I’ve been alternately sick, or busy, or sick and busy. In the meantime, here are some things that have been going on lately… In Case You Missed Them! Even though you most likely didn’t. 1. Shapely Prose leaves the Fatosphere! As we’ve tried saying a gazillion times, [Shapely Prose] is not the movement. It is […]

Filed under: Art, Celebrities, Fatism, Gabby Sidibe, Kids, Links, Meta, Movies, Race & Ethnicity | 16 Comments »

And he may lose his license because of it. He admitted he told the patient that thick eyeglasses would not cause her to go blind “but her thick thighs and diabetes would. I poked her thigh to emphasize that diabetes is the leading cause of blindness,” he said Thursday. “People have got to accept criticism […]

Filed under: Fatism, Health | 22 Comments »

Continuing the “we here at major women’s fashion magazines care about fat people and their happiness!” trend, Marie Claire, major women’s fashion magazine, has started a once-a-month column by Ashley Falcon, Plus-Size Stylist. Hooray! Quick, do not notice that her columns appear next to their regular “From Fat to Fit” series. Or maybe that’s just […]

Filed under: Advocacy, Fashion, Fat Positive, Fatism, Magazines, Media, Question | 12 Comments »

Oh, Kirstie Alley. You’re a ridiculously beautiful woman. You’re reasonably talented, you’re fairly charming, you’re actually pretty hilarious, even. My point is, you have many excellent qualities, all of which are ripe for the picking and/or exploitation. You could have a career, Kirstie Alley! You could be an Actress, full stop. You don’t have to […]

Filed under: Celebrities, Cold Hard Cash, Diet Talk Warning, Fatism, Gossip, Humor, Kirstie Alley, Media, TV, Weight Loss | 16 Comments »

One of my students first told me about People of Walmart, and even though my first reaction was that making fun of working class people is kind of not cool, a lot of my students insisted that no, it was funny, and I should check it out. Indeed, makes fun of lots of people, such […]

Filed under: Fashion, Fatism, Feminism, Humor, Question, Race & Ethnicity | 66 Comments »

Do you remember when Karl Lagerfield was fat, and you got the feeling he sort of hated himself? He wore a lot of big, black clothes that covered him all the way up, and wandered around flapping a little fan in front of his face, in order, one assumes, to hide his double chin. It […]

Filed under: Celebrities, Diet Talk Warning, Fashion, Fatism, Gossip, Humor, International, Media, Weight Loss | 12 Comments »

Oh my GOD, Ralph Lauren! Keep your Photoshop brushes in your pants! What is wrong with you people? Earlier this month, an insane Ralph Lauren ad appeared, in which their long-time model Filippa Hamilton was photoshopped into a creepy, unrecognizable insectile creature from outer space. Hamilton was reportedly horrified by the image, and said “I […]

Filed under: Advocacy, Celebrities, Fatism, Gossip, Magazines, Media, Photoshop, Politics | 11 Comments »

Speaking of feeling confident in our bodies, have you guys heard about National Fat Talk Free Week? We’re actually two days into it, now–it started on October 19, and appears to end on October 23rd, after which, presumably, we can all go back to shit-talking our asses and blaming all our flaws and unhappinesses on […]

Filed under: Advocacy, Eating Disorders, Fat Positive, Fatism, Health, International, Magazines, Media, Politics | 5 Comments »

Not only did someone write that on Helen Hodges’ receipt, they then handed it to her when the transaction was finished. Here’s the story: Hodges, 31, bought $10 worth of gas in an automated cash transaction at the pump island but assigned the money to the wrong pump. When Hodges went inside the store to […]

Filed under: Cold Hard Cash, Fatism, Question, Race & Ethnicity | 36 Comments »

That’s right, fat people will be the death of the mitten industry! At least, according to this article sent in by Jez. Brace yourselves for a glimpse into our terrifying future… If Americans keep getting fatter, there will be no need for mittens in the future. That’s what the results of a new federal study […]

Filed under: Fashion, Fatism, Humor | 30 Comments »

It’s Sunday night, and my brain is tired from Mad Men and William Blake and getting ready for another week of school. So I give you, another batch of Google alerts that I just clicked on! 1. Expectant Parents Should Be Weighed To Prevent Fat Children. “Tam Fry, a trustee of the National Obesity Forum, […]

Filed under: Celebrities, Fat Positive, Fatism, Health, International, Links, Meta | 24 Comments »

In case you missed it, Rachel had a fabulous overview of the recent coverage of fat discrimination at Newsweek, including an article called America’s War on the Overweight: The bubbling rage against fat people in America has put researchers like Levine in a difficult position. On the one hand, she says, she wants to ensure […]

Filed under: Advocacy, Exercise, Fat Positive, Fatism, Health, Magazines, Media | 4 Comments »

No, no, no, not me! But I received an email from my friend Jennifer, who is 36 weeks pregnant, and she graciously said I could reprint her words here. I found her thoughts about pregnancy as a plus-sized woman really fascinating, and I hope you will, too! She covers topics including maternity wear, the ups […]

Filed under: Advocacy, Fat Positive, Fatism, Guest Post, Health, Kids | 45 Comments »

At least that’s the gossip on E! online. In case you hadn’t heard, two women (Wilson and Michaela Watkins) were fired from the show as two women were hired. (Still no new black comics, though; I love how a show that prides itself on its political satire has exactly 0 black people in its cast […]

Filed under: Celebrities, Fatism, Humor, Politics, TV, Video | 26 Comments »

At least it does according to this article, where health care professionals are worried that some fat people “now seem to think their weight is just fine.” WELL GOD FORBID. So you look at people around you or maybe you hear news stories that now two thirds of Americans are now overweight or obese, and […]

Filed under: Fatism, Health | 16 Comments »

Alternate title: Only Skinny People Are Allowed on TV Unless They’re Part of a Fat-Themed Reality Show. According to the New York Post: Sources say that when Brian Williams left his desk to deliver Wednesday’s nightly broadcast from the middle of the newsroom, producers brought in some ringers. “NBC newsroom staffers don’t look like Vogue […]

Filed under: Fatism, Media, TV | 9 Comments »

peta-save-the-whalesOriginally uploaded by marketingnacozinha I was catching up on my e-mail and noticed a number of people sent in the link to this PETA ad: Susan, Veronica, Lynette, Amy, and Kim, thank you! The only reason I didn’t post about it was that I didn’t feel like I had anything new to say; it’s been […]

Filed under: Advertising, Advocacy, Fatism, Kids, Media | 24 Comments »

This week is all videos and Whedonites and internet drama, apparently! Thanks to a spammer (apparently a very effective spammer) following fat chicks or girls who say they’re fat on Twitter, I found this video, called “Fat Girls,” at Funny or Die. Is it a “BBW tribute” as they claim? Or is the “BBW” the […]

Filed under: Fatism, Feel Good Friday, Humor, Music, Video | 15 Comments »

The new TWoP editorial team is at it again; this time with “overweight versions of our favorite shows.” Including Gross Anatomy and Large and Obese. Oh, how clever. Jennie in the comments pointed out an especially dumb one: My least favorite? “Gained (Lost),” described thusly: “On their way to a fat camp in Australia, a […]

Filed under: Fatism, Humor, TV | 12 Comments »

Poster for a side show…Originally uploaded by The LOC From the Library of Congress (via Weetabix) comes this poster, advertising a “human curiosities” sideshow from the 1914 Vermont State Fair: Ruth the Acrobat. Not only is the image interesting, so are the (many many) comments, ranging from the neutral: it looks like she doesnt have […]

Filed under: Art, Fat Positive, Fatism, NSFW, Old Timey | 19 Comments »

I’m writing this post in the wee hours of Tuesday morning, after a long and taxing Monday that those of you who follow me on Twitter are sick of hearing about, I’m sure. So my brain is broken, and instead of a real post, I give you… the five Google Alert e-mails that I clicked […]

Filed under: Celebrities, Exercise, Fatism, Humor, International, Links, Magazines, Ricky Gervais, Science, Sex & Romance, Tidbit, Weight Loss | 13 Comments »

celebrity fatwatchOriginally uploaded by mo pie I get a lot of press releases… no, a lot. Most of them are for weight-loss products, so that’s a delightful waste of time. Today I got one about a diet plan, so I deleted it, but the first paragraph was interesting. (The headline, clearly capitalizing on the fact […]

Filed under: Celebrities, Fatism, Jessica Simpson, Media, TV | 7 Comments »

I found out on Twitter that Kimberley Locke from American Idol is hosting a reality show about fat people joining a band: “Making the Curve” — in which talented, plus-size women “prove that they have what it takes to form a hit pop musical group.” Because… everyone in a band… needs to have… the same […]

Filed under: American Idol, Fatism, Humor, Movies, TV, Video | 24 Comments »

From Elizabeth Kolbert in The New Yorker comes a comprehensive article attempting to determine the cause of increased obesity in America. She talks about portion sizes: In the early nineteen-sixties, a man named David Wallerstein was running a chain of movie theatres in the Midwest and wondering how to boost popcorn sales. Wallerstein had already […]

Filed under: Fatism, Health, Magazines, Media, Question, Science | 18 Comments »

From BFDiva Jez comes this article, an expose of the Weight Watchers menu at Applebee’s. According to an independent lab, the nutritional info apparently does not always fall within or even come close to the advertised numbers on the menu, and lawsuits have ensued: [L]ast year Scripps News hired a food lab to test the […]

Filed under: Advertising, Advocacy, Fatism, Food, Weight Loss | 20 Comments »