The first thing Esteban said when watching the new Alltel commercial was “The chubby guy is missing!” I almost never pay attention to commercials (unless they contain A)badgers B) childish references to flatulence or C) songs that I love), but he was right. The chubby guy was missing and in his place, a new svelte […]

Filed under: Advertising, Fat Positive, Feel Good Friday, Media, Video | 11 Comments »

big fat ad Originally uploaded by mo pie A PETA protest as reported on Perez Hilton, sent in by Donna. (The larger size may be NSFW; hopefully this small version is okay.) I have no words. [ETA: From the comments, I’ve learned that the woman is actually pregnant, hence the “Mother’s Day” slogan, and the […]

Filed under: Advocacy, Fatism, NSFW, Tidbit | 56 Comments »

This article urges sellers on Etsy.com to be more “size-friendly.” In case you don’t know what Etsy is, it’s an incredibly cool site that allows artists and crafty people to sell their wares directly to the world. (My trick this Christmas was to think about things that people liked, and then type appropriate keywords into […]

Filed under: Advocacy, Art, Fashion, Fat Positive | 21 Comments »

Angela sends along a story about baseball’s Florida Marlins, who are forming a male plus-size cheerleading squad called the Manatees. The team hopes to recruit seven to 10 tubby men to dance, cheer and jiggle during Friday and Saturday home games this season. Real manatees, 1,200-pound mammals sometimes referred to as “sea cows,” are not […]

Filed under: Exercise, Humor | 42 Comments »

big fat ad Originally uploaded by mo pie I saw this poster in San Francisco over the weekend, put up by some public health initiative, I believe. Of course I thought of you, and snapped this picture! The first dotted line says “STARTED GOING FOR WALKS DURING LUNCH HOUR.” The second line says “STOPS ORDERING […]

Filed under: Advertising, Fatism, Feminism, Health, Media, Weight Loss | 91 Comments »

It’s a hit song and dance on the Ivory Coast, and it’s all about shaking… well, your bobaraba. While the dance has been embraced by both sexes, DJ Mix says it was inspired by women. “We made it as a tribute to women, because African women are defined by the shape of their bottoms,” he […]

Filed under: Fat Positive, International, Music, Race & Ethnicity, Video | 5 Comments »

Nels has alerted us to an event taking place in New York tomorrow, a conference called “Fat is Contagious: Political Fat Queer Visibility and Action in the Age of the “Obesity Epidemic.’” The conferece is $30 at the door, fatures Marilyn Wann of Fat!So? as they keynote speaker, and will be followed by a “Fat […]

Filed under: Advocacy, Fat Positive, Feel Good Friday, Tidbit | 1 Comment »

This year’s answer to Mandisa and LaKisha is Joanne Borghella, winner of Mo’Nique’s Fat Chance and contestant on this year’s American Idol. It seems like every season we get a plus-size girl to root for (and no, Jordin Sparks doesn’t count). Weetabix and I are doing our liveblog and Idol pool again this year, so […]

Filed under: American Idol, Feel Good Friday, TV | 10 Comments »

Here is a little hard-to-hear clip of Mika (as in “Big Girl, You Are Beautiful“) with Beth Ditto at the Brit Awards. (Thanks to cynth for finding this better quality clip for us!) Here’s a better picture of Beth’s red dress. Hopefully that will make up for the fact that there was a porn link […]

Filed under: Beth Ditto, International, Music, Tidbit, Video | 11 Comments »

I watched this rather amazing video showing Ron Lester (Varsity Blues and Popular) and his amazing weight loss from gastric bypass surgery (and subsequent plastic surgeries to remove excess skin) and was struck by the fact that not only does his girlfriend get trotted out like some kind of prize for having lost weight, but […]

Filed under: Media, Weight Loss, WLS | 43 Comments »

The “fat-osphere” (punctuating that is getting more complicated by the minute) is in a Chicago local weekly called RedEye (with Kate Harding on the cover). Here’s a link to the article: A negative body image, on which some weight-loss programs try to capitalize, can be a barrier to engaging in healthy behavior, [Sarah Catanese] said. […]

Filed under: Advocacy, Fat Positive, Magazines, Media, Meta, Tidbit | 10 Comments »

According to Elle magazine, by way of Jezebel, men actually are hot for ultra-thin women. At least in New York. You know that whole thing about how being superskinny is an ideal originated by the fashion industry and perpetuated by female competitiveness and like, totally NOT AT ALL what men are interested in etc. etc.? […]

Filed under: Feminism, Magazines, Media, Weight Loss | 80 Comments »

We all know there are people who bitch at their fat spouses for gaining weight, and gym owners who berate and shame fat people. And don’t forget random people on the street who yell things and throw garbage at the overweight and obese. In case that just isn’t motivating enough for you, we now have […]

Filed under: Fatism, Science, Weight Loss | 32 Comments »

I really enjoyed re-reading Kate’s recounting of the key events in her journey toward fat positivity. Here’s my favorite one: 11. (2007) Vowing to myself that I will only buy clothes that look fabulous on me, and if something doesn’t look fabulous, I will blame the item of clothing instead of my body. This completely […]

Filed under: Fashion, Fat Positive, Meta, Question | 19 Comments »

Leonard Nimoy was on The Colbert Report last night talking about his book of photography, and why his book should be on every coffee table in America. It was so exciting! The audience cheers for the women pictured (note that these are nude photos and might not be work safe), Nimoy makes some great points, […]

Filed under: Art, Fat Positive, Feel Good Friday, Humor, NSFW, TV, Video | 35 Comments »

We posted her question and answered it right here, and Shapely Prose got into the act right here. The original e-mailer has written back, and I’ll let her speak for herself. Wow. I don’t know what to say. Usually when I reach out for help I don’t get a response. But then I went to […]

Filed under: Advocacy, Feel Good Friday, Kids, Meta, Personal | 73 Comments »

I want to know what this site is saying about us! (Although the Google translation is pretty awesome and gives you the basic idea.) Thickness must Remain outdoors In Mississippi thickness in restaurants should be nothing more to eat. On the Internet protesters formed a blog scene. Their tenor: Some people are thick. Point. In […]

Filed under: Media, Meta, Tidbit | 29 Comments »

Weetabix: how are the Action Items coming along? me: pretty good, I think I need to write a BFD post for tomorrow Weetabix: do you have an idea for the BFD post? me: maybe “Alton Brown sucks” Weetabix: does he? I have a crush on him me: oh, then I hate to tell you this… […]

Filed under: Fatism, Food, TV | 86 Comments »

Kira Cochrane, a British writer with a column in the Guardian, hates the diet industry. And although she is “at best, reluctant about diets, and, at worst, disgusted by the very notion,” she’s going on a diet. And here is her introduction to the new column, and it is is definitely worth a read. I’m […]

Filed under: International, Magazines, Media, Weight Loss | 32 Comments »

So, I listen to this Disney podcast called Magical Definition (hey, I enjoy Disneyland) and they were talking about an upcoming Pixar movie called WALL-E; perhaps you’ve seen the previews for it? It looks super cute. Jim Hill talked about the test screenings for WALL-E on the podcast, and he also mentions it on his […]

Filed under: Fatism, Humor, Media, Movies, Question | 52 Comments »

I got this e-mail a couple of days ago, and have been thinking all weekend about possible answers. This is the heart of why I write this blog: to help girls just like this 14-year-old to stop hating themselves. But how? After agonizing about how to answer this, I thought maybe I’d just post the […]

Filed under: Advocacy, Feminism, Kids, Meta, Question | 103 Comments »

I keep thinking about the Mike and Juliet Show segment about fat acceptance. I keep thinking of the comments I get from people who are starting to accept that they don’t have to hate themselves, and how much that inspires me. And then I think about their segment on binge eating disorder. And people—commenters and […]

Filed under: Advocacy, Eating Disorders, Health | 9 Comments »

A gossip tidbit courtesy of La Wade that is very appropriate for Feel Good Friday: next season’s cast of Dancing with the Stars will include Marissa Jaret Winokur, the original Broadway Tracy Turnblad! I don’t even watch the show, but I admit, now I’m tempted. Also Sean Hayes will be on, and I love me […]

Filed under: Celebrities, Feel Good Friday, Gossip, Hairspray, Magazines, Theater, Tidbit, TV | 3 Comments »

As promised, I wanted to talk about the appearance of Morgan (aka Fatgrrl) on the Mike & Juliet show. Here are the videos (are you guys getting tired of Mike and Juliet yet? To think, two weeks ago I had no idea who they were). There are also blow-by-blows at Morgan’s site and at Rachel’s […]

Filed under: Eating Disorders, Meta, TV, Video | 13 Comments »

Just to let you know, I’m on the Daily Special today. They left out the part where I called myself “the Gandhi of the fatosphere” so you guys will just have to ponder that one for a while. Although I guess Gandhi is famous for not eating, so the analogy didn’t work in the first […]

Filed under: Meta, Tidbit | 4 Comments »