WAY more fun than a summer in fat camp

Hallie Vs. Alley

April 28th, 2008

I was out of town this weekend unexpectedly (and it was awesome) so I didn’t get a post together for today. Instead, I’ll recommend Weetabix’s post over at Elastic Waist about Halle Berry and Kirstie Alley:

Here’s a picture of Kirstie Alley exiting a restaurant, but what’s striking is the commentary: the anonymous writer has snarky theories on what might be going into Kirstie’s mouth and imagines that Kirstie must be ashamed of herself, then comes right out and says that they do not approve of her current state of fatness and advises her to go to the gym. WTF?

In contrast, there’s Halle Berry’s traditional “Wow, she just had a baby six weeks ago” post. A pseudo-envious post-pregnancy update such as this in the tabloid blogs is, as far as I can tell, the female celebrity version of winning an Oscar. But where is the speculation on her food intake? What about questioning her gym attendance? What about the moral judgment on how she might have cared more about getting red carpet ready than caring for her daughter? Nope, Halle just gets lots of envy. Imagine that.

They Halle link doesn’t seem to be working, but the Kirstie one is. Feel free to talk about it here or there, and I’ll be back with my regularly scheduled posts tomorrow!

Posted by mo pie

Filed under: Celebrities, Fatism, Kirstie Alley, Magazines, Meta

You might also like

  1. I Trust Star Magazine Way More
  2. That's Weightertainment
  3. Fear Itself

13 Responses to Hallie Vs. Alley

  1. Molly, on April 28th, 2008 at 5:11 pm Said:

    I didn’t know where else to put this, but I just read this story and its… not what I would call a good fat acceptance technique.
    We know about this, right?

    http://jezebel.com/384321/tyra-tackles-the-weighty-issue-of-fatsploitation

  2. E. Black, on April 28th, 2008 at 6:07 pm Said:

    The comments on the x17 site about Kirstie are good. People telling the author they can pretty much shove it. Which I agree with.

  3. NotDieting.com, on April 28th, 2008 at 6:53 pm Said:

    I recently read a news article about everyone clapping for Victoria Beckham at her birthday dinner because she ate some ravioli. If ravioli gets a clap, then I deserve a standing ovation!

    I blogged about a similar topic regarding Angelina Jolie feeding her kids cheetos.

  4. Anna, on April 29th, 2008 at 5:58 am Said:

    I don’t really like the unstated assumption there that there’s something wrong with Halle Berry, as a parent or as a person. I don’t think we know a lot about celebs, and this idea that she must have been being a bad parent in order to get down to a particular weight really leaves me feel chilled.

  5. CindyS, on April 29th, 2008 at 7:55 am Said:

    I wonder if anyone has done any kind of study on why so many people feel it is necessary to punish people for being fat? Fat people clearly elicit some kind of deep fear in certain people that makes them react defensively, even viciously.

    And Anna .. FWIW, I don’t think anyone is actually suggesting that Halle Berry is a bad mother because she lost weight quickly after her pregnancy. They’re just trying to illustrate that people make weird assumptions about fat people’s moral failings based on the fact that they ARE fat, but they don’t do the same for thin people.

  6. Beth, on April 29th, 2008 at 8:32 am Said:

    I agree with Anna. I think post-baby weight loss is even more dependent upon the particular person than other kinds of weight loss. In my mother’s group (about 30 people) we have all different body types. Some of the women were overweight to begin with and claim that having a baby was the best weight loss plan ever — two of them are more than 20 pounds below their pre-pregnancy weight with no particular effort. One mother, who was thin before she got pregnant, is having trouble keeping weight on and looks emaciated in spite of eating enormous amounts of food. Some people (myself included) are having a very different experience in spite of healthy eating and lots of exercise, and it really seems to be very dependent on factors that are really hard to pinpoint.

    I am not on board with judging anybody, famous or not, for postpartum weight gain or loss. Halle Berry’s nice ass is not evidence that she is a bad mother.

  7. mo pie, on April 29th, 2008 at 10:34 am Said:

    I think, as Cindy pointed out, the Halle Berry criticism was deliberately ridiculous. At least that’s how I took it.

  8. Weetabix, on April 29th, 2008 at 11:54 am Said:

    It was intended as sarcastic hyperbole, as Cindy S suggested.

  9. Lisa, on April 29th, 2008 at 12:41 pm Said:

    It may have been intended as sarcastic hyperbole, but you went for a target that’s pretty acceptable to attack, as targets go. Attacking a woman for not being a good enough mother based on the size of her ass is a low blow– and it’s still a low blow even when you claim it’s a joke. And it’s out of place on a blog that’s by and about women.

  10. Cindy, on April 29th, 2008 at 1:31 pm Said:

    I stopped reading the bulletin boards at IMDB after I got sucked into a thread about what awhale Bryce Dallas Howard was when pregnant, and when one dude said he wouldn’t *let* his future wife get that fat when pregnant.

    I got a good laugh for a second, but then I felt sick. It’s all about managing the female body, isn’t it?

  11. E. Black, on April 30th, 2008 at 12:20 pm Said:

    Lisa, if that’s what you call an attack did you read the article about Kirstie? That’s an attack and those people weren’t being sarcastic. Women are always going to be targets whether it’s to each other or anyone else. We’re always targets and we’re always attacked. Sarcastic jokes are meant to alleviate even though some people will take everything to heart regardless.

  12. anna, on April 30th, 2008 at 11:17 pm Said:

    tabloids really get on my nerves…i hate how they turn good into bad and vice versa.

  13. Jackie, on May 2nd, 2008 at 9:15 pm Said:

    What was said about Kristie Alley reminds me of a saying, “love and hate aren’t much different, both are about spending time thinking about the person”

    I wonder what the person who wrote the article about Kristie Alley would think, if he was mistaken as a fat “fetishist”. I mean fantasizing about what Kristie must be eating, that sounds like someone who’s attracted to something.

Subscribe to the comments for this post (RSS)

« Big Fat Multimedia
What Am I Missing? »

RSS button Entries RSS

RSS button Comments RSS

Email us

Look around
  • What's the Big Fat Deal?
  • Introduce yourself
  • How do I love myself? And the follow up.
  • Our Facebook group
  • BFD greatest hits
  • 10 Ways to be a Body Positivity Advocate
  • Our pet fish
  • Press and media
We are...
Image of Mo Pie Image of Weetabix Image of Jenfu
Find it
Meta
+ Click to display
  • Log in
  • Entries RSS
  • Comments RSS
  •  
  • Google Reader or Homepage
  • del.icio.us 43 Folders
  • Add to My Yahoo!
  • Subscribe with Bloglines
  • Subscribe in NewsGator Online
  • Furl 43 Folders
  • Add to Technorati Favorites!
  • Add to netvibes
  • Health Blogs - Blog Top Sites
  • Pop Culture Blogs -  Blog Catalog Blog Directory
  • Blogging Fusion Blog Directory
  • I fight fat-hate!
  • B-List Blogger
  • Bloggapedia, Blog Directory - Find It!
  • As Seen on Delightfulblogs.com
  • Blogarama - The Blog Directory
  • Top HealthCare Sites
  • + Click to hide
Your comments
  • Babs: So sorry to hear that you are moving to Facebook. I’m one of those “dinosaurs” who refused to...
  • Trish: I’m a heavier girl, and throughout my pregnancy so far I’ve not thought too much about looking...
  • Rhonwyyn: Hi Mali, So sorry you’re feeling this way. I was never very skinny, but I learned to hate my body as...
  • Jody: I just got this cute Disney Nerds bag at Disneyland this January. It was only $20 and the strap is super long....
  • Courtney: I found one at H&M. Can’t wear a damn thing from that store except their bags, and it was under...
Recent entries
  • New BFD Page on Facebook
  • Recommend A Crossbody Bag
  • It Happened To Me: I Read xoJane.com
  • Actor Gains 50 Pounds, Becomes "Much Funnier"?
  • Nordstrom Rack Fall Outfit Extravaganza
  • Say Yes To The Dress: Big Bliss
Notes from the Fatosphere
Most Popular Categories
  • Advertising Advocacy America Ferrera American Idol Art Ask BFD Beth Ditto BFD Classic BFDudes Biggest Loser BlogHer08 Books Britney Spears Carnie Wilson Celebrities Cold Hard Cash Comics Courtney Love Dance Your Ass Off Diet Talk Diet Talk Warning Drop Dead Diva Eating Disorders Exercise Fashion Fatism Fat Positive Fat Suits Feel Good Friday Feminism Food Gabby Sidibe Glee Gossip Guest Post Gwyneth Paltrow Hairspray Health Huge Humor International Jenfu Jennifer Aniston Jennifer Hudson Jennifer Love Hewitt Jessica Simpson Kate Winslet Keira Knightley Kelly Clarkson Kids Kirstie Alley Links Magazines Media Meta Mike & Molly Mo'Nique Mommyblog More To Love Movies Music Nikki Blonsky NSFW Old Navy Old Timey Oprah Personal Photoshop Politics Project Runway Queen Latifah Question Race & Ethnicity Renee Zelwegger Review Ricki Lake Ricky Gervais Science Sex & Romance Star Jones Theater The Office Tidbit TV Tyra Banks Uncategorized Video Weetabix Weight Loss WLS Work

Twitter
[aktt_tweets count="5"]
Most Comments
  • Nordstrom Rack Fall Outfit Extravaganza (232)
  • How Do Strangers Treat You? (134)
  • "The Beautiful People Are The Skinny People" (103)
  • "You Do Not See Fat People In Concentration Camps" (100)
  • Are You Insecure About Your Height? (97)
  • Big Fat Ad (91)
Archives
Powered by WordPress & WPDesigner :: Design by Pattycake Designs & modified by Make My Blog Pretty :: Logo by Evan Carothers