Sicky Linky Roundup
I’ve been struck down with some kind of death illness for the past few days. You’d think that being curled up on my couch for 72 hours would mean I could manage a blog post or two, but it hasn’t seemed that way. I’m hoping to be back in action tomorrow, but in the meantime, I poked around the Fatosphere feed for some interesting links.
Fat fashion tips from—where else?—Fatshionista:
Don’t be afraid to belt it. Belts change the shape of so many items and are very hip right now. Try them over an open cardigan, just below the bust with a long shirt, or with a great dress. Look at Michelle Obama for inspiration. That woman knows how to creatively wear a belt!
A show called Horseland that aims dangerous messages to kids, from Body Impolitic:
As she is training to jump the hurdles, the skinny girls get in some weight-related jabs: “I hope her belly doesn’t hit the bar when she goes over!” Then the girls all laugh at the horse. (Yes, your child gets NOT ONLY a lesson in eating disorders, but ALSO a lesson in how to taunt and make fun of someone who is fat!)
Musings on fat and sexuality from wellroundedtype2:
There’s also the assumption made about the fat person’s partner — that they must either have some sort of fetish, or really care about “inner beauty,” or be so in love they are able to “see past the fat.”
The Weight Watchers Hunger Monster is voiced by Jeaneane Garafalo, according to The F Word, where Rachel quotes Garafalo as once saying:
For most of my career, my weight has vacillated between 115 and 140 pounds. But I’m not proud of losing weight — it’s been a sell out. I lost weight so I could be considered for a wider range of acting jobs. I don’t pretend that it’s a health kick or that it’s just to feel better about myself. I’m smoking a lot more — about a half a pack to two packs a day — and drinking more coffee and Diet Coke and more water, which I hate. I joined Crunch gym and went for three weeks, but then I stopped because I couldn’t handle the workouts. I continue to fantasize about what I really want to eat every fucking day. I don’t think I’m sexy, but I do get a lot more compliments now. I just don’t take them as compliments… I don’t think I’m going to stay thin, because I’m not genetically disposed to being thin.
And finally, at Every Woman Has An Eating Disorder, Kim Kardashian’s cellulite and Michelle Obama’s “normal body”—wait, Michelle Obama is Hollywood fat?
A couple of people have mentioned that perhaps Michelle Obama’s presence will usher in a new, larger, body ideal (with the idea that she isn’t as tiny as former first ladies. . . Nancy Reagan and Jackie O come to mind). I’ve heard her described as “normal-sized” (whatever that means), and many suggest that she’s because she’s not a thin woman, she represents the masses.
Discuss any or all of the above in the comments, and hopefully I will be back in action tomorrow!
Posted by mo pie
Filed under: Advertising, Advocacy, Celebrities, Fashion, Kids, Meta, Personal, Sex & Romance, TV
I think part of why Michelle Obama is “Hollywood fat” is that she’s tall and muscular, not petite and tiny like Nancy Reagan.
You poor thing, I hope you’re feeling better soon!!!!!
(And I agree with living400lbs; Mrs. Obama isn’t a skinny stick. She has height and strength.)
I’m not sure Michelle Obama represents the masses. She exudes strength, confidence, health and overall fitness. If anything I hope the attention she is getting will show that healthy isn’t waif thin. She looks fab because she feels fab, that’s all that matters.
Hope you feel better!
Take good care of yourself, Mo. Damned husband brought home the Death Plague last month and got over it in three days. My superfunhappy version of it lasted two weeks. Lots of Vitamin C (powdered) helped me.
Michelle Obama looks thin to me – naturally thin. She’s just one of those people who was born to be tall and lean. She looks healthy and happy to me.
Michelle is normal looking in that it doesn’t look like she hasn’t eaten for days on end. On the same token, I once heard her mention that she wakes up at 5am to workout for 2 hours a day and that by no means is the “normal american”. She’s tall and she has biceps of steel and I respect her for that. I just wish normal would be accepted as a range of bodies instead of one single ideal. Am I blabbing?
The piece ascribed to Body Impolitic on the “Horseland” show was actually written by Lyn from Escape from Obesity (they did credit her in reposting her words). Just wanted to point that out!
Thank you, Christina!
Janeane Garofalo said “I do get a lot more compliments now. I just don’t take them as compliments… ” which is the same thing confusing me from a couple entries ago! She says she is depriving herself of the food she wants and (tried to) work out, all people are trying to say is that they notice. Wouldn’t you be irritated if you were working your butt off to lose weight and nobody ever said a thing?
Again, I don’t mean it to sound sarcastic or anything I just really don’t get it.
Janeane Garofalo said “I do get a lot more compliments now. I just don’t take them as compliments… ” which is the same thing confusing me from a couple entries ago!
I get this. It’s not so much “You look great thin!” as “You looked horrible bigger! Don’t get fat again! ”
Especially when you know it will affect your employment, it sounds like a threat, not a compliment.
I responded to that article on EWHAED about Michelle Obama – and now that I had more time to think about it, I don’t think she represents the “normal” sized Americans; and I word it this way because I’m not American, I’ve only been to the USA (MA specifically) thrice, and I feel like I don’t know enough to talk much. Maybe I’ll have a better opinion when I go to MA for college this Fall.
Also: Get better soon Madame Pie!
I wish to comment on the article about the Horseland show. I found it to be very disapointing to say the least. I’ll sum it up with the fact, while you can compare pictures of fifteen and sixteen year olds to each other, you CAN’T compare pictures of eleven to twelve year olds to pictures of a girl who is obviously older.