First off, from Becky on Twitter comes this story about Penelope Cruz, who says you don’t have to be thin to be pretty.

“I would close down all those teenage magazines that encourage young girls to diet. Who says that to be pretty you have to be thin? Some people look better thin and some don’t. There is almost a standard being created where only thin is acceptable. The influence of those magazines on girls as young as 13 is horrific.”

I could argue (at length) about the comment that “Some people look better thin and some don’t,” because I think that’s problematic. Also the word “almost” in that bolded sentence. But the fact that she’s pissed off about this and speaking out is pretty awesome.

Via CDAN comes this letter from Sophia Bush about those ridiculous “Eat Less” shirts from Urban Outfitters.

I am fortunate enough to star on a wonderful TV show called One Tree Hill. I play a fashion designer named Brooke Davis, who started a campaign on the show called “Zero Is Not A Size” and the outpouring of love and gratitude that came my way from girls and women ALL OVER THE WORLD who have body image issues brought me to tears.

To promote starvation? To promote anorexia, which leads to heart disease, bone density loss, and a slew of other health problems, not least of all psychological issues that NEVER go away? Shame on you. I will no longer be shopping at your stores. And I will encourage the tens of thousands of female supporters I have to do the same. I have fought to boycott BP. I never imagined I would also be boycotting affordable fashion.

You should issue a public apology, and make a hefty donation to a women’s organization that supports those stricken with eating disorders. I am sickened that anyone, on any board, in your gigantic company would have voted ‘yes’ on such a thing, let alone enough of you to manufacture an item with such a hurtful message.

I’m hoping (and assuming) “Zero Is Not A Size” is not against very slim women, but instead against the idea that the size for these women has that name. But I don’t watch One Tree Hill so one of you might have to fill me in. Anyway, it sounds like Sophia Bush is very engaged with the world, and trying to use her celebrity to effect some positive change. That’s awesome.

And finally, Hayley Hasselhoff talks about the awesomeness that is Huge, and how she embraces her curves.

I related to Amber [her character] a lot when I was younger growing up, but I think I’m finally at a point in life where I’m comfortable with who I am… I’m so glad there’s a show that teenagers can look up to young girls and realize it’s okay to be voluptuous.

Three celebrities speaking out and telling teens it’s okay to be who you are? Feels like a Feel Good Friday to me.

The important thing is that we accept ourselves. When we accept ourselves, the rest of the world will too. Or they won’t – but that will be their problem. Throughout my entire life, I have been a full figured woman. I will never be a size 0, 4, or even a 10, but that does not stop me from looking my best, like Amber Riley from Glee. As the weather heats up, I grab the opportunity to wear sexy clothing, break out my great summer accessories, and flaunt my full hourglass-and-a-half figure in yet another season.

 2. Gabi of Young, Fat, and Fabulous is a finalist in MTV’s Twitter Jockey contest!

As much as I love fashion, I also love social media and popular culture; this is an amazing opportunity, and I truly need all of your support! How great would it be if there was a fashionable, body-positive plus size girl working in mainstream media (and MTV at that)? Plus, if I win, I can guarantee A LOT more outfit posts…can you imagine my wardrobe if I actually had steady income? Man.

The main thing I need you guys to do is FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER IF YOU ARE NOT ALREADY (my username is @gabifresh). There will be a series of challenges and you will have to follow me there in order to help! The more followers and interaction I have with you guys, the better. Secondly, PLEASE help spread the word and tell your friends to follow me. Post on your blogs, facebook, twitter pages, youtube channels, or anything else you can think of.

I’m not entirely sure what a “Twitter jockey” is (back in my day, MTV ran videos! And we liked it!), but I know I love the idea of Gabi winning. Go, Gabi, go! Jockey the hell out of that Twitter!

3. Via Salon’s Broadsheet: This is beautiful, very cool, and nerdy, but it also appeals to my sense of comedy: a pin-up calendar featuring ladies so skinny, they’re all bones. Literally. IS THIS WHAT YOU WANT, AMERICA?

Japanese manufacturer Eizo has put together pictorials of 12 skeletons showing off their fibulas, tailbones and rib cages in classic car model poses — and, damn, these skele-girls got femurs for daaays.

4. Fashionista covers a British retailer with a major gimmick for their new swimwear campaign: All of their models are totally unPhotoshopped.  Which sounds awesome–except it’s not like they’re dragging regular women out of bed and throwing them head-first and uncombed into bikinis:

It’s a bit of a stretch to suggest that showcasing clothes on already perfect bodies will make the rest of us any more comfortable with the idea of buying THAT bikini. As in all of the highly hyped makeup-free magazine features we’ve seen (and Britney and Demi’s ‘before’ ad shots), the model is still meticulously made up, lit, styled, toned, etc.
Still, we have to applaud any move that challenges industry-wide assumptions and spurs on conversation.

I think I feel pretty much the same—I still struggle with the idea that these are perfect bodies to which we ought to aspire (obviously a flawed and troubling assumption), but I love that these are real women, not  creepily “perfected” lies forced upon us by a fashion hivemind! Viva la revolucion! In my heart, it’s hope that it’s a start.

Women have been caught in a pointless feedback loop as we debate what does and doesn’t constitute ”real women”. That the bulk of it is a marketing strategy – Dove’s Campaign For Real Beauty, which sold a lot of fake-tanner, is a case in point – appears to have flown over most people’s heads….

In the majority of cases, ”real” is code for ”average” or ”normal”, but perhaps more insidiously, ”anything but skinny”. As Dye’s response has demonstrated, women who – whether by luck or long hours in the gym – more closely resemble media ideals of beauty are not considered ”real”. Slim women such as [model Jennifer] Hawkins are not allowed to be positive body image role models because their bodies don’t look like most women’s.

Thin women are often in a position of privilege, particularly thin white women, and we can’t ignore that. However, the whole “eat a sandwich, I’m a real woman!” dialogue is damaging in its own way. It keeps women running after and policing each other in a little circle of body obsession, while men get to go off and run the world. And that’s why it has to stop.

Thanks to Jenfu for the link!

Amy says her favorite part is this:

So how do Jose and Susan feel about being representatives of the state of British health? ‘I’m not ideal, but if this is what the average man in the UK looks like, then people can draw their own conclusions,’ says Jose. ‘Most of my mates look more like me than David Beckham.’
Susan says: ‘I hope women will look at me and realise that the stick-thin models they see in magazines aren’t the norm. I am average and proud of that.’

My least favorite part is that the article devolves into OMG OBESITY CRISIS and OMG AVERAGE IS SO FAT NOW!!11!! Shock horror! Except that they look, you know. Perfectly average.

*I did question the fact that they selected two white people. It seems problematic to default to white = average. Wouldn’t a truly “average” person be mixed race?

For its June 2010 issue, French Marie Claire has gone curvy with editorials featuring plus-size models in lingerie and swimsuits à la française–that’s right, only bottoms, no tops!

Of course, these are all models, so “plus-size” is like a size 10. I personally took a counterbalancing stroll through some wonderful recent pieces at Adipositivity. Mostly NSFW. Except this one, which I love. And this one!

It made me want to take my own half-naked pictures, even if I wouldn’t necessarily post them on the Internet for the world to see. But there’s so much beauty in all types of bodies. It really is lovely to be reminded of that.

Happy Friday!

Who were these “flabulous” celebrities? Beyonce, Jessica Simpson, Britney, Kirstie Alley, and Snooki. I mean, seriously. Did you doubt they would all be women? Plus, they sent me some accompanying photos showing the offenses, and they all looked like this. Where’s the “love handles” on Beyonce? Not that there’s anything wrong with “love handles,” Jesus. At least they have a cute name.

2. Okay, here’s a link, and it’s a good one: the “obesity stigma” is not actually helpful. Well, no effing duh. Which is basically what The Well-Rounded Mama says:

I suppose I should be grateful that someone is taking time to disprove the kinds of lame claims that more stigma is needed, not less. On the flip side, though, is that while they are concerned about the negative effects of obesity stigma on fat people, the big concern is that this stigma gets in the way of obesity intervention efforts…

But at least they are saying something against obesity stigma and countering the usual nonsense out there. It just amazes me that some idiots can actually believe that obesity stigma is really an effective tool for health improvement.

3. Another good one: obesity ills are “a myth” according to an Ohio State University study, via Big Fat Blog.

“There is a myth going on. Our findings show being overweight is no different from being what we believe is a healthy weight and this is across a person’s entire lifespan. For college-age adults, this should help them realize that they don’t have to worry so much if they have a BMI of 27 or 28. Some young people with these BMIs feel like, ‘I’m going to have all these problems, I need to try 50 different diets.’ And what is all that stress and dieting doing to your body? Probably more damage than the extra 15 pounds is.”

4. I ran across a Listmania list on Amazon today called “Large-size heroines and more.” Leonard Nimoy, The Gossip, and Nikki Blonsky are all represented, as are some projects I’d never heard of, such as an anthology called Such A Pretty Face…

Each tale has a plus-sized heroine or hero, ranging from a mermaid to a fairy-tale princess.

As well as a guide for plus-sized brides, some Fat Studies readers, and a UK series called Fat Friends.

I can’t vouch for level of empowerment each thing on the list has–for instance, I know Queen Sized was problematic, and there’s a weight loss memoir on there from someone named Michelle McManus, who won Pop Idol in the UK–but there were enough interesting things listed that I figured I’d pass it along.

5. Finally, 340 (and counting) blogs have been added to the comprehensive Fierce Freethinking Fatties Feed, and there are sub-feeds like Fat Acceptance, Fatshion, and Political Allies. (And other sub-feeds that do allow diet talk, so click those with caution.) If you want to find some new reading material or to add your blog to one of those feeds, check it out. Thanks for the heads up, Shannon!

In the same way as anorexics may have a distorted self-perception of being fat, some overweight and obese people fail to see their true plus-size selves, believing instead that they are a healthy weight, says British author Sara Bird, whose book documenting her experience with “fatorexia” was published in March… “When I looked in the mirror, I saw a confident thin person, when in fact I was obese,” says Bird,… At 240 pounds, she looked like the Pillsbury Doughboy with a head that appeared much too small for her body, she said.

Oh good. Another self-loathing reformed fat person. Looks like we’ll get more people helpfully informing us that we’re fat! Terrific! THAT’S JUST WHAT WE NEED.

So then movie critic Mick LaSalle “weighs” in on this “excellent” story!

A couple of weeks ago I got some nasty reaction to my review of JUST WRIGHT, the new Queen Latifah movie in which she is the romantic lead. She plays an average woman who becomes the love interest of an extremely desirable man — an NBA superstar who could presumably have absolutely anybody. In the most delicate terms imaginable, I questioned how the movie could present its hero’s attraction for (let’s just say it) an obese woman, without in some way accounting for the unusual nature of that attraction.

Yes, apparently, it’s COMPLETELY FUCKING CRAZY that someone could be attracted to the “obese” Queen Latifah. QUEEN LATIFAH! Who looks like this!

(His original review is actually, to give him credit that I would rather not give him, a bit more nuanced than this would suggest.) Still, he’s no Lindy West (the critic who wrote that scathing takedown of the new Sex and the City movie).

I know that neither Mick LaSalle nor Sara Bird is likely to listen when I say this, but allow me to repeat: FAT PEOPLE KNOW THEY’RE FAT. We really don’t need more shaming. A lack of shaming is not the problem here.

And also, Queen Latifah is hot.

What do you think? Aside from the fact that those dresses are FANTASTIC, I feel like this is really exploititive and just a way to make the general population laugh. I’m only a U.S. Juniors Large, and yet I somehow manage to be a Chinese XXXL even AFTER I lost some weight!

I guess my first thought is that the woman in this picture looks gorgeous, and I love the picture itself. She’s such a splash of color! It’s a great shot. But beauty pageants, bleh. Beauty pageants meant to mock fat people, bleh. Although I’m not sure of the context here. So what do you think is going on? Any insight from other readers in China?

1. Woman on a quest to become the world’s fattest woman.

‘My favourite food is sushi, but unlike others I can sit and eat 70 big pieces of sushi in one go,’ she said. ‘I do love cakes and sweet things, doughnuts are my favourite.’ Donna, who wears XXXXXXXL dresses, eats mounds of junk food and tries to move as little as possible… To fund the massive $750 weekly food shop, she runs a website where men pay her to watch her eat fast food.

I honestly don’t quite know what to say about this story!

2. “It’s never a good idea to comment on a woman’s figure”: an advice column:

Comments about a woman’s body, no matter how elegantly phrased, should be reserved until intimacy has been established. Far too many men treat women’s bodies as public property, to be commented on as though we exist only for their viewing pleasure. So don’t do this.

3. Harriet Brown’s article on fat prejudice for the New York Times:

Hallways were plastered with posters saying “Prevent teenage obesity.” After the posters went up, the girl said, schoolmates began taunting her in the halls, pointing at the obese girl on the posters and saying, “Look at the fat chick.”

4. Australian politician finds fat aboriginal dancers offensive:

I would suggest to Mr Tuckey that most Aboriginal people have more important things to consider other than their weight, incidental issues such as interpersonal and systemic racism for a start and that perhaps Mr Tuckey and his cohorts should be working to address those issues rather than being so offended that he has to see brown (and often not so brown) Aboriginal bellies bulging over the top of traditional style lap laps.

5. Why Gabby vs. Hollywood is annoying, from Big Fat Blog:

The idea of casting Gabby in a serious role where her confidence might shine through is probably unimaginable to most people in Hollywood. Instead, elite Hollywood women are “made ugly” in movies where a feel-good transformation is needed. And since Gabby is, according to Joy Behar, more than “full-figured” she cannot be transformed from ugly duckling to swan…without losing weight, that is.

By focusing on Gabby the media are subtly (or not-so-subtly) invoking a weight loss narrative because it’s the only narrative they know for a fat woman, the only way they see her having a possibility, they only way they see her existing. It’s why they are confounded by Gabby herself.

As always, if there is a ton of conversation about something, I’ll make it into a spinoff post. Happy reading!

You can see her at around the 6:40 mark in the shot below. She’s beautiful, as you’ll see. Also, there’s a shot panning slowly down her body, she’s shown as she walks away, she’s covered in drops of water… the whole thing. (And incidentally, she also mentions just having swum 50 laps.) Here’s the episode clip:

H (who sent me the link) said that at first she was waiting for a joke based on the actress’s size, then for some kind of self-congratulatory meta-reference about how open-minded they’re being, but there was nothing. She gets to be a hot chick, no strings attached.

H also says the show is worth watching, and as a lover of books, book groups, and British television… sign me up! Thanks, H.