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Tess Holiday, Plus size model


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I come from a long line of fat, healthy people who live well into their 90s without any health issues. The one difference between them and me is that I stress and worry about my weight. They embraced who they were and didn't stress or worry. It just wasn't/isn't something they did/do. I'm a good 50 lbs overweight. I am obese at this point but I have a good low blood pressure, perfect cholesterol, and zero health problems. Yet, I keep stressing that I am going to have them because of what I see online and in the media.

 

I say good for her! I wish I didn't have the hang ups I do about my weight.

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Why is it ok for us to glamorize the underweight? ( I guess because a lot find them appealing to look at) Anorexic (looking)models have done much more damage to public health as a whole then any obese model will ever do, they may make it to some degree but there is still a huge prejudice in our society against the overweight. Why can't we just accept that models aren't some kind of health ambassadors but for fashion or to represent what we find attractive, and why in the world can't fat people be attractive?

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Fwiw I've not been actually overweight unless pregnant, I'm now however bigger than my usual. All the major health markers show that I'm healthy but here I struggle accepting this bigger size, which is obviously just a reflection of vanity and a culture that smaller is healthier, even when it isn't. I have plenty of overweight friends and I often don't see them doing a lot different than many in America right now.

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Slut shaming.

 

Fat women are not allowed to be sexy. Especially fat women.

She can be as sexy as she wants to be in her bedroom with no camera. She shames herself; nobody else needs shame her for it to be true she looks like a whore.

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But this thread is not a discussion of public health at its core. it is a thread on "how dare that fat broad show off her fat body in photos - she's going to make all the fat broads do the same". I guess that's what you mean about obesity being contagious.

I totally don't see it that way. Maybe that's the problem. It's like a rorschach test. We all bring our own baggage to the conversation.

 

Fwiw, check out the nyt article I linked. That isn't what it said at all.

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She can be as sexy as she wants to be in her bedroom with no camera. She shames herself; nobody else needs shame her for it to be true she looks like a whore.

 

Whoa. This just literally made my skin crawl. I really, really would not have expected this kind of language or judgment from you, Quill. 

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Also, here's what else I find interesting: she's supposedly trying to break out of the standard for what beauty should look like (with her oh-so-classy phrasing of "Eff Your Beauty Standard"), yet her HAIR conforms to the general standard of beauty, her EYEBROWS are shaped, groomed and made up like other models' eyebrows, her teeth fit the standard, her makeup fits, her skin fits...should we promote acne-covered faces as a "different" standard of beauty? How about rotten teeth? How come she doesn't roll her hair into dreds?

 

She is not "effing" beauty standards; she's trying to make it acceptable to have none relative to fat. She isn't chubby or pleasingly plump. She's tremendously obese. There is nothing normal about having 100 lbs. of unneeded fuel hanging on your ass cheeks.

 

So there's my very popular opinion - at least barb will not have to volley it all by herself.

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How is it useful or helpful to put a hyperbolic and woefully inaccurate term like "contagious" on obesity? The article is talking about social influence -- that having an obese friend may influence their social circle to gain weight. That is not a contagion. Obesity may be a disease, but it is not a communicable disease. As if obese people didn't already have enough prejudice against them. :001_rolleyes:

 

Sheesh already. :sneaky2:

The idea that it is normal is contagious. Portion sizes, food choices, whether or not to exercise...all contagious. In the same sense that yawning is contagious. We're speaking of social contagion. SOMETHING has to explain the huge increase in obesity rates not just on this country, but any country we influence. We all have a stake in how all of this plays out.

 

Also, what do you mean when you call obesity a disease? A disease like in a sickness? How is that ok but saying that it's socially contagious not ok? Makes no logical sense, imo.

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-research-confirms-long-term-weight-loss-almost-impossible-1.2663585"]i

 

 

Just so you know, fifty pounds is not morbidly obese. Fifty pound is obese. It may seem morbidly obese to you, but it's not. For that, you need to be at least 100 pounds overweight, unless one is very short.

I'm skimming so I didn't see the 50 pounds thing. I'm pretty sure the model Is morbidly obese and since that was the original post that's who I was referring to.

 

Aside from that, again I'll ask, why is the rate of obesity increasing, even among children where the population of obese children used to be TINY? I know it's hard to take weight off. Sometimes it's impossible. Although my mom used to be about 50-60lbs overweight, lost it, and has kept it off. So I'll admit my perception may be skewed there. Anyway, why did we as a society get that way and what can we do about it? Throwing up our hands and accepting it as the new normal isn't the answer. That's all I'm getting at.

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Please read a conversational (as opposed to argumentative tone) as I say this. Individual body image and acceptance is imperative. Each person has to work through that. Anyone saying, "you are pretty but..." has terrible manners. But this model is a symptom of our society's larger health crisis that is only going to get worse as our food supply continues to deteriorate, the sizable population of obese children hits middle age, and our population on the whole ages. I do think that conversation is relevant and important.

Converations about our nations health, food choices and obesity are all great and valid topics. But I don't feel like they are appropriate in conjunctions with determining wether it is okay for a woman outside of a commonly accepted definition of acceptable size shiuld be recognized ( or celebrated) as attractive. And I agree that it would be poor manners to my previous quote outright to someone and feel that this conversation does just that. But guess it is okay if it isn't said to her. But to me it still gives the strong message that fat cannot be beautiful.

 

If you want to talk about the future health of our nation then it doesn't need to be on this platform. All of the salient points can be made without using her as an example. And I don't feel that recognizing her beauty equates pretending that there isn't major national health concerns especially when it comes to issues connected to food (which I care a great deal about). But, to me, to engage the two implies she should have no genuine beauty (or self worth) because of health context and that is wrong.

 

Eta: please overlook typos and off wording - editing on my phone is challenging. Probably should have waited until tomorrow to respond.

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Also, here's what else I find interesting: she's supposedly trying to break out of the standard for what beauty should look like (with her oh-so-classy phrasing of "Eff Your Beauty Standard"), yet her HAIR conforms to the general standard of beauty, her EYEBROWS are shaped, groomed and made up like other models' eyebrows, her teeth fit the standard, her makeup fits, her skin fits...should we promote acne-covered faces as a "different" standard of beauty? How about rotten teeth? How come she doesn't roll her hair into dreds?

 

She is not "effing" beauty standards; she's trying to make it acceptable to have none relative to fat. She isn't chubby or pleasingly plump. She's tremendously obese. There is nothing normal about having 100 lbs. of unneeded fuel hanging on your ass cheeks.

 

So there's my very popular opinion - at least barb will not have to volley it all by herself.

 

I really don't get this. I've been skinny most of my life and was still completely accepted without following the "beauty standards" of hair, eyebrows, and makeup. I only now, that I am overweight, have noticed issues. It is bucking the standards for her say, and show, that she is okay with her body. It is bucking the standards for her to put herself out there like she has and it is because of her weight. Society cares much more about weight than any of the other things you listed - at least in my experience. So, I don't think it takes anything at all away from what she is doing just because she follows all the other standards of models. I really don't get why it's an issue that she is apparently like every other model who cares about her looks but she's not hung up on her weight. Again, good for her! Also, I would actually love to see models, especially teen models, with acne issues to show a truer picture of normal girls.

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I should have trimmed it, but I couldn't, because it is all excellent. We are not glorifying obesity by letting obese women see what the clothes look like before buying them. Not seeing an obese model isn't going to make me less obese, it just makes me end up wearing yoga pants 24/7 becaues I've given up trying to buy anything else. 

 

I can be trying to lose weight, and still want to shop for clothes that fit now, all at the same time. Making it harder to buy clothes (as if it isn't hard enough already....I basically own no nice clothes because shopping in the plus size store is too expensive not to mention humiliating) won't make me thinner. I'm not going to say wow, shopping is hard, guess I ought to lose weight. Nor will I say "oh, I can see what clothes look like on an obese woman, so might as well eat more twinkies." 

 

I can strive to cure my obesity in some way,or at least fight it, and still be ok with plus sized models. And everything linked below is very true. We really have no clue what causes obesity, but it's not lack of freaking will power. Naturally thin people don't go around white knuckled holding on to their appetite by a string. They just don't want to eat all the time. No one know why, but it's not because they are morally superior. So those saying, we need to do something to address obesity, WHAT? Tell me, what do we need to do. Because science sure as heck doesn't know. There isn't a single diet that shows long term success. Not one. Diet pills don't work any better. The only thing shown to work at all, really, is surgery, and when that topic came up on these boards almost everyone was against it. So given that fat people know they are fat, are most likley desperate not to be fat, and still need to wear clothing to avoid being nude in public, I have no worries that a fat model will make things worse. 

I am so happy to see Tess succeed!  Good for her.  . I think you need to educate yourself more about obesity and its causes.

 

Do you think that fat people, even morbidly obese people, don't know that they are fat?  Do you think they are fat on purpose? Do you know that there is not ONE peer-reviewed medical study out there that shows a diet, any diet, leading to long-term weigh loss in an obese person?  Not one.  Even with the golden cure for obesity which today is bariatric surgery, success is defined as keeping off 50% of excess weight for 2-5 years.  If you are 100 pounds overweight, that means you've lost 50 pounds and are still likely obese and maybe even morbidly obese.  

Do you realize how much crap overweight women receive every single day, in work, on the job because of their weight? Is it so wrong for them to have one or even ten successful women to look up to?  I also wonder, do you feel the same way about obese and morbidly obese men who are far more accepted as celebrities? 

 

Do you know anything about the obesity paradox?

 

Are you aware of the role the gut micriobiome plays in obesity?

 

Are you aware that genetics plays a very strong role in obesity?

 

Please read this article.   It's based on a statement released in the Lancet a few weeks ago.  Basically, diets and exercise do not work as far as long-term weight loss is concerned.  

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/diet-exercise-treatment-for-obese-patients/

 

Are you familiar with the ACE study and how it came to be that showed adverse events can cause biological changes later in life? (Originally found out when seeing why morbidly obese patients gained weight back.)

 

 

If you would not discriminate against somebody with diabetes or dwarfism or emphysema or any other chronic disease or genetic disease than please do not support discriminating against obese people by your attitudes.

 

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Whoa. This just literally made my skin crawl. I really, really would not have expected this kind of language or judgment from you, Quill. 

 

Agree.

 

Made my skin crawl,

 

Made my stomach turn,

 

Made the bile rise in my throat.

 

So this is where we are in public discourse?  This is the kind of language we use towards other women?  This is how educated people talk?

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Converations about our nations health, food choices and obesity are all great and valid food choices. But I don't feel like they are appropriate in conjunctions with determining wether it is okay for a woman outside of a commonly accepted definition of acceptable size shiuld be recognized ( or celebrated) as attractive. And I agree that it would be poor manners to my previous quote outright to someone and feel that this conversation does just that. But guess it is okay if it isn't said to her. But to me it still gives the strong message that fat cannot be beautiful.

 

If you want to talk about the future health of our nation then it doesn't need to be on this platform. All of the salient points can be made without using her as an example. And I don't feel that recognizing her beauty equates pretending that there isn't major national health concerns especially when it comes to issues connected to food (which I care a great deal about). But, to me, to engage the two implies she should have no genuine beauty (or self worth) because of health context and that is wrong.

But if you go back and read the original post, that was the premise. Does this model help to normalize the idea that carrying around twice you body weight is a perfectly valid choice? I think it does.

 

Also, fwiw I think doing away with photoshop altogether would go a lot further toward body acceptance. I would love to see less than perfect models in a range of shapes and sizes, cellulite, tattoos, stretch marks...the works. This woman is being exploited for shock value. Make no mistake, this has nothing to do with acceptance of alternative types of beauty or they wouldn't have done so much airbrushing on her face.

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Agree.

 

Made my skin crawl,

 

Made my stomach turn,

 

Made the bile rise in my throat.

 

So this is where we are in public discourse?  This is the kind of language we use towards other women?  This is how educated people talk?

 

Keep reading.  It gets better.  

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I'm skimming so I didn't see the 50 pounds thing. I'm pretty sure the model Is morbidly obese and since that was the original post that's who I was referring to.

 

Aside from that, again I'll ask, why is the rate of obesity increasing, even among children where the population of obese children used to be TINY? I know it's hard to take weight off. Sometimes it's impossible. Although my mom used to be about 50-60lbs overweight, lost it, and has kept it off. So I'll admit my perception may be skewed there. Anyway, why did we as a society get that way and what can we do about it? Throwing up our hands and accepting it as the new normal isn't the answer. That's all I'm getting at.

 

No one knows, really. But we won't find out if we keep saying "eat less, move more". A lot may be due to microbiomes. There is evidence that antibiotics before age 3 greatly increased the chance of obesity later in life. They have found that transplanting the gut bacteria of an obese person into a rat will make the rat gain weight, and putting the gut bacteria of a thin person into a rat will make the rat lose weight. Rats being fed the SAME food. But we keep harping on diet. There is evidence that the reason gastric bypass works is a change in gut bacteria, as well as a change in hormones. No one really knows, again. But we may as well wear decent clothes, modeled by women that fit into them, while we figure it out. Trust me, no one wants me going nude. No one. 

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Am I the only one thinking I should probably lock myself in my house forever so no one has to be horrified by my fat ass cheeks?

 

Some people will never be thin, or anything close to it, no matter how hard they try. They don't deserve to be called names. Period.

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Also, what do you mean when you call obesity a disease? A disease like in a sickness? How is that ok but saying that it's socially contagious not ok? Makes no logical sense, imo.

 

A disease in that it is biogically based, like other diseases. 

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Amazing.

 

We have been bombarded with images of sick looking, anorexic women as our "ideal standard of beauty" for as long as I can remember. Most of them pretty close to naked in many pictures as well.

 

And yet, it is a handful of plus size models who are being taken to task for "unhealthy" standards of beauty.  REALLY?  And called derogatory names.

 

So, ok, we have maybe 5-6 plus size models who are getting some media coverage.  And we have HUNDREDS of anorexics with collar bones sticking out and countable ribs... Yeah, I think focusing on the fat ladies is perhaps not the right way to go.

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Whoa. This just literally made my skin crawl. I really, really would not have expected this kind of language or judgment from you, Quill.

Yeah, well I'm tightly wound tonight. I have been in conversations here about fat and I'm sick of being silent. The images of this woman I saw on google are disgusting. If my dd was wearing a lace thong and bra on the internet, no matter her size, I would be absolutely ashamed. If she were showing off her rolls of lard, I would be as ashamed as I would be if she were showing off her beautiful tiny butt.

 

On this board, saying fat is ugly and/or unhealthy is The Great Taboo. Well, like I said, I'm wound up tonight, so I'm saying it. I think those photos are gross. I don't admire my own lard and I sure don't want to admire anyone else's. I admire women with physiques like Gabrielle Reese's. YMMV, of course.

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Yeah, well I'm tightly wound tonight. I have been in conversations here about fat and I'm sick of being silent. The images of this woman I saw on google are disgusting. If my dd was wearing a lace thong and bra on the internet, no matter her size, I would be absolutely ashamed. If she were showing off her rolls of lard, I would be as ashamed as I would be if she were showing off her beautiful tiny butt.

 

On this board, saying fat is ugly and/or unhealthy is The Great Taboo. Well, like I said, I'm wound up tonight, so I'm saying it. I think those photos are gross. I don't admire my own lard and I sure don't want to admire anyone else's. I admire women with physiques like Gabrielle Reese's. YMMV, of course.

 

If you're so tightly wound, may I respectfully suggest you walk away? The name calling is hurtful to real people, not just one plus-size model. 

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Am I the only one thinking I should probably lock myself in my house forever so no one has to be horrified by my fat ass cheeks?

 

Are you planning to dress them in a lace thong and post photos?

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If you're so tightly wound, may I respectfully suggest you walk away? The name calling is hurtful to real people, not just one plus-size model.

What name-calling?

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If you're so tightly wound, may I respectfully suggest you walk away? The name calling is hurtful to real people, not just one plus-size model. 

 

Agreed. I have a feeling there will be women right here, at the WTM, crying tonight. Because they are disgusting according to you. Thanks a lot. So glad to know I'm gross. Maybe I should cover up in front of my poor husband too, so he doesn't have to see my disgusting, gross lard. 

 

Shame on you. SHAME ON YOU. I've always liked you, but right now, I'm so angry I think I might vomit. Your words are what is disgusting here. And your atittude. That woman is made in the image of God just like the rest of us. 

 

I'd chop off my right arm if it would make me stop gaining weight. I KNOW I'm fat. I've been dieting since I hit puberty. Was in weight watchers before I was driving. Have done a decade as a vegetarian, a few years as a vegan, done atkins, low carb, high fat, low fat, high fiber, you name it, I've done it. Run daily, worked out, lifted weights, done yoga, taken pills. I'm fatter than ever, and what I do not need is a freaking bully on the well trained mind telling me that people that look like me have disgusting, gross bodies. So again, shame on you.

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Agreed. I have a feeling there will be women right here, at the WTM, crying tonight. Because they are disgusting according to you. Thanks a lot. So glad to know I'm gross. Maybe I should cover up in front of my poor husband too, so he doesn't have to see my disgusting, gross lard. 

 

Shame on you. SHAME ON YOU. I've always liked you, but right now, I'm so angry I think I might vomit. Your words are what is disgusting here. And your atittude. That woman is made in the image of God just like the rest of us. 

 

I'd chop off my right arm if it would make me stop gaining weight. I KNOW I'm fat. I've been dieting since I hit puberty. Was in weight watchers before I was driving. Have done a decade as a vegetarian, a few years as a vegan, done atkins, low carb, high fat, low fat, high fiber, you name it, I've done it. Run daily, worked out, lifted weights, done yoga, taken pills. I'm fatter than ever, and what I do not need is a freaking bully on the well trained mind telling me that people that look like me have disgusting, gross bodies. So again, shame on you.

 

You're not gross...you're a beautiful child of God! Don't let the haters get you down.

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You're not gross...you're a beautiful child of God! Don't let the haters get you down.

 

Thank you. But too late. I'm crying. I had no idea a homeschool board could make me cry. 

 

And people wonder why I'm looking into weight loss surgery. 

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No, but I might show more of my "lard" than you're comfortable with.

What is lard? It is fat. Tess Holiday has copious amounts of fat that is not being used as fuel by her body.

 

I don't care how much fat anyone here may have. The OP asked a question about whether or not this is a standard we (as a very overweight nation) should normalize. My opinion, which believe it or not, is also valuable, is that NO, we should not normalize obesity. We should not applaud her for being willing to flaunt her fat in god-awful revealing photos. It is exceedingly undignified and demeaning.

 

Posters immediately jump to saying we glorifying skinny women in this country. Well, that was not the question that was asked. Also, I have noticed at least a bazillion times in these threads that nobody minds "judging" thin women as starved anorexics.

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Sounds like concern trolling to me.

 

It could sound like it, but I don't think it is with this particular poster. She has a history here that doesn't match concern trolling. I think she's honestly trying to figure out whether or not this is a good thing. Also, she did say she doesn't think anorexic-looking models are healthy role models either. I don't know Nick's Mama (or Zack's Mama too ;) ) personally but it seems to me she's trying to work through her thoughts on this* and as many here do, she consulted The Hive for perspective.

 

 

That said, I think that woman does a good thing for women her size. I have a family member who is nearly that large. She has tried many methods short of surgery of the losing weight, all unsuccessful. Models like Tess show her she IS beautiful just the way she is. That doesn't mean she won't continue to try and reach a healthier weight. It does mean she can love herself even as she tries to make changes. And she can continue to love herself if she's unsuccessful at losing the weight.

 

 

*I know many have said Tess' weight is none of anyone's business, but I disagree. If she's trying to send a message to the public, it becomes the public's business. Tess is sending a message. You can accept her message (FTR I do) or you can reject it, but in order to do one or the other you first have to work through your own feelings about said message. Sometimes that includes discussing it with others. 

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I think perhaps what SOME posters don't get is that everyone deserves to FEEL attractive.  We deserve to believe that our bodies are appealing and lovely, even with their flaws and imperfections.

 

The fact that a few larger women have had some success in modeling makes many of us feel that we also are attractive.

 

We really don't need other people to make moral or health judgments.  No one knows another person's struggles. 

 

I can safely say that most if not all of the overweight people I know are concerned about their weight.  They are concerned about possible health problems.  They SURE AS HELL don't need other people to point out those issues to them.

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What is lard? It is fat. Tess Holiday has copious amounts of fat that is not being used as fuel by her body.

 

I don't care how much fat anyone here may have. The OP asked a question about whether or not this is a standard we (as a very overweight nation) should normalize. My opinion, which believe it or not, is also valuable, is that NO, we should not normalize obesity. We should not applaud her for being willing to flaunt her fat in god-awful revealing photos. It is exceedingly undignified and demeaning.

 

Posters immediately jump to saying we glorifying skinny women in this country. Well, that was not the question that was asked. Also, I have noticed at least a bazillion times in these threads that nobody minds "judging" thin women as starved anorexics.

 

At least one poster here has admitted that your words have brought her to tears, and you're going to keep it up? I don't care what lard it...it's an offensive, hurtful word, and didn't need to be used.

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 It is exceedingly undignified and demeaning.

 

 

 

I honestly feel that your remarks in this thread have been much more undignified and demeaning than anything this woman has put out there.

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Katie, I cried, too. And then I put her on ignore because people who hate women are no friends of mine.

 

Do the same, and then stay out here in the real world where women of all shapes, sizes, and health challenges are beautiful. You know you are beautiful. I'm beautiful, too. It's BETTER out here.

 

I wasn't overweight in the slightest until about 10 years ago when long-term steroids changed me forever (lupus). I was never called fat or shamed as a child, teen, or young woman and it's a real good thing because I couldn't have handled it. Life was hard enough while still being visually acceptable to the horse's patoots of the world. As a grown woman, who has birthed babies and watched friends also go through normal, that's NORMAL, weight fluctuations through childbearing and menopausal years, now I can KNOW that women are beautiful. It's a good thing to know, and so much better than the idiotic idealism I had as a young person who had never been overweight. I'm smarter and wiser now, which is beautiful.

 

You are wise and smart and beautiful. You are a woman. Truth is truth, Katie, and anyone can see that you are gorgeous.

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Katie, I cried, too. And then I put her on ignore because people who hate women are no friends of mine.

 

Do the same, and then stay out here in the real world where women of all shapes, sizes, and health challenges are beautiful. You know you are beautiful. I'm beautiful, too. It's BETTER out here.

 

I wasn't overweight in the slightest until about 10 years ago when long-term steroids changed me forever (lupus). I was never called fat or shamed as a child, teen, or young woman and it's a real good thing because I couldn't have handled it. Life was hard enough while still being visually acceptable to the horse's patoots of the world. As a grown woman, who has birthed babies and watched friends also go through normal, that's NORMAL, weight fluctuations through childbearing and menopausal years, now I can KNOW that women are beautiful. It's a good thing to know, and so much better than the idiotic idealism I had as a young person who had never been overweight. I'm smarter and wiser now, which is beautiful.

 

You are wise and smart and beautiful. You are a woman. Truth is truth, Katie, and anyone can see that you are gorgeous.

 

well now you made me cry too, but in a much better way. Thank you. And you are right. And you know, as awful as this freaking weight is, it's sure taught me a lot about judgement, and not to do it. It's my cross, and there are worse ones out there. 

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Katie, I cried, too. And then I put her on ignore because people who hate women are no friends of mine.

 

Do the same, and then stay out here in the real world where women of all shapes, sizes, and health challenges are beautiful. You know you are beautiful. I'm beautiful, too. It's BETTER out here.

 

I wasn't overweight in the slightest until about 10 years ago when long-term steroids changed me forever (lupus). I was never called fat or shamed as a child, teen, or young woman and it's a real good thing because I couldn't have handled it. Life was hard enough while still being visually acceptable to the horse's patoots of the world. As a grown woman, who has birthed babies and watched friends also go through normal, that's NORMAL, weight fluctuations through childbearing and menopausal years, now I can KNOW that women are beautiful. It's a good thing to know, and so much better than the idiotic idealism I had as a young person who had never been overweight. I'm smarter and wiser now, which is beautiful.

 

You are wise and smart and beautiful. You are a woman. Truth is truth, Katie, and anyone can see that you are gorgeous.

 

I agree with all of this...except the part about putting people on "ignore."  We MUST speak up when people are cruel.  If we don't, we allow them to believe that every silent person secretly agrees with them.  We MUST confront hate and shaming and cruelty when we see it so that those people know they are NOT supported.

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I agree with all of this...except the part about putting people on "ignore."  We MUST speak up when people are cruel.  If we don't, we allow them to believe that every silent person secretly agrees with them.  We MUST confront hate and shaming and cruelty when we see it so that those people know they are NOT supported.

 

I haven't put her on ignore because I'm hoping she's going to apologize.

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Katie isn't the only one crying. Also, lard isn't just fat, it is specifically PIG fat. So thanks for that. It feels great to know that people think I'm a pig.

 

You aren't a pig.  At all.  :grouphug: :grouphug:

 

 

Someone else is just showing their contempt for women who are fat and their poor manners.

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I often wonder what kind of parents raise children who are bullies.  You see the kids in the playground taunting the overweight child and wonder where those kids picked up those prejudices.  You wonder why no one ever taught them that we all have our struggles. 

 

I also often wonder about the "religious" right and their sanctimony.  We are "all created in god's image" unless we are too fat or somehow don't meet up with the yardstick they have created for what we are "supposed" to look like.

 

Makes me so sad for the world.

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Agreed. I have a feeling there will be women right here, at the WTM, crying tonight. Because they are disgusting according to you. Thanks a lot. So glad to know I'm gross. Maybe I should cover up in front of my poor husband too, so he doesn't have to see my disgusting, gross lard. 

 

Shame on you. SHAME ON YOU. I've always liked you, but right now, I'm so angry I think I might vomit. Your words are what is disgusting here. And your atittude. That woman is made in the image of God just like the rest of us. 

 

I'd chop off my right arm if it would make me stop gaining weight. I KNOW I'm fat. I've been dieting since I hit puberty. Was in weight watchers before I was driving. Have done a decade as a vegetarian, a few years as a vegan, done atkins, low carb, high fat, low fat, high fiber, you name it, I've done it. Run daily, worked out, lifted weights, done yoga, taken pills. I'm fatter than ever, and what I do not need is a freaking bully on the well trained mind telling me that people that look like me have disgusting, gross bodies. So again, shame on you.

Preach it! I'm not crying but I am royally pissed. I'm almost 100 lbs. overweight. Am I happy about it? No freaking way! Am I doing something about it? Trying too. Those posts made me feel sick to my stomach. Disgusting, judgmental and seriously lacking in compassion for those struggling with weight issues are what they are!

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"She looks like a whore."

 

 

Language is so revealing.

 

The model has "rolls of lard." Your daughter has a "beautiful tiny butt." Judgments in both sentences.

She does look like she is selling sex. Does she look like she's heading off to choir practice to you?

 

In your second example, I am making a contrast...get it? I wouldn't want that to be a picture/pose/outfit of my daughter, no matter her size.

 

Yes, I judge rolls of lard as unattractive. What is so shocking about that? There are things which I find attractive, beautiful and things I don't. I have a couple features on myself I think are pretty (my teeth) and features I think are not (varicose veins). Some are just average, not especially awesome, not especially icky.

 

What Is so terrible about thinking great rolls of fat is not attractive? Seriously, why is it so personal?

 

I have horrible veins. I've had two surgeries and they are still ugly. But I don't break down in tears when The Vein Clinic advertisement comes on TV and they say, "If you're tired of hiding your legs in pants because of ugly varicose veins..." Well, yes, I am tired of seeing my Map of the Nile blue trails, but oh well. I don't need for someone with awful veins like mine to become a national model so I can tell myself my legs are just my own special standard of pretty. Look how colorful they are! Who wants legs that are all one beige color anyway? ;)

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She does look like she is selling sex. Does she look like she's heading off to choir practice to you?

 

In your second example, I am making a contrast...get it? I wouldn't want that to be a picture/pose/outfit of my daughter, no matter her size.

 

Yes, I judge rolls of lard as unattractive. What is so shocking about that? There are things which I find attractive, beautiful and things I don't. I have a couple features on myself I think are pretty (my teeth) and features I think are not (varicose veins). Some are just average, not especially awesome, not especially icky.

 

What Is so terrible about thinking great rolls of fat is not attractive? Seriously, why is it so personal?

 

I have horrible veins. I've had two surgeries and they are still ugly. But I don't break down in tears when The Vein Clinic advertisement comes on TV and they say, "If you're tired of hiding your legs in pants because of ugly varicose veins..." Well, yes, I am tired of seeing my Map of the Nile blue trails, but oh well. I don't need for someone with awful veins like mine to become a national model so I can tell myself my legs are just my own special standard of pretty. Look how colorful they are! Who wants legs that are all one beige color anyway? ;)

 

You can't see the difference between not thinking it's attractive and "disgusting/gross"?? Between referring to someone as a pig and just not finding them attractive? Really? How would you feel if I saw your legs and told people how gross they are? If I referred to you as a barn yard animal? You don't think that's mean? 

 

Well, it is.

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On the original question of "normalizing morbid obesity" I think that the question misses the mark.

 

This is not a "promotion" of being overweight. 

 

This is an acceptance that not EVERYONE can look like what is considered the "normal" range.  If we agree that while there may be numerous causes for the fact that there are overweight people, can't we not also agree that those overweight people also deserve to feel beautiful and attractive and, yes, sexy even?

 

I would suggest that if you want to target obesity in America you start by targeting the industries that have created the problem instead of the people who are dealing with the outcome.

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