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New York, 6:15 AM
Tue Nov 10
67 posts in the last 24 hours

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  • posts about #frenchwomendontgetfat more →

    French Women Don't Get It, Or Why Do We Resent Mireille Guiliano?

    French Women Don't Get Fat (Enough)

    Angry American Pundit: "French Women Can Suck It"

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    Dsmvwl  Admin  Promote to frontpage Approve user Ban user ×
    Image of emfish55 emfish55
    11/09/09

    In reply to French Women Don't Get It, Or Why Do We Resent Mireille Guiliano?
    At least some of the resentment must stem from the sense many people have that Giuliano's success is disproportionate to her success. Her books are fine, but simple. Plenty of people could have written them -- the conversational tone, the common sense advice, the dash of Francophile. But Giuliano actually did write them (and was helped, no doubt, but access to publishers not exactly available to your average Jane), and she's made tons of money off of them and had the opportunity to write yet more bestsellers.

    It's Dan Brown syndrome. It's easier to hate on someone who seems no more talented than you are. #mireilleguiliano
     Reply
    emfish55 was starred emfish55 was unstarred
    Image of ihateyourescalade ihateyourescalade
    11/09/09

    In reply to French Women Don't Get It, Or Why Do We Resent Mireille Guiliano?
    The "Skinny Bitch" authors deserve more ire here, for 1. Writing a book with "bitch" on the title solely for the gratuitous-titillation factor, 2. Promoting the idea that it's cool to be a nasty, obnoxious, self-centered diva, especially if you're thin.
     Reply
    Edited by ihateyourescalade at 11/09/09 4:19 PM ihateyourescalade was starred ihateyourescalade was unstarred
    Image of femme-bot femme-bot
    11/09/09

    @ihateyourescalade: I've never read them. Are they really that bad? #mireilleguiliano
     Reply
    ihateyourescalade promoted this comment femme-bot was starred femme-bot was unstarred
    Image of Tchotchke Tchotchke
    11/09/09

    @ihateyourescalade: I HATE those books. My sister came home from college with all of them and I didn't even bother to mask my utter contempt. First of all, the lingo that they use in the books is incredibly grating. (Example: kitch=kitchen). Secondly, their entire pitch is, as you said, that vanity is a good thing and that anything with fat in it is "gross" and therefore, will make you "ugly." The entire series reads like an ED handbook because it combines fucked-up eating philosophies with crackpot science and psychology. Ugh, I could go on for days... #mireilleguiliano
     Reply
    Tchotchke was starred Tchotchke was unstarred
    Image of ihateyourescalade ihateyourescalade
    11/09/09

    @femme-bot: Not sure if this will help or hurt my rant, but I've never read them either. I am already skinny and I work really hard NOT to be a bitch. #mireilleguiliano
     Reply
    ihateyourescalade was starred ihateyourescalade was unstarred
    Image of rodmanstreet rodmanstreet
    11/09/09

    In reply to French Women Don't Get It, Or Why Do We Resent Mireille Guiliano?
    This is the first I've heard of this movie and I'm already insulted by it. I'm sure it will be a weight loss journey to a handsome man! With champagne and shoes! And a kiss under the Eiffel Tower! And all because she lost fifteen pounds! By living fabulously in the 7th arrondissement! #mireilleguiliano
     Reply
    rodmanstreet was starred rodmanstreet was unstarred
    Image of funzette funzette
    11/09/09

    In reply to French Women Don't Get It, Or Why Do We Resent Mireille Guiliano?
    I will never trust a woman who tells me to eat small portions of high quality, non-diet, non-ersatz food and then tells me to make an apple tart out of cabbage leaves instead of pastry.

    There should be a special circle of hell for that. Maybe it's circle 5.5 (between wrath and heresy). #mireilleguiliano
     Reply
    funzette was starred funzette was unstarred
    Image of Plum-Pie Plum-Pie
    11/09/09

    @funzette: Cabbage leaves? Really? How? Why? I don't understand... #mireilleguiliano
     Reply
    Plum-Pie was starred Plum-Pie was unstarred
    Image of mepo - Robert Cornhole invented it mepo - Robert Cornhole invented it
    11/09/09

    @funzette: Cabbage. What? That's just mental talk. #mireilleguiliano
     Reply
    mepo - Robert Cornhole invented it was starred mepo - Robert Cornhole invented it was unstarred
    Image of pantsless economist...access RESTORED pantsless economist...access RESTORED
    11/09/09

    In reply to French Women Don't Get It, Or Why Do We Resent Mireille Guiliano?
    I wrote some friends to get specifics on the dislike. "Smug" and "superior" were constants. "Inflexibility" was another.

    Sounds like Giuliano's got a case of the Hillary Clintons--hated for stupid reasons people would never hate a man for. #mireilleguiliano
     Reply
    pantsless economist...access RESTORED was starred pantsless economist...access RESTORED was unstarred
    Image of sableized (just like starting over) sableized (just like starting over)
    11/09/09

    @pantsless economist...access RESTORED: ding! you win the washer-dryer. #mireilleguiliano
     Reply
    sableized (just like starting over) was starred sableized (just like starting over) was unstarred
    Image of mepo - Robert Cornhole invented it mepo - Robert Cornhole invented it
    11/09/09

    @pantsless economist...access RESTORED: Please don't compare a diet writer who might as well write for Star magazine with Hillary Clinton. #mireilleguiliano
     Reply
    mepo - Robert Cornhole invented it was starred mepo - Robert Cornhole invented it was unstarred
    Image of Grim Reaper of the Forest Grim Reaper of the Forest
    11/09/09

    @pantsless economist...access RESTORED: I hate many smug and superior men. #mireilleguiliano
     Reply
    Grim Reaper of the Forest was starred Grim Reaper of the Forest was unstarred
    Image of AndPreciousLittleofThat AndPreciousLittleofThat
    11/09/09

    @Grim Reaper of the Forest: So how long HAS it been since you last watched TV? #mireilleguiliano
     Reply
    AndPreciousLittleofThat was starred AndPreciousLittleofThat was unstarred
    Image of Grim Reaper of the Forest Grim Reaper of the Forest
    11/09/09

    @AndPreciousLittleofThat: Actually, I don't have a TV, which might explain my low tolerance for smugness.

    And I swear I'm not a smug TV non-owner.
     Reply
    Edited by Grim Reaper of the Forest at 11/09/09 4:55 PM Grim Reaper of the Forest was starred Grim Reaper of the Forest was unstarred
    Image of pantsless economist...access RESTORED pantsless economist...access RESTORED
    11/09/09

    @mepo - Robert Cornhole invented it: @itsonreserve: @Grim Reaper of the Forest: OK bad phrasing but what I was trying to say is that there are a lot of people who dislike Hillary Clinton for reasons like "she's a bitch, she's smug," whatever.

    Not trying to say nobody would ever hate a man for being smug, but I'm saying that she faced certain criticisms that men do not.

    I was going on the reasons sadie gave for people disliking her based on "smugness," etc rather than a substantial reason which is much of the criticism hillary faced and faces. So i think the comparison still stands. #mireilleguiliano
     Reply
    pantsless economist...access RESTORED was starred pantsless economist...access RESTORED was unstarred
    Image of chinaplate chinaplate
    11/09/09

    In reply to French Women Don't Get It, Or Why Do We Resent Mireille Guiliano?
    'with, by the way, no kids to mess up the orchids or the trips to Paris'

    Snark snark snark. Hate observations like this. #mireilleguiliano
     Reply
    chinaplate was starred chinaplate was unstarred
    Image of midwestdesigner midwestdesigner
    11/09/09

    @chinaplate: It stuck out with flashing lights as "Moms vs. Non-moms." Urgh. Yes, if you don't have children, your life is full of wild single activities, but you won't get the best gift in the world, parenthood. And if you choose to have children, you are completing the circle of life, yet are tied down to an orchid-less life, yadda yadda yadda. I wish this would die. #mireilleguiliano
     Reply
    badmutha promoted this comment midwestdesigner was starred midwestdesigner was unstarred
    Image of badmutha badmutha
    11/09/09

    @midwestdesigner: I totally read that as "Moms vs Noms," which I thought was rather unfair because just because you like cookies and maybe your Mom tells you that you can only have two, that is no reason to pit them against one another. #mireilleguiliano
     Reply
    badmutha was starred badmutha was unstarred
    Image of padraigin padraigin
    11/09/09

    @chinaplate: Seriously. I've got orchids AND kids. DID I BLOW YOUR MIND?!?!?!? #mireilleguiliano
     Reply
    badmutha promoted this comment padraigin was starred padraigin was unstarred
    Image of RedLantern RedLantern
    11/09/09

    @padraigin: As orchids, and flowers in general go, my cats are actually more destructive to them than my kids are. #mireilleguiliano
     Reply
    badmutha promoted this comment RedLantern was starred RedLantern was unstarred
    Image of midwestdesigner midwestdesigner
    11/09/09

    @badmutha: Is Cookie Monster your spokesperson for this worthy cause? ;) #mireilleguiliano
     Reply
    midwestdesigner was starred midwestdesigner was unstarred
    Image of AndPreciousLittleofThat AndPreciousLittleofThat
    11/09/09

    In reply to French Women Don't Get It, Or Why Do We Resent Mireille Guiliano?
    Occam's Razor sez:

    Americans don't like being unfavorably compared with the French, period. #mireilleguiliano
     Reply
    AndPreciousLittleofThat was starred AndPreciousLittleofThat was unstarred
    Image of KentuckyBabe KentuckyBabe
    11/09/09

    @AndPreciousLittleofThat: its just an extra thing to hate about french women, they're big eyes and short hair and adorable accents... and the fact that men find them irresistable. If their only steriotypical trait was skinniness maybe i wouldn't have such an irrational hatred. :-) #mireilleguiliano
     Reply
    AndPreciousLittleofThat promoted this comment KentuckyBabe was starred KentuckyBabe was unstarred
    Image of AndPreciousLittleofThat AndPreciousLittleofThat
    11/09/09

    @KentuckyBabe: Irresistible, hm? Ever seen a picture of Edith Piaf? ;) #mireilleguiliano
     Reply
    AndPreciousLittleofThat was starred AndPreciousLittleofThat was unstarred
    Image of mbprice mbprice
    11/09/09

    In reply to French Women Don't Get It, Or Why Do We Resent Mireille Guiliano?
    What don't French women get about fat? It's a semi-solid lipid composed of glycerol and carboxylic acid that frequently serves as an energy source when converted into glucose and also is necessary to metabolize several vitamins.

    There, if French women read that (translated, naturellement), they'll get fat. #mireilleguiliano
     Reply
    mbprice was starred mbprice was unstarred
    Image of token_illiterate_commenter token_illiterate_commenter
    11/09/09

    @mbprice: I don't get sub-atomic particle physics. Can you help me too? #mireilleguiliano
     Reply
    token_illiterate_commenter was starred token_illiterate_commenter was unstarred
    Image of mbprice mbprice
    11/09/09

    @token_illiterate_commenter: I could, but I am le tired... #mireilleguiliano
     Reply
    mbprice was starred mbprice was unstarred
    Image of sableized (just like starting over) sableized (just like starting over)
    11/09/09

    In reply to French Women Don't Get It, Or Why Do We Resent Mireille Guiliano?
    I read this book because when I was in high school I had a Frenchwoman as my dorm mother, and the tone reminded me so much of her. So I never link this book with Mme. Guiliano, only with Mme. Stanton.

    That being said, I like her writing style, and most of what she says is sound - don't eat when you're bored, take a half-hour walk everyday, etc. - but I'm still a little baffled that she's managed to construct an empire around what strikes me as little more than common sense. #mireilleguiliano
     Reply
    sableized (just like starting over) was starred sableized (just like starting over) was unstarred
    Image of Bitingpika Bitingpika
    11/09/09

    @sableized (just like starting over): Common sense that won't make you thin unless you happen to be blessed with the "right" genes, stay away from the many medications that cause weight gain, and don't have any problems with your endocrine system.

    I'm thinking of writing a whole series of books based on the awesomesness that is Canadian women.

    Hmmm. What kind of BS would sell? Canadian Women Don't Get Bored? Canadian Women Don't Wear Uggs? #mireilleguiliano
     Reply
    Alys Brangwin can't stop the beat promoted this comment Bitingpika was starred Bitingpika was unstarred
    Image of Alys Brangwin can't stop the beat Alys Brangwin can't stop the beat
    11/09/09

    @Bitingpika: Canadian Women Have National Health Care (And Use It!) #mireilleguiliano
     Reply
    Alys Brangwin can't stop the beat was starred Alys Brangwin can't stop the beat was unstarred
    Image of Grim Reaper of the Forest Grim Reaper of the Forest
    11/09/09

    @Alys Brangwin can't stop the beat: Canadian Women Have Maternity Leave (And You Don't)! #mireilleguiliano
     Reply
    Grim Reaper of the Forest was starred Grim Reaper of the Forest was unstarred
    Image of Her Grace Her Grace
    04/24/09

    In reply to French Women Don't Get Fat (Enough)
    I didn't find that my weight was impacted by being in a more active country (Australia) vs a less active country (the US). I had only public transport and my legs while living in Melbourne, and while it certainly effected my brain chemistry (I was much saner, if circumstantially lonelier until I made friends towards the end of my time there), my weight didn't change. I would say that my eating habits were better (fewer preservatives, more veggies) while in Melbourne, too.


    There will always be outliers, I suppose, and my body likes to be chub? It's frustrating for me, because I would like it to be a bit less chub for the sake of my continuing to have it for many, many more years.

     Reply
    Her Grace was starred Her Grace was unstarred
    Image of Liz11685 Liz11685
    04/23/09

    In reply to French Women Don't Get Fat (Enough)
    I think that France has a culture around thinness and take great pride in not looking like us sloppy Americans. One huge headline when I was in Paris the first time that made me think: "France: Suivre Regime!" Which basically called out how FAT everyone in France was getting and that the whole country needed to go on a diet. I am heavier, so I looked around like..."Where are all these supposed fat people?!?!?!"
     Reply
    Liz11685 was starred Liz11685 was unstarred
    Image of iminparis iminparis
    04/23/09

    In reply to French Women Don't Get Fat (Enough)
    I live in Paris and here are partial explanations:

    - tiny apartments and no tv. There is no way you can stay home in front of the tube all night. Fridges are small in most apartments.

    - The streets are a big catwalk where everyone shows off all day just for fun.

    - I keep being surprised that everyone systematically eats dessert at every meal too. But I rarely see anyone snacking.

    - EVERYBODY smokes.

    -The service in restaurants is really slow which might also explain the little food consumed in a a very long period of time.

    - no one drinks lattes and the other Starbucks drinks.

    - you spend your money shopping and not eating.

    I moved here 7 months ago and I am still losing weight, even though I am totally fetishizing food here and have stopped "controlled exercising" completely.
     Reply
    iminparis was starred iminparis was unstarred
    Image of Rooo sez BISH PLZ Rooo sez BISH PLZ
    04/23/09

    @iminparis: Thank you.

    Having spent some time in Spain, I'm going to take a bet that even though you have laid it out and live there, people on the thread are still going to argue with you.
     Reply
    Rooo sez BISH PLZ was starred Rooo sez BISH PLZ was unstarred
    Image of ChildBride ChildBride
    04/23/09

    In reply to French Women Don't Get Fat (Enough)
    The interesting thing about weight in France is that here in the US, if you say "I'm feeling heavy/I think I'm gonna go on a diet" people immediately start indignantly exclaiming that you look fine! and you're totally healthy! and the media has convinced you have to look a certain way! whereas in France, if you say the same thing, there's this "Oh, Ok." reaction. Like, French people think diets are legitimate and sometimes necessary, and people should want to look their best, and in the US, a lot of times people feel the need to establish that diets are a warped tool of mass media. It's a really striking difference.
     Reply
    ChildBride was starred ChildBride was unstarred
    Image of vanka-vstanka vanka-vstanka
    04/23/09

    @ChildBride: I've never been to France, but I've noticed that about other countries, too. Here people will just silently judge you while you reach for a slice of cake or whatever.
     Reply
    vanka-vstanka was starred vanka-vstanka was unstarred
    Image of Jack_Burton Jack_Burton
    04/23/09

    In reply to French Women Don't Get Fat (Enough)
    They use Le Grille George Forman, and Frappucinos are illegal.
     Reply
    Jack_Burton was starred Jack_Burton was unstarred
    Image of BlondeGoddess BlondeGoddess
    04/23/09

    @Jack_Burton: Rest assured: Starbucks landed in Paris a few years ago, in a ploy to fatten up ze French.
     Reply
    BlondeGoddess was starred BlondeGoddess was unstarred
    Image of Ozyman Ozyman
    04/23/09

    In reply to French Women Don't Get Fat (Enough)
    Not surprising that people's view of what is normal weight is influenced by their neighbors. I live in the thinnest state in the US, and I bet the county I live in is one of the thinnest in that state (Boulder County in Colorado for the curious).


    Although by national standards I'm probably quite thin, walking around town makes me realize I should probably be exercising more. If I still lived in Florida, I'd probably feel like I was thin and would be more comfortable with my current weight.

     Reply
    Ozyman was starred Ozyman was unstarred
    Image of vanka-vstanka vanka-vstanka
    04/23/09

    @Ozyman: Depends where you live in Florida. My family lives in Palm Beach County, and when I went to my brother's and sister's school, I was one of the fattest women there. I am a size four.
     Reply
    vanka-vstanka was starred vanka-vstanka was unstarred
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