Is Mo’Nique Getting Weight Loss Surgery?
There is a rumor going around that Mo’Nique, author of Skinny Women Are Evil, is having weight loss surgery. Even though it’s just a rumor, I think the responses to this news are really interesting.
Once again at this point it’s just a rumor, but if proven to be true it will amount to yet another slap in the face of fat people by one of our own. Star Jones was a champion for size acceptance then fought for years to cover up her surgery before coming clean last year. If the same thing is going on with Mo’Nique her credibility in the eyes of millions of ladies and a few men like myself will be shot.
It always mystifies me when fat women act betrayed if a plus-size star has wls. even skinny women often hold a distorted idea of their body image. Why is it so hard to believe that MoNique would too? It doesn’t mean she was disgusted by contestants on FAT Chance, and it doesn’t make her message of loving yourself regardless of size a lie–it means that she has deep, personal image problems and you don’t know what they’re rooted in. We’ve got to stop expecting perfection from each other! I’m a proud 220 pounds. I look good and I know it. I would never excoriate another overweight woman for making that decision–that’s like beating up on someone who has a psychological problem.
It’s just that there are so few BBWs in the public eye and fewer still that send the message that it IS possible to be plus size and confident, successful, beautiful and O.K. with one’s body. When someone like Mo’Nique or, recently, Queen Latifah, shift and begin extolling weight loss, a lot of women who found inspiration and strength through their example are left alone again.
I don’t begrudge anyone’s weight loss, I really don’t, but when someone who has made an effort to spread the message of size acceptance (and carved a career niche from it) suddenly takes measures to ensure weight loss, it’s hard not to feel a little bit betrayed.
I myself and overweight by at least 85 lbs, but never have I ever thought that I should EMBRACE my size. Plain and simple, the bottom line is about being HEALTHY! …..why can’t we be HONEST with ourselves and admit that being overweight is NOT healthy… Let’s stop being so judgemental when we have carried the burden of being judged ourselves.
So, let’s pretend for a moment that this rumor is true. Which one of these comments do you agree with? I personally continue to feel like the third commenter above—I hate to “lose” one of the few icons out there who advocate for size acceptance, and it does call into question Mo’Nique’s whole philosophy of being “Fabulous and Thick” that she works so hard to promote. But, as with Queen Latifah, I also kind of understand it’s none of my business. I don’t know. Is it different, because she’s so vocal about size acceptance? How do you feel about it?
Posted by mo pie
Filed under: Advocacy, Celebrities, Gossip, Mo'Nique, Queen Latifah, Question, WLS
From my side of the fence I think it compromises her integrity. The bottom line it is her choice to do what she wants, but she should not be an advocate for something that she does not personally believe in.
My feeling is, we don’t know what her health is like on the inside. Maybe her blood pressure and cholesterol numbers are lousy, and exercise and trying to eat healthy hasn’t worked. My major problem with weight loss surgery in general is - if you don’t work on the problems (usually emotional) that caused you to weigh so much in the first place, how successful will it be?
I tend to agree with the second commenter. We all have our own issues and we all fight our own demons. We aren’t inside her head and shouldn’t judge the inside based on the outside.
Is it different, because she’s so vocal about size acceptance?
For my money, hell yeah. Even Queen Latifah shilling for JC doesn’t bug me quite as much as this, because Mo’Nique has made a freakin’ career out of being fat and happy. Fat Chance, Phat Girlz, the books, the plus-size clothing label… With the Queen, at least the fat issue is mostly incidental to the actual work she does (with the exception of her clothing label).
If I someday decide I need to diet again — or, much worse, get WLS — I fully expect my readers and other fat acceptance activists to go apeshit. Yeah, my body is my body — which is why none of those people could actually stop me from doing whatever I wanted with it — but by writing about body acceptance and (however reluctantly) accepting the mantle of role model to some, I’ve put my body and my feelings about it on the table for public discussion. And I’ve only got a fraction of 1 percent of Mo’Nique’s audience — not to mention, with the exception of a few CafePress sales, I haven’t (yet) taken any money from people who expect me to keep walking the walk.
So IF this is true, I think people who’ve bought her books, seen her movies, and looked to her for inspiration have every right to feel betrayed and disappointed. They don’t have a right to interfere with her decisions about her own body, but they sure have a right to feel pissed off and say so. That’s the natural consequence of building a fan base on the strength of one thing, and then doing the opposite.
Right now, I’m just really, really hoping this isn’t true.
Kate - I couldn’t have said it any better. Just want to chime in with a “ditto”.
I have always said that having WLS is a personal choice and I cannot begrudge anyone from making it, especially if it for medical reasons.
My problem is that I think they are losing weight to bow to the demands of Hollywood plain and simple. And, if that is the case, they are not really role models for the size acceptance movement, no matter what they say.
Just my $.02 worth…. :)
Personal choice, sure, but when you’re a public figure and are quite vocal about being body positive when you’re fat… it’s a slap in the face and another disappointment. If true.
I would think that someone in Mo’Nique’s position would quell these rumors right away if they weren’t true, too. We’ll see.
I’m here to say that yes, you really can be a WLS patient and truly believe in size acceptance. Alaskajoey hit the nail on the head…she may have health problems that have not been made public which can only be helped by losing weight.
A lot of patients that I interact with at support groups and online did not decide to have this surgery just to be skinny like the rest of the world; I certainly didn’t. I did it because at the age of 30 I was having joint problems that made my favorite activities painful, I was having blood pressure and cholesterol and chronic acid reflux problems that were all compromising my health. With a family history of heart disease, it was pretty much a guaranteed way for me to die early. But honestly, I’m not sure how I feel about getting smaller than I am right this second because I already feel better and am more active and my health issues are resolved, even though I’m still a nice solid 214 pounds/size 16/18. I’m not sure how I feel about being smaller than that because I’ve always identified myself as a bad ass fat woman who was gorgeous no matter what her scale says. The fact is though, I’m going to get smaller and I’m going to have to figure out where I fit, because I apparently won’t be accepted into the fat acceptance movement anymore.
So I’m willing to cut Mo’nique an awful lot of slack, because if she did have to make such a drastic decision to save her health, then she’s got to have a lot of conflicting emotions about herself right now.
I agree with the 2nd comment. Just because Monique is an advocate of fat acceptance, doesn’t mean she needs to be a martyr for the cause.
Unfortunately, age happens and our bodies give out. The human body is an amazing machine and holds up under extreme conditions and stresses. But time chips away at the bodies ability to sustain its health under the varied stressors we (or life) throw at it.
At the end of the day, we have to take care of ourselves and see to our own needs because no one else will. If this is what Monique has to do in order to take care of herself, who are we to think less of her?
I think I’d have a combination of the first 3. I also would throw in that while we understand what it is like to get pressure to lose weight in our daily lives, for those in the public eye, the pressure is that much more intense. I can’t imagine the strength it would take to hold out against constant barrage of comments and innuendos that must go along with that kind of scrutiny. Although someone like Monique and Queen Latifah have their fans who are appreciative, where are their peer support? It’s virtually nonexistant.
Just thinking about this makes my head hurt a bit.
Kate is far more eloquent than I, so just repeat what she said.
Ok…so if you were fat before and loved yourself at that size…you’re not allowed to try loving yourself at a different, smaller size if you want to?
Hurrah for size acceptance.
I’m with the second commenter for now. It’s just her outside changing, not her mind. I don’t think any of our favorite icons are going to abandon us if they lose weight. It all will boil down to why she’s doing it, though. If she’s going through some kind of mental or physical turmoil and this is all that will fix it, then by all means she needs to do it. If it’s to fit into Hollywood’s definition of pretty, yes it will be disappointing (especially since, as Kate pointed out, she did MARKET the whole fat and happy thing) For now I am content to wait and see what the full story is.
Well… I believe that you can both believe in size acceptance, and lose weight yourself. But, in this case, I can’t see how a revelation like that, if it’s true, could be anything but damaging to a career that was based on being fabulous and fat. (I can’t say “thick” - in the UK, it means stupid!)
Would I deny anyone the right to change their mind, in theory? No. But I think someone in that position who makes that decision has got to be prepared to take a lot of criticism, and to be very open about the reasons for it. Yes, it is a personal decision, but if you’re a role model, you have to be prepared for your personal decisions to have an effect that’s far more wide-ranging than the average person in the street’s (and even that average person has some influence. How often have you tried or considered something because a friend recommended it?)
Probably famous people should have a right to privacy for things like medical decisions… but I find it hard to see how that could be achieved in today’s culture.
As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds.” In other words, I can appreciate that Mo’Nique may have undisclosed health issues (or, frankly, any other personal issues) which compel her to have WLS and still be disappointed that a highly visible, funny, sexy woman - who happens to be fat, too - may not be fat much longer. I’m not feeling betrayed, exactly… just sorry that there may be one less positive image out there of what fat women can be. Those aren’t mutually exclusive sentiments!
Doesn’t “acceptance at any size” mean… well, “acceptance at any size”? If Mo’nique feels, for whatever reason, that it is better for her to be thinner, why is that a problem? Love yourself at any size - the larger size, or the smaller one.
Here’s a very public figure who’s done a lot for size acceptance, and her fan base isn’t able to accept that her own size might not be what they think it should be. Ironic. And sad.
I agree with Kate, mostly. The thing I have against WLS is that it has a failure rate too (not quite as bad as the one for dieting, but still up there). Along with that failure rate come a host of complications that prospective WLS patients aren’t told about. No one tells them about malnutrition, going blind from vitamin deficiencies, getting beri-beri or kwashiokor (sp?), losing a lot of their bone density (vitamin deficiency again), or most of the other complications/side effects of this that can end up killing you. As far as I’m concerned, anyone who is considering WLS should have to read the letters from the Yahoo group, OSSG-gone_wrong, those 2,000 people are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to how well WLS works.
Here is what I don’t understand:
Mo’Nique at one time claimed to be a size 18. To me, a size 18 is not so obese that you would have to have WLS. I’m a size 26/28 and would be considered an ideal candidate for WLS. But then again, you have some in the medical community who think even a size 14 is bad, so it’s no wonder many women out there who are that size or a little above think they are extremely fat.
If this rumor is true, perhaps Mo’Nique has health reasons we don’t know about and WLS is her only option. She has claimed to eat right and exercise, but she was still big.
But the majority of people who have had WLS and gone public about it really don’t mention health issues, it was because they thought were disgusting cows and wanted to get slimmer. That is why I don’t condone WLS as the instant quick fix to being acceptable according to society.
Personally I agree with the last comment (in the original post): being fat is not healthy. I know that’s not a popular view on this blog, but it’s my opinion. You might be able to get away with being obese and having good numbers for a while, but eventually it catches up to you. Maybe Mo’Nique’s blood pressure, cholesterol, glucose, etc., numbers are not good anymore (if they ever were, we don’t know), and she has to lose the weight to regain her health. How could anyone begrudge her wanting to be healthy? How could anyone begrudge her wanting to look good, either, if that’s the reason she’s doing it? What business is it of yours, mine or anyone’s?
As for feeling betrayed by these women (Mo’Nique and Queen) for choosing to lose weight in whatever manner necessary for them, and for whatever reason, I can’t really say, because neither of these women have ever been “role models” of mine, but I do think it’s rather sad that people become so emotionally invested in celebrities that if a celebrity decides to lose weight it is considered a “betrayal”.
Just out of curiosity, were there any fat men out there who felt betrayed when Al Roker had his WLS? Did they feel as though they’d lost a “role model”? Is it just women who get like this??
I pretty much agree with the second comment, but I have to add that there might be more than self-images issues at work here, too.
Speaking for myself, I work as an actor. I’ve done a lot of theatre, and a little bit of film and television. When I weight less, I work more. And I don’t have to weight a LOT less: 20 pounds or so more than doubles my work rate.
So I had to sit down not too long ago and decide what I was willing to do or not do for my career, including walking away and doing something else. But here’s the thing: I LOVE my job. LOVE. IT. I’m not willing to walk away, and I’m not willing to starve, but I decided that I AM willing to watch what I eat pretty damn carefully, in order to work more at a job I LOVE. I’m willing to try and lose 20 pounds, but I’m not willing to lose 40.
I’m trying to eat intuitively and love myself - and at the same time I’m trying to lose weight. It’s crazy-making, let me tell you. And when I look at women in the media, especially women who champion fat acceptance on the one hand, but then try to lose weight on the other, I can’t help but wonder if they’re going through something similar.
The bottom line for Mo’Nique is that as she is now, her acting roles will be pretty much limited to the “fat black sista.” If she loses weight, she’ll probably work more. It’s horrible, but there it is. We all pick our battles, and maybe for her this one wasn’t worth fighting anymore. (On the other hand, someone like Queen Latifah shilling for JC pisses me right the hell off, because she’s already managed to overcome most of the typecasting associated with being the “fat girl.”)
Or it could all be an unfounded rumor. :)
Say it ain’t so, Mo!
I agree more with the second quote, it seems that people can get just as burned out with fat acceptance as they do with dieting.
On the one hand, I agree somewhat more with the second quote. I think it’s hard to judge others for their personal demons without walking in their shoes.
OTOH though… I have trouble seeing WLS as necessarially the “healthy” choice. It entails MASSIVE lifestyle changes, and those huge lifestyle changes in and of themselves can result in health improving weight loss (which is a different thing from becoming not fat). Surgery is life threatening, and if there’s any possibility that one could make those lifestyle changes without the risks involved, it would surely be safer. But not having walked a mile in Mo’Nique’s particular moccassins, I don’t really know where she is on that journey.
This is a size acceptance blog. At least that is how I understand it. Mo’Nique is a size 18 at 5′9″ tall. That’s barely larger than average, people. And people are saying it’s okay for her to “go for it” because fat is sooooo unhealtheeee???
I don’t blame anyone for wanting to be thinner, especially not a famous person what with all the pressure and pressure and pressure on them to be so. (Wanna bet she got a good lecture on the eeevils of faaaat when she was on Oprah recently?) But good goddess, look at all the people here who supposedly don’t believe in the shame trip, falling straight into the trap (I don’t mean you, Mo). Body fat is NOT some kind of toxic, deadly substance that has to be purged from the body at all costs like some huge, floating tumor. Sorry, but it’s not. Particularly for someone of Mo’Nique’s stature who is BARELY PLUS SIZED (yes, I know she looks bigger on camera), her fat is NOT going to kill her. Not at the age of 40!
But WLS might. I really hope she doesn’t go through with it.
I think I’m mostly with the first quote. It would make her out to be a fraud, cashing in on the fat acceptance angle while not accepting fat (no different than the new Weight Watchers campaign, really). If she hadn’t done that, I wouldn’t blink twice at her having WLS. But, frankly, if you don’t accept your own fat, I don’t believe you can accept mine. Sorry. As for the “health” angle, when there is a healthy way to weight loss when intuitive eating and regular exercise aren’t working for ya, let me know and maybe I’ll give it a shot. WLS certainly doesn’t qualify.
My mom got weight loss surgery “for her health”. But she’s had surgery related health problems since then. Not only that, but losing weight did not lower her blood pressure. Her blood sugar did go down, but she’s gained a lot of the weight back and still keeps her blood sugar down through dietary interventions. So it’s diet that controls her blood sugar, not weight. She still needed a new knee because arthritis and wearing out joints run in her family and most of them need to replace something in their old age. So my mom now has problems with vitamin deficiencies, an autoimmune disorder developed after the surgery that’s covered her skin in purple splotches, and still needs to diet all the time -and she’s still fat. Not as fat as when she had a the surgery, but still fat. All I can see weight loss surgery proved to her was that losing weight didn’t solve her health problems but eating a good diet keeps get blood sugar normal and makes her feel good. She didn’t need to mutilate her body and screw-up her body’s ability to absorb nutrients to know those things. You can’t tell her that though. She’s convinced it made her healthier.
I hope Mo’ Nique gets better health advice than my mom did.
btw- my dad, developed high blood pressure in his 30’s and high blood sugar in his 60’s. Of course, since he isn’t fat the doctors just gave him nutrition advice and medication. He wasn’t told it was his own fault and to lose weight.
I’ll have to agree with Ms. Kate up there.
Understandably, yes it’s her choice - we have no right to interfere. AND it’s very well that she may have additional health problems; and explanations she does not owe her fans.
That being said; she’s getting WLS. WLS is coded in the thin-is-beautiful socialization. We, as a culture, are not socialized to believe that people get WLS with an intent on improving health. And I’m going to take a leap here and sort of assume she is aware of that.
So yes. It’s her choice and she may have health problems we’re unaware of, but her choice - if this is real at all - has been coded culturally to stand against everything she previously stood for.
If the rumor is true, then I would definitely feel sad and a bit betrayed. Mo’Nique is an amazing talented individual, and has the right to do whatever she wants with her body. I wouldn’t necessarily feel bad about her weight loss, but the loss of a BBW icon, especially one who promotes acceptance for plus-sized women as actively as she does.
Here’s the thing: if it’s true, then she’s effectively saying “it’s okay for YOU to be fat, but it’s not okay for ME to be fat.”
It’s saying that she holds herself to different standards than the rest of us are required to have for ourselves.
It should feel like a slap in the face, because that’s what it amounts to.
Yeah, if writing a book called “Skinny Women Are Evil” doesn’t promote size acceptance, I don’t know what does.
To wit:
“And skinny bitches know who they are. If your dress size is in the single digits, chances are I’m talking to you. You’re evil and need to be destroyed.”
And if the wls thing was true, then… she’s a hypocrite, but she’s that anyway, isn’t she? She’s not someone I’d like to be represented by, anyway.
Kate and Meowzer, for what it’s worth, thanks to you I didn’t have to take a Xanax after reading this. It is funny, but it’s actually true. I guess I’m not so immune to getting seriously pissed off at something I read after all. (Not the rumor - we don’t know about that yet - but the rest of it.)
I will be a little sad if the Mo’Nique rumor turns out to be true.
I’m actually someone who doesn’t have a problem with the idea of WLS. I don’t feel like it’s “cheating” if a person is in a situation that is severe enough to go under the knife, then that’s their business. It has nothing to do with my value judgements.
Queen Latifah? Enjoy that nasty Jenny Craig food and the paycheck that comes with it.
My problem with Mo’Nique is that her whole career and persona is built on selling America on FAT and Fabulous. She’s made a career of being the big, loud and proud. It’s ok to change your mind and go in a different direction, but Mo’Nique will just lose credibility with me. I wasn’t a huge fan to begin with, but supported her message as a whole. The WLS will put her off my radar screen entirely.
ETA-
As I read this over, I was just thinking:
Maybe Mo’Nique is tired of only being thought of as big and black.
Then I thought: She’s had enough time to develop other talents and products. The fact that she decided to focus on her size is mostly her doing.
And who the hell is this Mo’Nique? Was she the one who always hosted “Showtime at the Apollo”? I always turn that off after SNL but I guess if that’s her I’ve seen her.
By the way, getting weight loss surgery for your health is like going under the guillotine for a headache. I don’t buy that at all.
Well, I know I least agree with the last one. I know this will ruffle feathers, but anyone who says “the bottom line is about health” is the one who is truly in denial. The fact is that fat people can be healthy. I think people deny this because the pressure to conform is so intense they need a rationalization to reduce. It is also very sad but true that many of the health problems fat people face come from risky weight loss methods, including diet pills and weight loss surgery. If you care about your health, do your homework and research the dangers of these procedures. Not that everyone who has them will suffer extreme consequences, but the risks are there. The most foolish thing of all these days is to completely trust the medical profession. Pharma and its quest for profit had corrupted it from the inside out! And the media is so much more marketing. It is much easier to sit back and let others do our thinking for us, but that is the absolute unhealthiest thing we can do.
Another vote for the view espoused by Madge, Marste, Lisa, fatfighter, et. al.
I thought, to quote (I believe) Madge, that “acceptance at any size” was supposed to mean
“acceptance at any size”.
What does not espousing (or being against) dangerous and often deadly surgery have to do with not accepting someone for their size? I would accept her were she fat or thin (though I don’t care for her supposed characterization of thin women as evil) but this is about someone going to the utmost extreme to change their size. That doesn’t sound like size acceptance to me at all.
Let me preface this by saying that I think anybody and everybody has the right (and should exercise that right!), to do whatever they want regarding their weight — surgery, diet, happy-as-is, whatever.
That said, I find it said when — and this goes for almost any advocacy topic — somebody who advocates a cause turns around and acts in a way totally out of line with their stated beliefs.
I wish I could think of a non-weight-related topic right now, but I can’t seem to… but my point is… it’s a little bit “boy who cried wolf’ish” to get everybody all worked out about supporting a cause, and then “oh, but maybe it’s not that big of a deal.” The next time she steps on her soapbox, I might not take her as seriously.
I agree with pretty much all the comments, except for the last one. The last one bugs me because it’s not necessarily an issue of embracing your size, it’s an issue of embracing YOU, and accepting that size does not equate to health, period.
Anyway I always have mixed feelings on this. I remember reading something in a magazine where Cathryn Manheim had said “i promote self acceptance, not fat acceptance, because fat is bad for you” but I don’t see why people have to equate fat acceptance to the acceptance of poor health.
Thing is, we don’t know why (or if) she’s having WLS.
If you’re healthy and physically comfortable at whatever size, great–enjoy it. But the fact that you’re healthy and comfortable at X pounds doesn’t mean that I necessarily will be. HAES means that you don’t hassle me for having ankles and knees that stop hurting when I’m 20 pounds lighter (true life example). If wanting to be able to walk without hurting every damned day makes me some kind of traitor to the movement, I need to find another movement. And if you take my knees personally, you’re the one with issues–not me.
Not sure what I think about Mo’Nique, but what’s with this “being fat will catch up with you eventually?” I’m not saying it absolutely won’t, but, geez, the jury is still out on that.
If you’ve been fat all of your life and you’re fat at 70, chances are, it’s not your fat that will kill you. Things like high blood pressure and high cholesterol can be AGE-related for bodies of all weight.
I’ve seen that here before - the mantra of “it will catch up with you!” Time, and death, catches up with everybody.
I feel like if you are a spokesperson for size acceptance than you should at the very least EXPLAIN why you are suddenly shifting your focus to weight loss. It’s not that I don’t want these women to find their own personal measure of self-acceptance, it’s just that I want there to be plus sized women who really do walk the walk and talk the talk and give women a role model to respect and look up to.
No one owes anyone an explanation for why they choose to have wls.
For one there could be a serious health concern that Mo’Nique is dealing with. This isn’t a case of “losing a fat icon”…it’s a case of “is it really my freaking business”. The conclusion would be no. I don’t begrudge someone for doing something that they have personal reasons for. Keyword: personal.
Too many people equate wls, wanting to lose weight for health reasons, etc. etc. as betrayal. If someone has health concerns that require them to have wls or to go on a diet (even though I personally hate the word) then far be it from me to judge them and scream “traitor”.
If she is having it done so what?
Having “icons” is pointless more now than it was when I was 15. All of them have personal demons/problems/issues/etc.
And yes, I know that size and health don’t matter. But for some people it does. For some it doesn’t. We can’t pretend that it doesn’t. Some people are comfortable being their size and are healthy to boot. Some are not.
Frankly, if she is having WLS it is none of my business. What she chooses to do is a private matter with her, her family and her doctor. Star Jones did nothing for the SA movement once the weight dropped and shame on her. We should all just cool off and see what Mo’Nique has to say about these rumors. If true, allow her to state her case before you throw her under the bus.
Is anyone questioning her right to do it? If she wants to take her life in her hands and take such a risk, she can. (Although I am vacillating wrt being for a ban on the procedure except in very extreme cases - not that there’s been ANY proven health benefit of doing it but whatever.) I think the *point* is that she’s written a book called Skinny Women are Evil, she has been a proponent in favor of fat acceptance, and if this rumor is true (which it probably isn’t, but who knows) then while she has the right to do so, I have the right to consider her a hypocrite, a traitor to fat acceptance, and a fool to boot.
And I reserve my right to say so.
Unless you are a vain idiot (many people are, but I don’t believe Mo’Nique is), if you choose to have WLS you are doing something extremely drastic and harmful to your body in order to correct what you see as the extreme harm that the extra weight is doing to your body. You are butchering your stomach, and the wls it is simply the lesser of two evils.
Does extra weight have to do extreme harm to your body? No. Can it? Absolutely. We know it can.
I’m sorry, but if Mo’Nique weighed the risk to her life and health and longevity by having this butchery performed (which I have had done as well, mind you) and compared it to the benefits to her life and health she hopefully will receive, and chose to do it — I mean, jeez. This isn’t a nose job, people. This isn’t about looking good at the beach. This is cutting up your stomach. It is not done lightly by anyone with half a brain. Cut her some slack.
I agree with Mo… I do feel like, “Oh, god, not *another* one down…” I give Queen Latifah a tiny bit of slack since she (claims) to be focusing more on the health side…. Everyone’s body is different. I think some people can be healthy at 300+, others aren’t even healthy at 100… And I’ll admit to being extremely prejudiced against WLS. It scares the living hell out of me. I would feel better if it was like, Mo’nique for Weight Watchers. Now *that* is a meeting I would attend, LOL! True or not, I hope she makes a statement about it. Because she’s built an empire based largely(haha) on her size, then yes, I think she owes her fans a little explanation.
vesta44: ITA!
I know there are different kinds of WLS procedures and they are more sophisticated now than ever, but my very own mother had WLS in the ’80s. She now has cirrhosis of the liver that can be directly attributed to it–and even without taking her illness into consideration, she’s still fat, still has to diet, often vomits after meals, has terrible and painful gas, and has loose stools. It’s not pretty, and a lot of people–even those who do their research–don’t know the full extent of it.
I wish more people would focus on the scary and real risks and aftereffects involved with WLS. They range from the annoying to the embarrassing to the life-threatening. If the goal of WLS is to improve one’s health and quality of life, I think WLS fails as often as it succeeds. The “cure” can be worse than the “disease.” (I use quotations because I don’t believe WLS is a cure, nor do I believe that being fat is a disease.)
I agree, I hate to lose such a good fat advocate.
It’s not a betrayel by any means. It’s her body and if she wants to alter it then it’s her decision and definitely none of my business. I just hope she doesn’t make a big production out of it. There is where the slap in the face comes in.
People change their minds all the time. If you wants to change her mind about her body then it is definitely not of my business. She’s an adult. Being thin won’t necessarily make her happier but it might get her a nicer paycheck.
Lois Waller - amen!
Christine, much the same could be said about excessive medical interventions in the birth process (especially Caesareans) and yet even though it is *major* surgery, it’s still often scheduled out of mere convenience. Even though, with the highest rate of C-sections in the developed world we have one of the worst infant and maternal mortality rates of all countries (including third world countries.) I realize the doctors aren’t telling the truth about the risks of WLS but that’s all the more reason people are foolish for doing it. They don’t seem to even want to know things that they most definitely need to know. Look, it’s plastic surgery - people will opt that way for lesser and lesser reason (and they do, all the time) the commoner it becomes. In fact everything you said leads me to give her even *less* of a break. And I don’t think I’m going to mention after this post that we certainly don’t know if the rumor is true or not. And if someone says it’s to save her life - pfft. I know at least a little too much about it to buy that line anymore. Plastic surgery is what it is.
(For more info on the Birth Industry - not dissimilar in deadliness or huge profits based on fear tactics and lies to the Diet Industry and Bariatric surgery industry, check out Rikki Lake’s new documentary “The Business of Being Born.” It’s on instant watch if you have Netflix.
Truly a must see.
I think that the jury’s still out until we hear what Mo’Nique has to say about it, if anything — if the rumors are even true. It might be all BS, and then all the hand-wringing is for nothing.
Yes, someone who’s made a lot of money talking up fat acceptance should expect some flak if she jumps on a whole different bandwagon. But at the end of the day, it’s none of anyone’s business, and the fat acceptance movement would be well served to focus on the idea of accepting personal choice in life and health decisions rather than fat icons, who invariably dissapoint in the long run.
Seems to me like this blog needs to have a highlight post on WLS and the dangers thereof. I scanned every comment, and I got so sick of reading (paraphrase), “WLS is okay if it’s for health reasons! She must be having health problems we don’t know about!”
WLS is not okay. It is drastic, dangerous, and lots of other D-words.
Also got sick of reading, “I thought this blog was about ’size acceptance.’” Yes. It is. And it’s also about fat acceptance. And while the two are linked, they are different things. Size. Fat. See the difference?
I’m not angry because she may suddenly lose lost of weight and become thin. I don’t hate thin people and I don’t think they’re “evil.” If Mo’Nique had been thin when she started preaching about fat acceptance, I would still be a fan. I am angry because she is fat, has sold her image to the media as an empowered fat woman, has built up a following based on her message of fat positivity, and now… if she does indeed have WLS, she will be figuratively spitting in the face of every person who looked to her for inspiration. It is the height of hypocrisy. It would be the same as Ellen DeGeneres suddenly becoming a religious zealot who condemns gays. Wouldn’t her fans be entitle to a little outrage? So why can’t Mo’Nique fans feel betrayed at the idea of her getting WLS? “Because it may be for health reasons.” Bullshit. Cholesterol, blood pressure (neither of which may be solely linked to being fat), there are meds for those. There are dietary changes you can make to lower cholesterol. Any SA person who is worth their weight in chocolate frosting has done their research on WLS and knows the facts, and knows the dangers, and thus knows that it is not worth the risk to “fix” health problems that could be treated through alternative courses.
Sarahbear, for what it’s worth, (not only do I totally agree!) but I just came across THIS (and posted a link to it with highlights on my blog.) http://boombatti.blogspot.com/2008/03/weight-loss-surgery-release-form.html
“Any SA person who is worth their weight in chocolate frosting has done their research on WLS and knows the facts, and knows the dangers, and thus knows that it is not worth the risk to “fix” health problems that could be treated through alternative courses.”
“And if someone says it’s to save her life - pfft. I know at least a little too much about it to buy that line anymore. Plastic surgery is what it is.”
It seems that some of you have gone from “love yourself at any size and focus on health rather than weight” to “you must do it our way or you are a fool.” You cannot do a risk/benefit analysis of WLS across the board. You cannot say that everyone who gets WLS is in effect getting plastic surgery. You know those people who say SA folks just want everyone who is fat to stay fat? You’re making arguments that feed right into that nonsense.
I don’t usually comment here. This is a personal issue for me. My decision to get WLS was an extremely difficult one. But my quality of life was abysmal, and my health issues were mounting, and I *knew myself* and knew I couldn’t solve the problem on my own. A personal failing of character? Sure. But I did what I needed to do to make the most of the one life I’ve got. And now, 130 pounds lost, at 5-8 and 255, I love my fat body and am very thankful I had the surgery. And I’m VERY thankful that nothing went wrong.
And I’m not vain or an idiot, folks. It was personal. It’s always personal.
Christine, that’s super for you. I’m glad you’re healthy and happy with your body now. I really am. But are you a celebrity who made their career by telling women to love themselves just as they are? This isn’t an issue of “my way or the highway,” Christine. If this rumor (and I hope that’s all it is) turns out to be true, I simply believe Mo’Nique’s fans have the right to feel a conflicted about it. That’s my point. Period.
I’m not telling anyone how to live their life. I’m not telling anyone what to do with their own body. If you want to get WLS, fine. Go for it. If Mo’Nique wants to get WLS, fine. She, and every adult of sound mind can do whatever they want with their own body. Just don’t expect me to suddenly turn a 180 and cheer and sing the praises of WLS or weight lost from it.
Well it actually *is* plastic surgery last I checked. But I don’t believe I called you vain or idiotic, Christine. And I’m glad that at this point you are still feeling well.
The problem I have with the rest of what you said is…well there are several. We know how diets (don’t) work - the body fights in the end to get back to its normal setpoint weight. Whether through denying you energy, or through making the starvation literally unbearable to your mind so you start eating again, whatever it takes. We know that diets are tantamount to starvation (physical) for fat people - Ancel Keys demonstrated that magnificently. So what happens to the fat body that has been surgically altered so that when it is sick of being starved it will try anything desperate to get what it needs again? We don’t know - the longterm results are not really in on this. We do know that many people start putting the weight back on and that many others end up with extremely serious health problems that are normally only seen in third world countries subject to famine. We know that the suicide risks and risks of substance abuse skyrocket. As to longterm mortality and so forth, we don’t know, but what’s coming in isn’t looking good. For many or most there is a honeymoon period - the weight is gone and the longterm problems haven’t shown up yet (I mean really, it takes years to get kwashiorkor or rickets, or heart attacks, etc.)
What you will never ever convince me of is that deliberately starving and malnourishing a body can possibly be better for it than whatever ails it at present. Maybe for a brief period of time for a specific purpose it might be of some use (hypothetical as I don’t know what for) but lifelong malnutrition as a treatment for anything? No, I can not believe that no matter how hard I wish and no matter how much I want the best for you. Sick bodies need nourishment - more, not less. Consigning oneself to a permanent state of malnourishment - no, I can’t see that as possibly being of help except for a time - the time before the consequences start setting in. Fortunately for you those consequences weren’t immediate - for many they are. I hope in the long run I am proven wrong at least in some cases. But I sadly don’t think I will be. And the problem is that YES many people are doing it more and more lightly - as the plastic surgery movement grows and grows, all forms of surgery are done more and more lightly. (From Caesareans to high-volume lipo to RNY to back surgery. Surgeons like to operate and it makes them a lot of money.)
It seems that some of you have gone from “love yourself at any size and focus on health rather than weight” to “you must do it our way or you are a fool.”
And what you do not understand is that when a woman as famous as Mo’Nique — a woman barely larger than average — gets this surgery it puts enormous social and medical pressure on the rest of us to do likewise. This is not the same as some unknown doing it. This is something that will have ripples, will influence the behavior of thousands, if not millions, of people. It will be all over the news, enter the national bloodstream, be part of everyone’s unconsciousness.
Maybe you had a good outcome from your surgery — congratulations. But they are now building medical wings on hospitals just to deal with people having WLS complications. Entire wings. The surgery is a giant crapshoot, and if it goes badly for you the fallout will be far worse than from doing nothing at all. Influencing other people to do this — especially people who are not wealthy and hence not going to get state of the art medical attention in the process — is NOT harmless.
There is a lot at stake here. The ratcheting down for what is the standard for “qualifying” for gastric bypass scares the bejesus out of me; I heard the other day of one guy whose doctor was trying to pressure him into it at 5′10″ and 200 pounds! That is some crazy shit. This for a surgery for which they no survival statistics on people 20 years or more postop. Look, I’ve transcribed and edited thousands of medical reports in my lifetime, and fat people living well into their 80s are NOT a rarity. Yes, even with diabetes. So color me unconvinced that a 40-year-old woman who barely qualifies as “obese” is going to drop dead any second unless she hands over her internal organs at gunpoint.
er, “for which they have no survival statistics.” Bleh.
Meowzer, that is some even scarier sh** than what I already was thinking - I read about the WLS complication wing and somehow it didn’t register that they were building WINGS for this, or how scary that really was. Holy hell. And yeah, that’s what I meant about the standards for who even qualifies going down means people do it more and more lightly - damn. You should really make a whole blog post about this sometime.
Hold up a sec, there, Annie. Whatcha citing for your evidence of increased rates of substance abuse and suicide risk post-bariatric surgery?
In regard to your other questions, at least one large study of bariatric surgery, the Swedish Obese Subjects Trial, has looked at outcomes for over 10 years now. The study found that surgery is associated with sustained decreases at 10 years in weight, blood sugar, triglycerides, and sustained increase in HDL and activity levels. The surgical subjects were shorter at two years than the controls, but that difference washed out at ten years, suggesting that calcium absorption problems are adequately compensated by supplementation that age-related bone loss swamps it.
There are problems with this study - foremost being that it’s not randomized, although they did their best by matching (which introduces its own problems, but I digress.)
I don’t want to sound a cheerleader for bariatric surgery. There is significant risk of nutritional deficiencies, especially associated with the malabsorptive surgeries (the bypasses). But most of the deficiencies are well-controlled with supplements. Iron deficiency is probably the most common problem. In the rare cases where people get into real trouble with nutrient absorption, surgical revision is an option.
Um - Meowzer, could I possibly have permission to use your post there on my blog?
Actually, ginger, I first heard it on Oprah that there were about 1/3 of WLS patients who lapsed into substance abuse - part of it was that alcohol has a much more immediate effect on WLS patients, and they can’t *eat* anymore, so many lapse into substance abuse. I’ve seen a few such stories documented in documentaries. The suicide rates are well documented elsewhere - I don’t think it was on JFS; but it was in the fatosphere recently.
Self-induced lifelong famine, hospital wings being built to house the aftereffects, long-term results not really known - this is genuinely frightening stuff.
Sure, Annie, go ahead. And yeah, I probably will do an entire post about it, when I have the stomach to do so. Right now the very idea makes me want to vomit.
I have trouble believing that WLS is something that makes people’s lives longer or better. It may improve diabetes - you can’t have high blood sugar if you can’t eat. It may even improve risk factors for heart disease. But, at what cost? A damaged digestive system. Nutritional deficiencies. Continuous forced starvation. Seriously, what would that do to your quality of life, and what does it really do to people’s bodies, long term? Personally, I question whether it’s ever a healthy choice. Unless mobility and quality of life are seriously compromised due to weight, I just don’t understand how the risks could be justified. I tend to think that when celebrities have WLS, it’s just an especially intrusive and dangerous form of cosmetic surgery, and I can’t respect that.
This isn’t about Mo’Nique but about another public figure - given recent fatosphere posts about politicians, I thought folks might be interested - not so much in the event, which is sadly expected, but in the response:
http://www.babble.com/CS/blogs/politicalnanny/archive/2008/03/11/readers-tell-mccain-s-daughter-to-lose-weight.aspx
I don’t claim to know what exactly Mo’nique’s health problems are, but this is very disheartening news.
As many other posters have noted, she’s made a career on body positivity. So, if she’s really doing this just to please Hollywood and it’s unattainable standards, then I have to agree that what she’s doing is HIGHLY hypocritical.
I wouldn’t be surprised if many of her fans decided to turn their backs for that very reason.
As for weight loss surgery, I don’t claim to know all the facts, but it’s not something that has seemed like a very appealing option to me. Whenever I hear about it, there’s one particular memory that sticks out in my mind. I remember when this particular surgery was becoming very popular, and both my mother and her sisters were getting so excited about it: excited enough to go through with it without really considering the facts. I remember quietly celebrating when I heard that my mother’s youngest sister’s insurance company turned down paying for the surgery — I thought it was just as dangerous then, and I didn’t want to lose an aunt.
I don’t really know, I think it would be stupid of her to go get WLS because of the risks involved.
I felt like Queen Latifah did sell out by doing Jenny Craig ads. I don’t know what to make of things if Monique goes through WLS. Well, at least we’d still have Emme.
What I think is even more sad than plus size stars having weight loss surgery is the fact that they can’t disclose the reasons. Nobody wants the paparazzi crawling all over them because they admit their weight has caused some kind of health problem. Then you’ve got the Hollywood media talking about how AWFUL and BAD FOR YOU it is to be overweight, or sensationalizing what is basically someone’s private health issue.
I’m not saying all people of size have health problems–I don’t believe that’s necessarily true. But sometimes, things happen, and for some people, including a good friend of mine, weight-loss surgery is the best fix. Also, they don’t always do gastric bypasses for weight loss alone. Another friend of mine, who was obese at the time but otherwise healthy, had stomach cancer, so they removed part of her stomach. She lost over 100 pounds, but not because it was her choice to be thin–it was her choice to live past the age of 30.
Have they said what kind of surgery Mo’Nique is having? I would think a lap band procedure would be much less drastic than the gastric bypass.
I just wrote an article about her and her obsession
http://absurdtosublime.blogspot.com/
Well now, I find myself in the minority that agrees with gray box option #2. Mo did write a very funny book about skinny women being “evil”. She opened up folks eyes by doing the FAT pageants. She has been vocal about liking who she is, despite the fact that she is not Paris Hilton sized (ick, btw). And she made that one movie (that even though I am a fat woman, I hated for its cliche-ness) about being fat, getting the hot man, and living life happily. However, that doesn’t mean she can’t (1) diet, (2) choose (as an ADULT) to have WLS, or (3) do whatever else in the world she wants to do! I love Mo fat, I’ll love her thinner. As long as she says (which I’m sure she will): “Heck yeah I had [insert WLS type here]!” I’ll be just fine with her (unlike Ms. Star Jones who tried to say she just “dieted” — as if).
I don’t mean to be Negative Nancy — but for SA and FA to exist do we have to have “big stars” (no pun intended :P) to “endorse” it? Cant the writers of this blog, and Kate, and Joy Nash et. al work for the cause just as well as Mo and Queen?
I dunno, I’ve never been “on board” to the perceived ideal that to be a SA or FA activist you must remain above a certain size. That perceived “qualification” has always bothered me. It makes a fledgling young activist (like myself) feel that since I’m a fat, intelligent, black woman I can’t go on weight watchers and be allowed to give snaps to another larger woman I see looking fab-o on the street? Or if I drop 50 pounds (for whatever reason be it health or looks — and you all can’t tell me that getting regulated to Lane Bryant isn’t at least mildly annoying! :D but thats another rant on how not all large women have large boobs, I’m a lawyer– I need a suit not crop pants, and how tent dresses make me look like ass), will I get kicked out of the club? I know that it may not be intentional, but that’s how the movement comes across sometimes to newbies like me– which I think may be an issue.
Any how — enough of me ranting — just dropping my 2cents into the comment bucket. . .
Ok this is my take on things I too am a plus size women but did not deal with weight issues until the depo shot! Now with Mo’Nique big Mo or lil Mo I will still love her dearly. I think she’s funny and always in the back of my mind said what would she look like thin. There no doubt she’s beautiful and fabulous but what would it hurt for her to be a size as Queen says healthy and that’s what it boils down to and if she happens to lose some weight to be that size then more power!
I think that women who are overweight or looking for an excuse to be fat I don’t think it should be promoted or admired the heart can only take so much. I can say all of this because as I get older the more it is harder to carry this weight. I’m now 278lbs and would like to be back to 145lbs.
What people don’t understand is that there is pressure in Hollywood to be thin. Someone probably told her that if she wanted to continue her radio program, which is owned by a major corporation or if she wanted to continue to get roles (ala Kate Winslet) that she needed to lose weight.
After Camryn Manheim won an Emmy for The Practice, she famously said, ‘This ones for the fat girls,’ and then the next season at ABC, she was noticably thinner. ABC is a corporation. Then, she went to CBS, another corporation and was probably told, along with J-Love, to lose weight or lose her role.
People don’t understand that there is a growing facsist movement to make women suffer. Before the feminist movement of the 1970’s, women “suffered” by not having careers and staying home to take care of children. Now, women
“suffer” by mutiliating their bodies to obtain the perfect ideal.
If this is true, then Mo’Nique is a victim of this. She, along with thousands of other women that are getting gastric bypass surgery, won’t realize the errors of their ways until their bodies begin to turn on them and “suffer.”
But this is what happens when the economy sours. I think on some sub-conscious level, some Americans like to see others suffering, for one and two, when the economy does suffer, people look at others who are doing better than they are and saying, ‘Hmm. Well, why should they be doing better than me?’ And it’s no longer PC to say that black people or gay people or people with disabilities or whoever shouldn’t be doing better than me but I can say that fat people shouldn’t be rich.
I can say that the said person, other than being (fill in the blank with black, Latino, gay, etc.) should be perfect and weight is now the scapegoat. People can band together and say, ‘Well, at least I’m not fat.’ Fat is the new black.
Also, I’ve noticed that there is a strong undercurrent that shuns black celebrities for speaking out against more than one -ism. If you speak out against racism, then you shouldn’t be fat. But if you speak out against fat discrimination, then don’t complain about sexism.
I, for one, am seriously worried about the direction this country is going into.
I knew it was only a matter of time before Monique did the same thing as Queen Latifa and Marie Osmond. They all SAY they love themselves heavier but they never mean it!
I don’t mind if they are doing it for health reasons..I myself HAD to lose for my diabetes..BUT on the other hand I never said I was a Hero to the overweight folks like THEY did!
People can be unhealthy or healthy at with a heavy or thin body…it depends on the person.
If unhealthy, then lose…if not and happy then don’t lose and most of all…Don’t say things you Don’t mean…like Mo and Latifa and Osmond did!
Thank God for Emme the plus size model!
BTW…I left out Jennifer Love Hewitt…who said she loved her body with some meat on it and now has lost weight..sure, like I really believed her…again, thank God for Emme!
and Hollywood and society can kiss my sexy ass! LOL
You no what ive been F.A.T my who life and since i was 14 people were calling me ugly and fat and makeing jokes saying o your nothat fat but as i got oder i began to loss weight and i statit realy looking at my self and saying to my self o i look good i dont care anymore shoot i look so good ill run down the street naked mo doing what she has to do for herself we realy should stand behind are girl LOVE YA HOLLA