Thought for the morning.

[ysobelle]

I'm sure by now everyone's seen that ridiculous email that tries to empower women by telling them how everyone's a slob just like them, and not to feel bad about it. It has the "statistic" that there are so many million women in the world who don't look like supermodels, and only eight women who do.

Now, I can't help but wonder: from where on this planet does someone get a figure (no pun intended) like that? And who believes it? And why would it make me feel better to be told that more women are dumpy than thin, so I should revel in it? And there are only eight women built like supermodels? I guess Ford and Elite should just close up now.

If I were to take a quick jog around the block, furthermore, I bet I'd see at least two or three tall, leggy, beautiful women. Yes, I'd see far more women who aren't, but again, how is this meant to make me feel better?

My advice? Don't concentrate on numbers-- yours, or anyone else's. Don't love or hate your body in comparison to someone else's. Love it because it's yours.

Comments

[emalia.livejournal.com]

I look at it this way.. yes 14 is the national average size (ever try to find one?? Good Luck..) Why? Because the 14 of now is comperable to the 20 of 10 years ago.. How do I know this? Because I used to wear a size 5 in expensive clothes and weigh 118 lbs. Then I had to find a pair of jeans.. yeah.. I had to buy size 12 pants to fit my size 5 frame.. so yeah.. the majority of the world is size 14.. That is my convoluted theory.. It sucks, but it is mine, and I know that I am not anywhere near a size 5..

[ocdperson.livejournal.com]

I have two thoughts on this subject...

Foremost is that I once put a lot of energy into shopping for my mother and two sisters for xmas. Once.

I discovered that the metric system, cartesian coordinate, and Euclidean theories are all overwhelmed by that which governs the size nomenclature for all women's clothing. Numbers are meaningless...they are not standard. An old lady was trying to help me but to no avail.

Secondly....for all the times you get on a bus, it's the times when the bus is late that you note, making us ask "why is the bus always late?"

I think the same thing applies to who we see on the street, and what makes us feel bad.

What you said about loving your body absolutely and not relatively is golden.

[morriganswitch.livejournal.com]

You rule...... :)

[hennabee.livejournal.com]

I detest anything telling people that it is okay to be fat, or chubby, or to be unclean.
It's the same mentality as people who tried to play down kids getting sick after they go to daycare...so that working moms won't have to worry about getting their kids sick while they ply away for the 64 inch TV with the surround sound. It's trying to find a way for what's going on to STILL be okay even though we're going blind from diabetes, getting asthma from lack of movement, and still consuming more food than your average Ugandan sees in a year. It is NOT okay for me to be this big. It is NOT healthy. I would love to get back to a size 14, I would feel far more comfortable, I could probably actually draw a full breath again.

I really hate people deciding it's okay to glory in being unhealthy and being irresponsible. I'm right there with you.

[pikachette.livejournal.com]

But you're automatically assuming that fat = 'unhealthy'. I know many people who work out regularly, know of people who do things like triathalons, marathons, compete in athletic tournaments who, despite all the working out and being nutritionally sound, are still what society considers 'fat'. Are they unhealthy? No. They're fit. They're just larger than our society considers 'acceptable'. And which is more 'unhealthy' -- a larger person who works out three times a week and tries to be nutritionally sound or a thin person who smokes, lives on coffee, does no exercise at all?

If *you* feel *you're* unhealthy, then work on fitness and size will take care of itself.

Why do we accept that people are genetically programmed to be tall, short, have a certain color eyes....but refuse to accept that people *can* be large because of genetics?

Yes, there are people out there who fit your descriptors, but there are many more who don't.

If you choose to buy into magazine hype and often skewed 'scientific' studies (many, if you look closely enough, are funded by companies who market diet products), then that's the space in your head.

[hennabee.livejournal.com]

I wasn't speaking about those people who simply can't lose fat. I'm talking about the woman who's eaten twinkies all her life, weighing 200+ pounds or whatever would be disproportionate, looking at her e-mail and using this sort of thing as an excuse to feel good about the fact that she has willfully ruined her health. These give people who do not want to take responsibility for what they've done to themselves a way to go "Yeah! it's The Man trying to get me down, buying in to Cosmo! What bullshit! I'll have another slice of pizza.!"

There was a time when I fit in to size 8-10 clothing but still weighed 140 pounds. I carry it on me oddly, and appeared emaciated. I was, by the doctor's definition, still overweight being that I'm very short. But there was little more that could be done about it as a rode a bike 3 miles a day, jogged 2 miles an evening, and played sports actively. I am understanding of being in shape and not being a toothpick.

My angle here is not that sort of thing. My angle is that people want too much to not have to feel bad, or to change who they are. They want it to be okay to do everything as they see even if it makes them sick, then they want to blame the very activities they do for making them sick. It isn't just obesity. It's being sue happy over hot coffee, or the candy company that they regularly patronized the products. No one wants to take responsibility for what they've done.

I have no issue with people who are just naturally larger than others. How awful the world where all are "perfect". But every single person that parks themselves regularly at an all you can eat buffet and retains a belly cannot be due to genetics.

Having worked at GNC, I've seen the damage buying in to the image of a perfect body can do, and I'm well aware of the difference between looking skinny and being healthy. I had to quit because it made me sick to see the number of people coming in that looked beautiful (in my eyes), asking each week for the newest, more drastic diet drug to try and knock off pounds that they didn't even have. I turned away 16 year olds constantly that tried to buy Ephedrine and told them to buy a different mirror, they looked fine. Those individuals have bought in to the magazine hype. I am not one of them.

That is the space in my head.

[pikachette.livejournal.com]

Nice to see you've taken out a much smaller paintbrush to qualify your initial statement, because that one used a roller.

You have to admit you were making some very sweeping generalizations in your intial comments.

And I don't think the email Ysobelle was referencing -- or things like the Dove campaign do what you're accusing them of doing.

Given all the *negative* crap those who aren't a size 8 receive in life -- from the media especially -- it's refreshing to have someone say 'Hey, don't judge yourself by images that are virtually impossible to achieve (and btw, have you *seen* unretouched photos of actresses and models whom the media holds up as being what we all should aspire to be?)...love yourself. For what you are. You're no less worthy a human if you have love handles, or if your stomach's loose because you've borne three kids, or if your skin's not perfect, or if you have saddlebags, or if you're *gasp* a size 14.

That's what I think the message is here -- *not* 'Go eat more Ho-Hos because you can't wear coture!'

[hennabee.livejournal.com]

I apologize about the sweeping generalizations because I was simply thinking I could voice an opinion on that and not go in to a whole lot of detail. It wasn't my intention to start a back and forth in someone else's blog.
Occasionally I forget that even though it's very clear in my head what I'm thinking, it doesn't come out in my words in an orderly fashion at times. Me not speaky de English well.

The email doesn't necessarily intend to do that, but I have been sitting next to a girl who is very overweight who was reading a variation of this email, turned to me and beamed stating "Yeah! Who says I have to stop eating what I like and be a rail? It's okay for me to be this size!" While it is nice that she feels good about herself, at the same time she was already going to a doctor to monitor her blood sugar. She was fighting to not slip from being hypoglycemic to diabetic. And at the time she was taking the opportunity to use it to continue her damaging behavior. She's not the only one. I've seen it be the rallying cry for Grrl power before from larger women. Nice that it gives one a boost, a pat on the back to say "You go. Twigs suck."
I am simply annoyed at the opportunity it gives people to make excuses for being unhealthy.
And also, because I want to be sure it's mentioned in here because it might not be clear, I understand what you are saying about the message.

[grinning-fox.livejournal.com]

*hug* It is so good to hear this ^_^ Me, I've always been taught that your body is the temple for your soul. Take care of it thusly. I share this thought around the house and it made everyone smile. So thanks.

[pikachette.livejournal.com]

Anytime one doesn't take care of one's health sucks, true dat.

And the rest of it? Fair 'nuff. :)

[hennabee.livejournal.com]

I am still fond of the bumper sticker that says "Five days a week, my body is a temple. The other two, it's an amusement park."

Except...reverse that for me. I do stupid stuff all the time and Ms. Foxglove will vouch!

[foxglove-8778.livejournal.com]

I didn't see a thing... oh wait... what?