Cindy in the comments alerted us to a couple of posts on SF Gate that I thought were worthy of their own post. First, an article with the headline Fat people deny their [sic] plus size:

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.

Posted by mo pie

Filed under: Celebrities, Fatism, International, Media, Movies, Queen Latifah, Sex & Romance | 40 Comments »

On Heavy Girls and Sexy Times, by Silvana, at Tiger Beatdown.

2. Here is what you learn very early, as a young woman prone to fatness, even before puberty: My body is bad. My body is disgusting. My body is something for me to fight against. My body will not cooperate with my desire to be thin. My body is a disappointment to the people around me. I hate how all these studies and articles just assume as true that it is the natural order of things that fat girls will feel bad about themselves, as if this is, in fact, the proper way to view yourself when you are fat. No, this is not natural. This does not come from looking in the mirror. Girls are inculcated with messages that fatness is bad and that their bodies are their enemies. Loving your body is not option. That fatness-shame, combined with the puberty-shame of our puritanical, anti-woman, anti-sex culture, means that at the onset of puberty fat girls undergo deep, deep dissociation with their bodies. This happens to all kinds of girls, but especially fat girls.

There’s a lot more: go read! Especially teenagers and the teenager-adjacent. And let me know what you think.

Posted by mo pie

Filed under: Feminism, Kids, Sex & Romance, Tidbit | 4 Comments »

Last week’s performance of “Dream a Little Dream” on Glee reminded me that it’s been 40 years since Cass Elliott sang that song. She had one of the most beautiful voices of the mid-1900’s, right up there with Streisand and Karen Carpenter, but she almost never makes the lists of amazing influential female singers. I’m jaded but I have to believe it’s yet another example of fatism that Cass had to deal with regularly in her short lifetime.

We’ve already discussed the ham sandwich thing but did you know that Cass repeatedly tried to get into the Mamas and the Papas but John Phillips told her that she was too fat? Eventually, he caved, inventing a story that Elliot could sing higher after being hit in the head by a magical pipe, which everyone (including Cass) went along with because the real reason was uncomfortable. We’ve all heard that bands become dysfunctional families, so I assume that the other members were skirting around Phillips’ creepy personality issues. (Remember, this is also the guy who thought it was perfectly acceptable to rape and then have “consensual” sex with his daughter for a decade)

John wanted to have a Peter, Paul and Mary-style rock-and-roll group and had no compunction of saying “Sorry, Cass, but you’re too fat” right to her face. But not in a mean way. He’d just say “Cass, I’m sorry–you’re too fat.” (From Dream a Little Dream of Me via Snopes)

Ok, as long as he wasn’t MEAN about it, even though apparently Phillips has been quoted making sizist remarks in numerous sources and apparently  As it turns out, the joke was on Phillips, as their popularity rose with the inclusion of her amazing voice.

What Streisand did for Jewish girls in Brooklyn, Cass Elliot was doing for fat girls everywhere. The diet food people must have hated her the way nose surgeons are said to hate Streisand. While the Mamas and Papas were defining a lifestyle for their fans to emulate, Cass was redefining the concept of beauty among the young.  (Esquire, 1969)

There’s no doubt that vocally she was the strongest member of the group, and while Cass may or may not have internalized all of the comments about her weight, she just might have been a seminal influence for the Fat Acceptance movement.

Posted by Weetabix

Filed under: Celebrities, Fatism, Old Timey, Video, Weetabix | 15 Comments »

1.    I thought this was really fascinating: A professional model talks very personally about her body image issues and the modeling industry, in a guest post on the always awesome Already Pretty.

I started modeling in 1998, at the age of 19, at 5’11” (180 cm) and 120 pounds (55 kg). I grew up hating my body. I was always too tall and too thin. I loathed every encounter with the school nurse (she used to ask if my parents fed me), and by the time I was 13, I had acknowledged the fact that I was labeled a freak by the society around me. I can’t even remember how many times I have been asked (sometimes by total strangers on the street) if I had an eating disorder. Both of my parents are tall and thin, as are my siblings, but my body was the freakiest of all. I felt abnormal, and now in hindsight I wonder if I felt like that only because of the mean comments people made. I have a feeling I would have developed a more normal relationship with my body if I had been allowed to be who I was.

2.    The totally reliable Examiner is claiming that Megan Fox was kicked off the Transformers 3 set for being “too skinny.”

Fox and Transformers director Michael Bay had a “huge row” over her weight. The 24-year-old stormed out after the blow-up after Bay called her “unhealthy”.

“[Bay] thinks she has lost too much weight and looks too frail. He wanted her to put on some weight and it all kicked off.”

Bay wasn’t the only one concerned with Megan Fox’s weight loss. Even the crew said she was far from sexy and more a “gaunt, pale image”.

3.    The L.A. Times covers the fat celebrities who make their money (and careers) from their size. (Goddamn it, Kirstie Alley.)

Welcome to the era of the fat celebrity. No longer is it shameful, shocking or a career killer for the famous to make weight struggles the centerpiece of their lives. In fact, they’re making money off of it.

“Fat celebrities are particularly irresistible because in the real culture people are constantly struggling with what’s wrong with their bodies,” says University of Colorado law professor Paul Campos, author of “The Obesity Myth: Why America’s Obsession With Weight Is Hazardous to Your Health.” “People can identify with that, and this is another way of tapping into the fascination with celebrities as being both unique but somehow just like us.”

4.    iVillage is throwing a contest—who loves themselves the most?

iVillage Beauty & Style is all about making women feel confident. Whether through a perfect manicure, a head-turning dress, or your go-to lipstick, iVillage encourages you to express your personal style with pride.

Upload a photo and sound clip of yourself, talking about how hot you are and why, on IVillage’s fotobabble site and maybe win $500.

5.    Check out Letters to My Body, a very cool community-based body image project that you can join.

The purpose Letters to My Body (LTMB) is to serve as a catalyst for open discussion and free speaking about the positive and negative feelings that we have concerning our bodies.  The hope is that through an anonymous vessel such as a letter, we can begin to heal the wounds that have been cultivated over our lifetimes, and also to praise our bodies and recognize that they are beautiful–no matter what shape, size, or condition.

In addition, I hope that Letters to My Body will bring awareness to the countless women and men who suffer from eating disorders.  I want this silent disease to stop being so silent.

Posted by jenfu

Filed under: Celebrities, Eating Disorders, Gossip, Kevin Smith, Kirstie Alley, Links, Media, Movies, TV | 14 Comments »

For Feel-Good Friday, a picture that made me feel good.

Check out that insane eye makeup and lipstick!

The awesome shape of that dress, which breaks all the fat-girl muumuu rules!

The ruffly crazy thing! The color! The attitude.

Makes me want to pack something wacky to wear to Forbidden Zone this weekend.

Beth Ditto, you are awesome, as ever.

Posted by mo pie

Filed under: Beth Ditto, Celebrities, Fashion, Feel Good Friday, Tidbit | 6 Comments »

So this is like, a blog/Twitter crossover event! On Twitter, they have “Follow Fridays,” where you tell people who to follow on Twitter. So here’s my Follow Friday for you–The Illusionists, No Country for Young Women, and Revolution of Real Women. Because these three Twitter streams (in addition to being consistently awesome) are where I found these three links!

1.

The fat male group is more loved, less judged for their body size and more contemporary ; the fat female group has many members framed as being “bitchy” and “too opinionated,” is judged endlessly in relation to body size and is much less current in the zeitgeist (Gossip singer Beth Ditto is arguably a contemporary fat female icon, but hardly as well-known as the likes of [Jack] Black).

2. On Airbrushing Skinny Models to Look Healthy

It’s been dubbed ‘reverse retouching’ and involves using models who are cadaverously thin and then adding fake curves so they look bigger and healthier.

This deranged but increasingly common process recently hit the headlines when Jane Druker, the editor of Healthy magazine – which is sold in health food stores – admitted retouching a cover girl who pitched up at a shoot looking ‘really thin and unwell’.

It sounds crazy, but the truth is Druker is not alone. The editor of the top-selling health and fitness magazine in the U.S., Self, has admitted: ‘We retouch to make the models look bigger and healthier.’

3. Miss USA admits to strict dieting, exercise, and dehydrating to look “good on TV”.

Remember, the BFD Twitter feed is here. Happy Tweeting!

Posted by mo pie

Filed under: Beth Ditto, Celebrities, Diet Talk, Feel Good Friday, Feminism, Magazines, Music, Photoshop, Video, Weight Loss | 4 Comments »

Hooters is making headlines because a 5’8″, 132 pound server was told, during her performance review, to lose weight. It was the “uniform evaluation” portion of the performance review, which is presumably when they critique your body and then threaten to fire you. Lovely.

[She was told] she would be given a free gym membership and had 30 days to improve, and if she did not, she would be separated from the company. The company’s uniforms are offered in small, extra small and double-extra small.

Says Hooters:

“Our practice of upholding an image standard based on appearance, attitude and fitness for Hooters girls is both legal and fair. It is not unlike the standard used by the Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders or the Radio City Music Hall Rockettes.”

I’m not even sure what, as a feminist, to think about Hooters qua Hooters. That level of objectification of women is just gross, but do women know what they’re signing up for when they choose to work there? Is this story only a story because the woman is clearly not overweight? What if she were? Or are you like Michael Scott and my friends Carrie and Brian, who love the hot wings? What do you guys think?

Via @RevoltRealWomen on Twitter.

Posted by mo pie

Filed under: Feminism, Food, The Office | 26 Comments »

1. It doesn’t “make economic sense” to make clothes in many different styles for fat people. So, if fat people just stuck to wearing muumuus, that would be great, then?

I would ask why are thin women allowed to want different kinds of clothing and fat women are not? I’m pretty sure all of the thin people I have met want different kinds of clothing. I know for a fact that not all thin women want professional clothing or sun dresses. But the fact that they made it seem like asking for jeans is this crazy notion really pissed me off.

2. A three-year-old on Fat Fairies.

“But just because she has a big moom doesn’t make her a bad person, Mummy. Some fairies have big mooms and some fairies have little mooms but they are all good fairies.”

3. Myths about fat bodies from Fat Heffalump.

I want to talk about fat bodies tonight. Cos you know, all the stuff over the past week about body image, all the cries of Disgusting! Vile! Lazy! Unhealthy! Gross! Smelly! and so on that proliferate when we have talk about fat bodies has been burbling about my head and I think that a lot of fat haters and those that fear fat have absolutely no idea about what a fat body really is like, or what it’s like to inhabit a fat body.

4. The Fatistician talks about trusting your doctor.

I think people who are not fat as well as many medical professionals are unaware of the serious trust gap between medical professionals and fat people who’ve been told that their rash/pain/infection/brain tumor will go away if they just stop being fat. Studies have shown that medical professionals do not trust fat patients. But I think it is also important to point out that some of their fat patients don’t trust them either, and for good reason.

5. And B. Miller is having a Pay It Forward contest on her blog. It’s especially geared towards fiction writers, which is tragic, as my Young Adult novel is not yet finished, nor has it yet been published, nor am I currently rich and famous. Any second now, though. Thanks for Tweeting me about this contest!

Posted by mo pie

Filed under: Advocacy, Fashion, Health, Humor, Kids | 9 Comments »

Jezebel republished an essay by Tasha Fierce at Red Vinyl Shoes called “As Fat As I Wanna Be,” articulating the idea that if you eat junk food, and are lazy, and don’t exercise, and are fat, you still don’t deserve to be shamed and concern trolled and vilified for your fatness. The Jezebel post is here:

When someone is fat shamed, the person doing the shaming often justifies it as them being concerned for the fat person’s health. Of course we know that’s bullshit. Fatphobia has nothing to do with health, if someone was really concerned they wouldn’t harp on it to the detriment of fat people’s self esteem. And a ton of fat people can attest that they eat healthily and exercise. I however, cannot. So is the health argument justified in my case? Well, no, because fat also has nothing to do with health. It’s the food I eat that’s the issue. It’s the fact that I eat when I’m definitely not physically hungry. It’s my lack of exercise.

I shouldn’t be expected to prove that oh well I’m trying really hard not to be fat but OMG I’m still fat so leave me alone! If I’m fat by design then so fucking what, I’m “choosing to be fat”. Of course I would still be fat if I ate well, didn’t overeat and exercised, though I might be less fat. But guess what, I don’t really give a shit right now. I am the stereotypical lazy fat person, and I have a right to be that if I damn well please. I’m not repping for the entire FA movement. I’m not trying to set an example. And really, if it’s unacceptable to be a non-HAES fat then how can we say we’re accepting fat? We’re only accepting it if you make sure to do everything right but are still fat? We say fat isn’t a choice. Is it wrong if it is? I’ve gained roughly 10 pounds or so (I’m guessing by the way my clothes fit) since my surgery simply because I’ve chosen to not follow the rules. But that’s my choice and I am sure as shit not going to be shamed by either HAES enthusiasts or bigoted fatphobes.

In response to the comments at Jezebel, Tasha has posted a followup that’s also worth reading:

I’m sorry if you feel like my wanton gluttony is making your fat friends look bad because they exercise and eat right and here I am, blowing it for them, being the stereotype they try so hard not to be. My point was that, again, FAT PEOPLE SHOULD NOT BE EXPECTED TO OUTLINE THE WAYS THEY’RE TRYING TO NOT BE FAT, OR THE MEASURES THEY TAKE TO COUNTER THE ILLEGITIMATE CLAIMS THAT FAT = UNHEALTHY.

Right after I read this, we got a comment that I considered unapproving. But instead I think it fits right into this conversation, because it outlines helpfully outlines exactly what kind of fat people we’re allowed to be.

MY support is with those overweight people who will not quit and whose attitude shines with optimism and a desire to become healthy people-inside and out. YOU ARE AN INSPIRATION!!!

That’s right–as Kirstie Alley and Carnie Wilson have shown us time and time again, we’re allowed to be overweight as long as we “never quit” trying, publicly and vocally, to be thinner. As long as we stay on the merry-go-round of dieting, and publicize how well we eat and how much we exercise. And it’s the best first line of defense against a lot of people–it shuts people up. Yeah I’m fat, but… (but I exercise four days a week, but I’m a vegan, but I never eat fast food, but I take a dance class, but but…)

What if the real answer is: yeah, I’m fat. And so what?

ETA: A follow-up by Snarky’s Machine that’s also well worth reading.

Posted by mo pie

Filed under: Advocacy, Carnie Wilson, Celebrities, Fat Positive, Fatism, Feminism, Health, Kirstie Alley | 17 Comments »

I’ve been feeling the need to find some new blogs to squeeze into my already overfull Google reader! So I figured, it’s Friday, let’s chat about our favorite stops on the Internet these days!

For Fatosphere stuff, I read the Notes from the Fatosphere feed, as well as the Alltop Fatosphere listing, and of course Fatshionista and The Curvy Fashionista.

For discussions on feminism, I hit Jezebel and Tiger Beatdown. For race, I check out Racialicious. (The closest I get to a blog about gayness is just the apolitical Tom and Lorenzo, so I would love any recs you may have.)

I get my TV chatter from the recently relocated Alan Sepinwall, celebrity gossip from Crazy Days and Nights (best experienced in Google Reader), and I’m passionately devoted to Go Fug Yourself (celebrity fashion) and Monkey See (general pop culture stuff).

I also follow a bunch of great lists on Twitter, most of which I found because @bigfatdeal is on them.

That’s a lot, but it’s not enough! What fat-themed and feminist blogs are your favorites? (Feel free to mention your own, too.) Or is BFD the only one you read? And what are the blogs, on any subject, that you couldn’t live without?

Posted by mo pie

Filed under: Fashion, Fat Positive, Feel Good Friday, Feminism, Gossip, Meta, Question | 11 Comments »

We’ve talked about Passive Aggressive Notes before, when a woman sent a tragically misspelled note to some strangers at lunch, suggesting they should lose weight. Well, here we go again!

Please do not take this the wrong way, I am just concerned for your health. Have you considered Weight Watchers?

This was sent to a coworker. A pregnant coworker, no less. And the note-sender clearly did not realize this woman was pregnant. Things that are wrong about this include: using the phrase “Please don’t take this the wrong way,” lecturing a coworker about her weight as if it’s any of your business what she weighs or why she’s gained weight, doing so anonymously, and doing so via Post-It note, which any viewer of Sex and the City could tell you is NOT THE WAY TO GO.

Passive Aggressive Notes boiled it down to: mind your own business. And amen to that.

Thanks to Nonk for the link!

Posted by mo pie

Filed under: Fatism, Tidbit, TV, Weight Loss | 15 Comments »

I was driving to a meeting tonight, and flipped through my radio presets. When I got to Live 105, I heard a promo that went something like this:

Music was originally used by cavemen… to drive fat chicks away.

Just a throwaway bit, but it pissed me off. The implication that music is for men, and the casual “ha, ha, no fat chicks!” humor.

It reminds me of the morning show they used to have, whose sports reporter was an awesome zaftig chick (hell yeah) but whose male DJs still made tons of “hyuck hyuck, fat chicks are gross” jokes.

The world? Makes me tired sometimes.

Posted by mo pie

Filed under: Fatism, Feminism, Music, Tidbit | 9 Comments »

Okay, I know almost nothing about Elena Kagan at this point, except what Jezebel told me. So this isn’t about politics. It’s about the fact that as soon as I saw her picture, I knew exactly what was coming: fat jokes.

A random sampling:

First Impressions: Kagan looks like a fat drag queen.

Yeash that Elena Kagan is another fat dychy type! Are there just endless fat, short haired woman in the Dem establishment?

no disrespect intended but man is Kagan is a fat, ugly bitch

Yeah, there are plenty more. By far the most popular is calling her a fat version of [dude], including Matthew Broderick, Kevin James, Chris Farley, and “Fat Bastard” from Austin Powers. Also, the data (i.e. me glancing at user pics) would suggest that most of the people spouting this crap are men. No better way to take a powerful woman down than call her fat, right?

Thanks for the people calling this out, for instance:

@shorterstory Come on, @theDailyBeast, why call your #Kagan roundup Big Fat Story except for frat boy smirking? http://bit.ly/daurQV #shameonyou

@SaraLibby Cringing at the first Kagan-is-fat joke to pop up on my Twitter feed.

All I know is, a male nominee would not have all of this knee-jerk patriarchal bullshit directed at them, and it pisses me off. What slams were made on John Roberts’s physical appearance? Yeah, right, none.

Posted by mo pie

Filed under: Celebrities, Feminism, Movies, Politics | 20 Comments »

You have to admire the creativity of PR people sometimes, desperately trying to shoehorn their products into stories about whatever might be making headlines, and then blindly sending those stories to bloggers whose blogs may or may not be at all related to the products they’re trying to sell. Here are some ridiculous pitches I’ve gotten recently.

“Betty White is going to host SNL. Will she wear a [Product Name] girdle? Been known to wear girdles daily, viewers are predicting she will host Saturday night’s show in one of today’s most scandalous fashions.”

Nice dangling modifier there, PR person. (That being said, girdle or no girdle, I’m going to be watching the hell out of SNL this weekend. And Betty White can do or say or wear whatever she wants! She’s a Golden Girl!)

“[Product Name] will established itself as one of the most sought after web sites that provides live feeds and information for people and the media to discover what the country really thinks about current issues. With the heartbreaking end to Kate Gosselin’s professional dance career on DWTS, many are wondering what will happen to the future of post-Kate Dancing With the Stars!”

It was heartbreaking, you guys. Didn’t your heart just break when Kate and her crappy dancing got voted off? Haven’t you been WONDERING ABOUT THE FUTURE ever since?? (The best part is that the website determined 67% of people thought the show would be fine. Okay then! PHEW! Guess we dodged that bullet, America!)

Parents and celebrities alike are turning to the [Product Name] to comfort their infant. Just look at the pages of this week’s People Magazine where you will find Sandra Bullock watching her new baby, Louis, sleep peacefully in a [Product]!

What does this have to do with my blog, anyway? Oh, apparently Marissa Janet Winkotur also uses [Product]. Okay then. Makes total sense!

[Product Name]’s “Pick an Idol” promotion may offer a glimpse into who might take the American Idol prize this season! Each week, the Idol with the most votes receives a complimentary bouquet of [Product] in a color selected by the fans. Since the promotion began, Crystal Bowersox has been near or at the top every week with Casey James, Lee Dewyze, Andrew Garcia and Katy Stevens also winning.

Yeah, how’s that working out for you, Andrew and “Katy”?

Weirdly, as rando as these press releases are, they all have one thing in common. I guess it’s true what they say: celebrities sell! Or at least, they try to.

Posted by mo pie

Filed under: Advertising, American Idol, Celebrities, Feel Good Friday, Hairspray, Humor, Kids, Magazines, Meta, Music, TV | 7 Comments »

Bing.com is sending people here because Jennifer Aniston is reportedly on the Baby Food Diet. But she was on the Baby Food Diet all the way back in 2007! I guess this is news because now her trainer is referring to it as the “Baby Food Cleanse.”

The diet involves eating 14 servings of baby food a day followed by a healthy adult dinner, and Jen has reportedly lost 7 pounds in the past week.

Yeah, that sounds healthy.

The Baby Food Diet (and the famous people who love it) is a plot point in the young adult novel I just wrote! (Pear and pineapple, which I tasted for research purposes thanks to my friend Aych, makes an appearance.) So I’d better finish editing my novel so I can sell it and become rich and famous on Jennifer Aniston’s coattails while the Baby Food Diet is still making headlines.

Posted by mo pie

Filed under: Celebrities, Diet Talk, Food, Gossip, Jennifer Aniston, Meta, Personal, Tidbit, Weight Loss | 23 Comments »

1. Thanks to La Wade for this link: Chelsea Clinton asks her dad to lose 15 pounds before walking her down the aisle.

“She doesn’t think I’m in shape to handle it. You know, she told me the other day, she said, ‘Dad the only thing you gotta do is walk me down the aisle and you need to look good,’” Clinton said. “So I said ‘Well, what’s your definition?’ And she said: ‘Oh, about 15 pounds.’ So I’m halfway home,” Clinton joked to laughter from the audience.

2. Sarah Silverman is kind of awesome.

“I don’t really care for like fat jokes about women, specifically. Because I feel that we live in a society where fat men deserve love, and fat women do not deserve love — at least in white America. And so I feel like that’s an ugly thing, and it doesn’t make me laugh.

3. My friend Miriam went to see a film called A Matter of Size at the Northern Virginia Jewish Film Festival, and she wrote about it on her blog. (She liked it!)

A Matter of Size has to do with Herzl, a man who has been mocked for being fat his entire life. It opens with a scene of children waiting in line to be weighed and then moves quickly to a weigh-in at a diet club. He’s kicked out of the diet club, quits his job at a restaurant when he is relegated to the kitchen to avoid offending customers, and has to deal with his mother yelling at him that he’s going to die from his fat just like his father did. (A flashback later in the film explains this and it is decidedly unexpected.) His mother pushes him to get a job at a Japanese restaurant on the grounds that the food will be disgusting and he won’t be tempted to eat it. So he ends up washing dishes there. His coworkers show him sumo wrestling on TV and he finally sees something fat people can be respected for. So he goes back to the diet club, tells off the mean owner, and talks a few of his friends from it into quitting the diet and joining him in a sumo club.

4. There was a follow-up discussion of Jenfu’s MSNBC article at Shapely Prose. Very interesting conversation in the comments!

5. Terrific essay on Dirty Dancing over at Jezebel. In case you missed it!

Another movie would have built up to a performance [Baby] got perfectly right (and indeed there is one, later), and she gets the guy. Instead, they come back to Penny’s botched abortion, a still incredibly rare and key plot point that Eleanor says she put in back in the mid-1980s because she was afraid Roe v. Wade would be overturned. (Helpfully, her refusal to take it out later lost the movie a pimple cream sponsor that would have forced its image onto every movie poster.) A few weeks ago, she read about a pro-choice march where a man asked a protester what exactly a coat-hanger abortion was and she snapped, “Haven’t you seen Dirty Dancing?”

As always, share your thoughts on any of these links in the comments!

Posted by mo pie

Filed under: Celebrities, Feminism, Humor, Jenfu, Links, Meta, Movies | 3 Comments »

Emily alerted us in the comments about this TV pilot going into production. From the WSJ:

The formula: “Mad About You” meets “The Biggest Loser”

The plot: A romantic comedy about a couple that meets at a support group for overeating.

The brand names: Co-creator Chuck Lorre can do no wrong for CBS lately with hits like “Two and a Half Men” and “Big Bang Theory” under his belt.

Off screen: Media buyers say they wonder how advertisers will respond to overweight lead actors. Sitcoms like “Roseanne” may have featured heavy stars but didn’t center around weight.

The buzz: Mr. Lorre’s cred with CBS comedies could catapult this sitcom pilot to a sensation.

There’s also a discussion going on about this at Entertainment Weekly’s website:

Two people who meet at a weight loss support group…” yea there’s no way this will be a series of half-hour fat jokes.

Other people are optimistic because it stars Billy Gardell (who I’ve never heard of). I guess we’ll see… I’m not optimistic, but at least it isn’t going to star Jenna Elfman in a fat suit. Or… is it?

Posted by mo pie

Filed under: Fat Positive, Fatism, Magazines, TV | 17 Comments »

This post at Racialicious (originally posted at Red Vinyl Shoes) is about black plus-size models in mainstream fashion, but the part that really struck me was this (bolding mine):

A popular (white) misconception is that fat is more acceptable in the black community. This is patently untrue. Hip-hop culture is often pointed to when one is making this argument. If you watch any hip-hop music videos at all, it’s clear to see that the fat on the women featured is in specific places. Booty, hips, tits. As the inimitable Sir Mix-A-Lot stated, “When a girl walks in with an itty-bitty waist and a round thing [booty] in your face, you get sprung.” (emphasis supplied) There is definitely a line between acceptable fat and unacceptable fat. Those fat women who are fortunate enough to be considered “thick” are subject to an even more extreme hypersexualization of their bodies than average sized or thin black women are. As the features considered sexually desirable not only by black men but also white men are exaggerated on a fat female body, these women are often portrayed as more sexually available, yet can also be portrayed as ghetto princess or hoochie — “Jezebel” and “Sapphire”. But cross that line dividing “thick fat” and “just fat” and you quickly enter the territory of the desexualized fat black woman: the Precious, the mammy. Let’s take the recent example of Gabourey Sidibe, who portrayed Precious, and who basically served as a dumping ground for all the issues people have with fat, specifically, black female fat. This is the type of fat black woman continually mocked by black men in drag. Namely, characters like Eddie Murphy’s Rasputia in Norbit, Tyler Perry’s Madea in any number of his movies, Martin Lawrence’s Shanaynay and Big Mama, and Jamie Foxx’s Wanda on In Living Color. These characters are either considered too old to be sexual and are subject to the mammy stereotype, or their sexuality is portrayed as a joke, something disgusting to be avoided. Clearly the black community is not the utopia of body acceptance white America often believes it to be.

I think it was a post by Snarky’s Machine that first got me to think about this issue (I can’t remember when, though; maybe she’ll drop by with a link) and realize that I’d had this misconception, and probably verbalized it back in the early days of this blog. But I think it’s good to be able to stand up and say, you know what? I was wrong. And I’m glad there are great blogs out there like Racialicious that make me stop and think and, as they say, check my privilege.

Thoughts?

Posted by mo pie

Filed under: Advocacy, Celebrities, Fashion, Fatism, Gabby Sidibe, Question, Race & Ethnicity | 7 Comments »

I had to snap a quick picture of this when I saw it on the cover of the National Enquirer at the grocery store. 200 pounds is DEADLY now. You will DROP DEAD if you hit 200 pounds!

Out of curiosity I opened the magazine and there was some article about how she got married and “let herself go” (blech). And also inside are the “shocking photos” of Mariah Carey looking… a little curvier than usual.

I didn’t keep reading to find the quote of some doctor talking about how 200 pounds will kill you immediately. But then again, I didn’t need to: we all remember that “200+ pounds = enormously fat and 300+ pounds = immediate explosion and death.”

It’s especially funny because BFD commenters have long since noticed a trend in how the tabloids deal with Mariah. Said RoseCampion back in 2008:

Mariah’s “new” body. I’ve noticed that every couple of years or so, Mimi gets a tiny bit chunkier- to the point where she’s curvy. She then proceeds to diet/exercise it off in some way until she’s on the skinnier side. The tabloids then go into orgasmic excitement about her “new” body and how great it it. I’d say she cycles losing or gaining only about 15 or 20 pounds, max.

So keep an eye out for the orgasmic excitement tabloid, coming soon to a newsstand near you.

Posted by mo pie

Filed under: Celebrities, Fatism, Magazines, Mariah Carey, Music | 27 Comments »

Our own Jenfu is featured in this article at MSNBC, along with Pasta Queen and a tiny little piece of my hair in Jen’s “before” photo. (Here’s the original photo.) Although it shares a theme with Kate Harding’s The Fantasy of Weight Loss, be aware that the article discusses diets and WLS and has some pro-weight loss talk. I’ll put it behind a cut.

Read more…

Posted by mo pie

Filed under: Celebrities, Diet Talk Warning, Jenfu, Meta, Personal, Weight Loss, WLS | 7 Comments »

In the tradition of Wedding Barbie, Pregnant Barbie, and Sexy Barbie, here’s Man Barbie! Where should BFDudes do their shopping? Jez writes in:

So, I have been trying to help my similarly-weighty fiance to find clothes and I found it even more difficult to find interesting, fashion-forward clothing options for him than I’ve ever experienced shopping for myself. I mean, there’s absolutely nothing… at least, nothing I could find with extensive searching outside of the realm of big-n-tall plain t-shirts and polos.

I thought this would be an interesting topic to discuss. When it comes to plus sized women, there are a number of outlets for our fashionista needs to be fulfilled (albeit only 4x and below and most of this shopping must be done online) but what about our male counterparts? Does anyone on the site know of any suggestions for fashionable and unique clothing options for a plus sized male in his twenties?

This is a great question, and on behalf of BFDudes everywhere, I look forward to the answers!

Posted by mo pie

Filed under: BFDudes, Fashion, Question, Tidbit | 20 Comments »

Chinese reader Maya sends along a link to photos of an “obesity competition” held in a shopping mall in China’s Shenyang, Liaoning province. Maya adds:

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?

Posted by mo pie

Filed under: Fashion, Fat Positive, Feel Good Friday, Feminism, International | 7 Comments »

I got an email this morning about a controversy brewing at ABC, who is refusing to air a lingerie ad for Lane Bryant that features a plus-sized model. Specifically, “a pleasantly plump model [who] gracefully shows off her curves before the camera in a slew of sexy poses.”

(Because she’s sexy she gets to be “pleasantly plump” instead of just “fat.” Got it, New York Post.)

Lane Bryant thinks the net’s executives are a bunch of prejudiced boobs. “The cleavage of the plus-size models, they said, was excessive, and we don’t think that’s the case,” said the source. “It certainly appears to be discrimination against full-sized women.”

Fox also initially refused to air the ad, but then when Lane Bryant argued it was effectively the same as the Victoria’s Secret ad they’d already approved, Fox changed their minds. The ad is reportedly going to air during American Idol this week.

My first thought is that it’s a rarity that a full-figured person is shown as being too sexy for television. But what do you think: is it discrimination? Take a look at both ads and decide for yourself, after the jump.
Read more…

Posted by mo pie

Filed under: Advertising, American Idol, Celebrities, Fashion, Fatism, Question, Sex & Romance, TV, Video | 50 Comments »

1. The new Oprah biography contains a shocking allegation about pecan pie (and, perhaps, an opportunity to become educated about food addiction). From Michelle Coppola:

Oprah once ordered two pecan pies from room service and *shudder* ATE THEM BOTH!! And what, Kitty Kelley? The earth tilted on its axis from Oprah’s subsequent weight gain? As I’ve mentioned many times before in this blog, I’m a food addict, and if indeed Oprah suffers from the same problem (which I personally think she does) eating two pies in a sitting ain’t no thang. I have, after a particularly bad day, personally inhaled a whole pizza and chased it with a cheesecake.

Of course, people are reading this to reinforce “Gross! fat people and their fat eating!” instead of thinking about binge eating as an actual disorder, along the lines of the comparatively (and incorrectly) glamorized anorexia and bulimia. No, it’s just, let’s lash out at Oprah, a powerful woman of color, and target something foolproof: her weight.
Read more…

Posted by mo pie

Filed under: Advocacy, Celebrities, Eating Disorders, Feminism, Food, Kids, Links, Magazines, Meta, Oprah, Race & Ethnicity | 17 Comments »

Raymond de Felitta, writer/director of the film City Island, discusses his film’s attention-getting subplot in this article in Salon.

A subplot involves the Rizzo family’s youngest son (the brilliant Ezra Miller) who is secretly ashamed of his adolescent yearning for the woman next door, an Internet “goddess” named Denise who is 400 pounds and a proud advocate of BBWs… one of the most frequently asked question I get at Q&As is: “What’s with you and the fat chick stuff?” Only people don’t come out and say it quite that way. Instead they say:

“Uh … the section of the film with the … larger woman … and the boy who um … likes her … (pause, then) … um — why?”

The director explains that he created this subplot to try and find a secret for the teenage boy to keep that was original, rather than “been there, done that.” The article also has a look at the casting process for the character of Denise which will surprise, oh, nobody.

When I wrote the word “obese” in my script, it somehow got translated to “overweight” to the breakdown service. As a result, we were deluged with photos of women who were, like, 170 pounds. As I poured through them in dismay, I realized that a Hollywood casting director’s idea of obese and what I was writing about were about 200 pounds apart. When I told them that I needed to see people much, MUCH larger, they answered:

“Oh. But you don’t really want to cast somebody that fat, do you?”

To which my answer became a defiant: “Fatter.”

Thanks to Weetabix for the link!

Posted by mo pie

Filed under: Advocacy, Fat Positive, Kids, Movies | 7 Comments »