why you fail.

 

Society affects you, culture affects you, you don't even realize and understand the way you think is so greatly influenced by these things and yet you ask "HOW does it affect you?"...are you kidding me?

 

I guess we should just influence society and kids the way we want, and then at the end of the ask them "well, how in the world did that affect you? and why don't you just think this way when everything around you was that way"...the way the world changes affects everybody stop thinking so selfishly and about yourself for once, and the way this obesity epidemic is just being swept under the rug, and essentially made out to be a joke or some kind of "shaming scheme", because that's your best defense...I mean what in the world do you tell your doctor? "Sorry Doc, I know you've spent a greater part of your life in medical school...but you don't know what you're talking about, I know better than you because I read that you're supposed to just be happy with the way you are"..

 

I suppose those people who are going to get stuck with dealing with all these people in the future as they are all their patients and they get to see them dying and suffering from medical issues because of their obesity are the only ones that can complain...according to some people.

 

The way society is handling the obesity situation is disgusting, it's like complete denial...it's like a bomb being built in front of you and you won't realize the danger until it blows up in front of your face and affects you and everyone else around you...then when you are done being naive and irresponsible, then hopefully, you will realize the mistakes you have made in the past by promoting this kind of behavior and mentality. And that's the most disappointing thing about people, they need it to kick them in their face along with all of their teeth out, before they're like "OHHHH, I get it now".

 

It must be entirely frustrating and baffling to the doctors that will have to treat all these people, to watch their organs and bodies fail because they couldn't just accept the fact that there's a problem, but they're too caught in in how bad they feel about themselves to have done anything to help themselves and others...because obesity will pass on and get worse as time goes on, and in a way, you are killing someone else with your habits and issues, like possibly your own child...but hey, that's not your problem right, how does that affect YOU. It does affect others, in a big way.

 

I don't know how anybody can look at this woman and not feel sick to their stomachs at the direction where society is moving, it's just incredibly naive and irresponsible and there's so many people that see nothing wrong with it...if anything, it's celebrated by women all over as some harrowing tale of beauty and self-acceptance, what a shame, they're like bullets being loaded into a gun. What a horrible way to teach women self-esteem and enable an issue, disguised as some many other things it is not. I guarantee you, it will fix nothing in the end.

[PrettyEmily77]

^^^ Okay, so your proposed solution to this endemic is...?

[serial muse]

If your kids are looking up to celebrities who are on the cover of People magazine, then you've probably got a bigger problem on your hands. We're talking about a magazine that regularly runs stories on "Stars in Rehab." They've had celebrities like Philip Seymour Hoffman and Robert Downey Jr. on the cover, and no one panicked about their kids looking up to heroin addicts as role models.

 

 

 

How many of the skinny people in People lead healthy, active lifestyles?

 

I just don't understand why anyone really cares that much. If having skinny people in the media affected people's behavior and encouraged fitness, we wouldn't have seen obesity rates rise in the first place. Why is everyone all of a sudden convinced that media drive health behaviors?

 

And I really have to laugh at people freaking out about this model being on the cover of People. Really? You guys are talking about People magazine, a garbage celebrity rag. Every single issue of People has weight loss tips this and "how I lost 100 lbs!" that and "beach body at 40" and "celebrity diet secrets revealed!". EVERY SINGLE ISSUE. But put one fat lady on the cover, and it's the end of the world.

 

All of this, especially the bits in bold.

 

It's not just ONE model on ONE magazine cover. This crap is being drilled in our heads all the time. Women are making songs about how fat is better. People are wearing Marilyn Monroe T-shirts, because she somehow became the champion of the fat girl. Not to mention the Internet memes....

 

All sorts of crap is being drilled into your head all the time by the mass media, including plenty of images of skinny and fit women (not necessarily the same thing, of course). As has been repeatedly pointed out, that includes lots of super-skinny models who are unhealthy, but there's no pearl-clutching about them, I notice. But, oh no, put one overweight model on a cover and there's a "trend" and fake-a$$ concern-trolling and peoples' health and it's the end of the world and everybody needs to DO SOMETHING, dear God, won't you think of the CHILDREN. All the CHILDREN who are reading People magazine and shxt. :rolleyes::rolleyes:

 

One ****ing magazine cover. Of People. Not enough eyerolls in the world. Seriously, people need to relax.

 

Also, is there a problem with the Marilyn Monroe thing? I thought the standard line these days was that she isn't a "fat" icon because she was actually fine and curvy. Am I wrong about that? Are pictures of her difficult to take, too? That is just weird. And people say there's no freaking out. When pics of Marilyn become an issue...seriously. Overreacting. Relax.

 

 

Who is freaking out? Nobody is freaking out. Gimme a break. We are just discussing.

 

Yeah, that would be the OP, who wrote a lengthy screed, and also all the other concern-trollers on this thread. It's just such nonsense.

Edited May 28, 2015 by serial muse

[candie13]

Education, knowing right from wrong, not telling lies and having enough brains to pick a serious magazine from one who's simply wanting to sell more and puts provocative pictures to please people's egos and low self esteem into reassuring them that it's not even fine or ok to be overweight, but beautiful.

 

choice exists and always will. If one finds big girls beautiful, they'll buy the magazine. otherwise they'll continue to buy their regular Vogue or whatever showing pretty dead skinny women. More information is not better information. Up to the educated mind to make the difference between garbage and gold. Ro each their own.

[Maleficent]

I'm tired of this whole fat shaming slut shaming etc. No one can shame you unless you let them. You feel shame because of YOU not what someone else says. Actions have consequences. A woman sleeps around will have to deal with the fact a man may not see her as a potential partner because of her past. A person that eats fast food may become unattractive to a lot of people. It's life. The thing a lot of women hate do admit is that looks matter. We are all on some level superficial.

 

Sure.

But what we are speaking against is how mean people are towards them.

 

If a person has a lot of casual sex, you may decide she/he is not a suitable partner for you but you may not call her/him a slut.

If a person is overweight, you may decide you are not attracted to her/him but you may not call her/him a fat disgusting pig.

[serial muse]

I feel compelled to point out, as I have done in previous threads on this topic (which is possibly a candidate for a consolidated thread at this point) - the trend toward overweight people in the US and elsewhere has been going on for decades now. So one, if one were inclined to be LOGICAL and RATIONAL, might notice that the ever-skinnier models and actresses on magazine covers have done exactly zip to influence people in their direction, and might well have actually had the reverse effect.

 

So this entire overreaction to this cover and how it's destroying life as we know it is nonsense. Those of you freaking out about it simply haven't thought it through. You want to do something about a looming health crisis, there are far better ways to go about it than decrying one overweight model on a magazine cover decades after the horses have left the barn. To those who suggest that shaming is a better way to go: How's that working out for you? Hasn't worked so far, I notice. All of the info we've been fed by the media for decades about exactly how skinny we're supposed to be doesn't seem to be helping one bit, does it?

 

This is so irrational.

[frogs88]

It's just not responsible as a society to place a 280 pound woman on a cover of a magazine and call her supermodel and protest to how great she looks, how beautiful and proud/brave she is as a woman like this is some positive thing.

 

These magazines never had a responsibility to display the 'healthy' ideal - they never did with all the pretty people displayed on the cover either. Maybe they weren't obese but they aren't there because they made contributions to concepts about healthy living. They're there because they're pretty. That it's somehow an excuse for everybody to shift or stick to an unhealthy lifestyle is an interpretation you gave it to it. And even if the magazine would promote that idea then who cares - it's a free to do so. It's people's responsibility to deem it nonsense anyway. If this was some sort of responsibility what should have happened? Put her on the cover of Time magazine and claim everyone's going to catch diabetes? It honestly sounds like you're just annoyed that they put someone who doesn't tickle your fancy on the cover.

[123321]

What is the drug called?

 

PM'd

 

 

For her size, she looks great. I don't find her any more 'repulsive' to look at than a skeletal model, to be honest.

 

If we had a widespread (no pun intended) issue with people starving themselves to death in this country I would be equally upset with skinny models, as it is someone in this thread at least once said very nasty things about skinny people in general, they looked like skeletons wrapped in skin or something, and no one said a thing.

 

But make an oblique comparison of a specific obese model who is promoting her lifestyle to this and the banshees are loosed.

 

If someone sees themselves included in that, it's all them.

 

 

For what it's worth, my GF is on the verge of being too slim, and I won't get upset if you mock Kate Moss or whoever, but insults about skinny people in general .....

 

Do the math.

[jay1983]

I would of thought as much as she loves her body, she'd be attracted to men her size.

 

I googled Tess holiday husband and ............yeah

 

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2015/01/24/2505D4C400000578-0-image-m-14_1422141154843.jpg

[stillafool]

I would like to point out that alot of the models are thin because they are young girls who wear "junior" sizes rather than "misses" sizes as most grown women wear. You look at Kendall Jenner and Gigi Hadid and they are naturally thin young girls. I think their size on an older model would look too thin. Me as a grown woman would never compare myself to them. I noticed in a book about models that they have all been really thin for decades but only the last 20 years have people had a problem with it. Anorexia is blamed on the modeling industry and their preference for thin models. Why was this never a problem before? Do young women feel that they must look like models? Why didn't women from previous generations starve themselves to death to look like models? As for me and my friends (in my generation) we always knew we couldn't look like the models in mags and runways; but we still enjoyed the show and the clothes.

[123321]

I would like to point out that alot of the models are thin because they are young girls who wear "junior" sizes rather than "misses" sizes as most grown women wear. You look at Kendall Jenner and Gigi Hadid and they are naturally thin young girls. I think their size on an older model would look too thin. Me as a grown woman would never compare myself to them. I noticed in a book about models that they have all been really thin for decades but only the last 20 years have people had a problem with it. Anorexia is blamed on the modeling industry and their preference for thin models. Why was this never a problem before? Do young women feel that they must look like models? Why didn't women from previous generations starve themselves to death to look like models? As for me and my friends (in my generation) we always knew we couldn't look like the models in mags and runways; but we still enjoyed the show and the clothes.

 

I think "the fat revolution" (well just societal obesity really) and the fear of becoming too fat after seeing everyone around you 'blossom' is probably a lot more to blame for anorexia than anything. It's an overreaction to the fear of being a fatty.

 

Your point is good, and maybe the eating disorders and so on in models has more to do with trying to maintain their job and place in their industry as they age more than anything else.

 

It's still not healthy but that makes sense from a pragmatic, "I can't have the money and admiration stop now" sort of viewpoint.

[sweetjasmine]

The side benefit to the body shaming is that we all, as a society, become more healthy when we listen to it.

 

This isn't even true. Maybe shaming worked for you handful of men (and I have to wonder how extreme the shaming even was in the first place), but it doesn't work for even a majority of people. If it did, no one would've become fat in the first place. And there's actual evidence that suggests it's counterproductive.

 

Obesity and nutrition aren't exactly like smoking. We know a lot less about obesity than everyone thinks we do, and eating isn't something that people can ever avoid. The tactics that worked for anti-smoking campaigns involved much more than media messages, and those tactics won't necessarily even work on this problem.

 

Judge and shame and feel superior if you must, but stop pretending it's about health. It's disingenuous. No one's doing the world a public service by joking about harpooning a whale or a tub of lard sequestering carbon.

[writergal]

this isn't even true. Maybe shaming worked for you handful of men (and i have to wonder how extreme the shaming even was in the first place), but it doesn't work for even a majority of people. If it did, no one would've become fat in the first place. And there's actual evidence that suggests it's counterproductive.

 

Obesity and nutrition aren't exactly like smoking. We know a lot less about obesity than everyone thinks we do, and eating isn't something that people can ever avoid. The tactics that worked for anti-smoking campaigns involved much more than media messages, and those tactics won't necessarily even work on this problem.

 

Judge and shame and feel superior if you must, but stop pretending it's about health. It's disingenuous. No one's doing the world a public service by joking about harpooning a whale or a tub of lard sequestering carbon.

 

+ 10,000,000 ! Awesome post sweetjasmine!!

[123321]

It's a blind irresponsible agenda, it's a movement justified by self-love which is just shame and insecurity in disguise...because MAYBE if the world accepts you for who you are, then you will too accept yourself.

 

That's what this is really about, the women that support this are not about reason, health or change, it's about personal emotions and experiences and the US at least is providing these women a platform to justify a very unhealthy and irresponsible movement because nobody wants to throw themselves in the line for fire and say it's not right.

 

This. Spot on.

[Taramere]

To those who suggest that shaming is a better way to go: How's that working out for you? Hasn't worked so far, I notice. All of the info we've been fed by the media for decades about exactly how skinny we're supposed to be doesn't seem to be helping one bit, does it?

 

I think fat-shaming and the celebration of extremely thin body shapes provides "thinspiration" for people with anorexia and/or bulimia...but it's not likely to help emotionally healthy people who are a bit greedy/lazy. Shaming, if it has an impact at all, is almost invariably going to have a negative one. It's like using fear as a motivator. It might have a dramatic short term effect, but in the long term it's a destructive method of motivation which is likely to bring more problems than it solves.

 

My brother and father were both terrible shamers when I was a teenage girl. I wasn't medically overweight, but I had a few friends who had that extremely slim look a lot of young teenage girls have naturally, and so I felt fat in comparison. My brother and my father would encourage me to feel fat. I left home in my late teens and the weight dropped off so that at one point I was in the lower range of my healthy weight. Then I returned temporarily and it went back on. Moved out into my own place again when I was 22 and again the weight came off.

 

My brother and father started nipping my head because they were certain I was developing anorexia - and they were both concerned that it was related to the way they'd gone on when I was in my teens. In reality, I wasn't developing any kind of eating disorder. It was just much easier to be slim once I was away from the criticism and shaming....however well intended it might have been. I felt better about myself, and the better I felt the more effort I was inclined to put into my appearance. My brother and my dad are really pretty supportive people, and once they accepted that I wasn't at risk of developing any sort of eating disorder I think they saw that once you chill out and let a person do their own thing without passing all manner of criticism, they will often make good choices.

 

I think if a very overweight woman sees pictures like the ones of that model, then it's encouragement for her to pay attention to personal grooming. Not to just let it all go because she's overweight. If she does want to lose weight (and probably a fair percentage of overweight women who don't make a living as plus sized models do want to) then being happier and feeling good about herself is going to help with that.

 

But people often want to shame, not because they genuinely believe it's going to help but because it gives them a sense of superiority. And regardless of how ineffective it is, they'll keep doing it. That's not going to change, but ultimately it's their own relationships that suffer more than anybody or anything else as a consequence.

[123321]

I left home in my late teens and the weight dropped off so that at one point I was in the lower range of my healthy weight. Then I returned temporarily and it went back on. Moved out into my own place again when I was 22 and again the weight came off.

 

A lot of people attribute that sort of thing to being home and comfortable. In our family there is the added 'bonus' of a lot of food around my parents house all the time.

[pureinheart]

Eeeee.

 

It's a natural human state to be hungry for a while prior to eating, hours really. A lot of Americans, myself included, have become habituated to essentially never being hungry. This is literally killing us. Hunger, before eating a healthy meal, is our friend. It's GOOD to be hungry for a while during the day.

 

Its normal. It's how we are made to operate.

 

 

I'm scared to let myself get too hungry, it's why I can't do a full-on fast (which your system needs to eliminate toxins)... being hypoglycemic I eat every couple of hours (small bits) because there have been times that I freak out, get confused, and have become completely hard to deal with. It sucks to say the least.

[123321]

I'm scared to let myself get too hungry, it's why I can't do a full-on fast (which your system needs to eliminate toxins)... being hypoglycemic I eat every couple of hours (small bits) because there have been times that I freak out, get confused, and have become completely hard to deal with. It sucks to say the least.

 

I knew a really sweet girl in HS who had that, she had to carry some fruit with her basically all the time, it was really hard for her.

[xxoo]

If you're disgusted by Tess Holliday, that's fine. You don't have to like her picture or buy the magazine.

 

But to extrapolate that her image is going to somehow encourage women to be obese is absurd. Obese women are happy to see someone who looks like them in the media, to feel good about themselves. Average weight women already have that. Fit women see themselves glorified daily and everywhere. Where is the motivation to become obese?

 

Now, does she makes someone feel better about being obese? Probably. And I think that's ok. Because feeling bad about yourself doesn't have good health outcomes. It promotes things like emotional overeating. Feeling good about yourself promotes things like healthy eating and exercising, and eventually a move toward a healthier weight (where she will see FAR more images of her own body type celebrated in the media).

 

If you feel that this image is being forced down your throat, think a moment about ALL the images being forced down your throat. What percentage of them glorify obesity? What percentage of them glorify thinness? What do you think the winning message is?

[Taramere]

A lot of people attribute that sort of thing to being home and comfortable. In our family there is the added 'bonus' of a lot of food around my parents house all the time.

 

Well here's another example. About 7 years ago I was on the thin side due to stress I was experiencing at work. I was getting a lot of compliments about being thin, so I decided to start going to the gym a lot and eating in a very healthy way because I was encouraged by these compliments and wanted to look my best. The more compliments I got, the more motivated I felt. I was becoming fairly obsessive about the gym, to be honest.

 

Anyway soon after I had a fitness assessment that showed extremely positive results from all the training I'd been doing, a guy friend commented on a photo of me. He said that I wasn't fat by a regular person's standards, but I could do better. I'm not big boned, but I'm not tiny boned either. I'm not designed to ever be waif like. I'm prone to that terrible female crime known as "having cankles" - and that's genetic. I've seen plenty worse, but I certainly would never have slender pins and delicate ankles. I'm just not built that way.

 

Obviously it looks worse if a woman's overweight, but even if she gets very thin, a body nazi is still going to point and say "you've got cankles". And the rest of her will be gaunt, which is also not particularly attractive. Anyway. After the "could do better" comment, I cut down dramatically on the gym visits and I put on a bit of weight. I wanted to distance myself a bit from that whole narcissistic, body-nazi outlook and the people who subscribe to it. It's fine to take regular exercise, try to be healthy in your eating etc...but only to a point.

 

Being happy and emotionally healthy, and having good people in your life who care about and respect you is also important. For me, I associate being thin with attracting the interest of some really quite unpleasantly judgemental people. I'd prefer to be a little bit fatter and a whole lot happier.

[Michelle ma Belle]

But people often want to shame, not because they genuinely believe it's going to help but because it gives them a sense of superiority. And regardless of how ineffective it is, they'll keep doing it. That's not going to change, but ultimately it's their own relationships that suffer more than anybody or anything else as a consequence.

 

I think this is a very important take away.

[thefooloftheyear]

Whew......Its a b!tch being a woman....!!!

 

 

TFY