Stupak-Pitts is a step backward for the evolution of healthcare, equality, economics, and science.
We eat GM crops and animals, yet we can't take the intellectual risk of entertaining a secular government that works to resolve real problems with science, economics, and policy? Cowardly. Too much controversy, too much work.
If there were a profit in abortions, you'd be able to get one at a vending machine, like a photo-booth. #kateharding
I know a lot of people are saying that this was the concession that gave us the chance of health insurance. And health insurance is great, but the interesting thing about insurance is it's for what you don't expect to happen. Like a broken arm, or swine flu, or say...UNPLANNED PREGNANCY.
If we expect tax payers to pay for other legal, safe, medical procedures. Why can't we expect tax payers to pay for this unexpected health consequence?
*Also, my tax money goes to lots of things I don't personally agree with, that doesn't mean I dont pay my taxes or hold out on something till I get my way. #kateharding
Some of us panic about losing a Democratic majority and start hollering at others to quit being so picky and oversensitive about our "single issues" and take one for the team.
Wordy McWord. If the Democrats are throwing women and gays under the proverbial bus, the only thing they have left is minorities...minorities who don't happen to also be women and/or gay.
I wanna be a lobbyist when I grow up. #kateharding
@Zombie Ms. Skittles: Fuuuuck! I'm so sick of letter writing campaigns! I want to be on the news screaming about how I want my country back. I want Keith Olbermann to gloat smugly about the massive turnout of the women's rights protest. I don't want to send John Cornyn another form letter that he's not going to read. #kateharding
@Triana Orpheus: I know. Politics is tricky shit. That's the reason I switched majors from Political Science. I'd love to do an actual protest, though. #kateharding
@Zombie Ms. Skittles: Seriously. I would love to be rockin' my Farrah hair and burning Bart Stupak in effigy. We should do a Take Back the Night level protest. Like, Take Back Our Rights. #kateharding
@Triana Orpheus: I'd be all over that. I kind of secretly hope to move to DC after I finish college, but I'm not sure what I'd be able to do there. #kateharding
@Zombie Ms. Skittles: Well, I do think if we seriously did something it would have to be in D.C. You're in my area I think, we could organize here, but we would have to take our fight to the hill. #kateharding
@Triana Orpheus: Hands down we'd have to hit the hill. Which is going to be economically unfeasible for a lot of like-minded people. Although if we had free cupcakes we could probably attract some passerby to join in just for the food. #kateharding
@Zombie Ms. Skittles: Man, it really helps to have a corporate backed "grassroots organization" that can afford to charter buses from state to state to harrass congressmen. #kateharding
Women have already been forced to deal with a drastically undercut Roe v. Wade. We've been told "Well, you can get an abortion, but you're going to have to drive 100 miles one way. And dodge protesters who will send letters to your parents telling them you killed their grandchild. Also, if you want a Pap smear you're going to be called a whore by the same protesters. Your doctor will have to tell you medically inaccurate bullshit. But you should be grateful for the right to choose!"
This is barely a choice lately. Like Kate, I've had it. #kateharding
I feel like the problem is photoshopping more than size. I am way more self conscience of texture and color than I am size. I am technically "smaller" than Crystal, but my thighs look NO WHERE near as smooth as hers.
I think if we stopped photoshopping even size 2,4,6 models, it could increase self confidence. Because then we could acknowledge that no person (no matter what size there are) is perfect.
@SurferWomyn: If it makes you feel any better, jezebel linked (or ran, I can't remember) an unphotoshopped pic of her and her thighs are dimpled in real life. It made me feel better -- I had always wondered what kind of genetic lottery plus-size models had won to give them larger thighs but no dimples anywhere.
@Dictator for Life: Thanks, that does make me feel better. It is just has detrimental to have photoshopped plus-sized models as photoshopped "thin" models
Hate to be negative but didn't we already have this years ago with Emme? Book and healthy size acceptance and all? It didn't lead to any improvements in the industry and I don't see any coming soon. Crystal Renn is beautiful but I think the problems in our culture are too deep and entrenched to change anytime soon.
I think a start would be using plus size models in children's media. It's all well and good for Glamour to show us "real" tummies, but I worry most about young girls and the ridiculous images they absorb. I think if they were shown a variety of sizes that were all held up as desirable - not just the pretty thin girl and her chunky brainy friend - it would be a big help.
@Pantra: This is something I have noticed as an adult watching the occasional "kids shows" when around children or at the local laundromat. Part of me wonders, was it always this way? Why is the lead always skinny and spunky or outgoing and her best friend the less skinny one? And of course little girls look up to the lead. I think it's time for TV to take a step forward and start putting all sizes as the lead themselves.
I am two-thirds of my way through reading Crystal's book, and I've found myself incredibly impressed by the amount of cogent research put forth, the stererotype she shatters, and the humor she uses in response to even the most infuriating ignorance she has encountered. As I read it, I kept thinking, "This girl should be on Jezebel!" because she spends a good amount of the book dispelling myths about the links between being overweight and it's correlation to health. Not only is she gorgeous, she's also funny, down-to-earth, and very intelligent. I would advise everyone to read this book; it has a lot of great points to make.
Classic designer protest against using larger models? It'll be so much more expensive! Using 100 faberge eggs rather than 150 sewn onto silk tulle is way cheaper.
@HeatherNumber1: Sadly, I think it's on the wholesale side, not production.
Since the runway samples usually go to either a PR firm or the sales showroom right after the show, the sales reps and buyers are the only ones to see them before the orders are "cut" (this is when the clothes are actually made to order; and most designers only cut the sizes that are ordered). As such, (and from experience) when sample sizes are larger, buyers often complain, "Ugh! That looks too boxy/baggy/[insert complaint here]", based on the appearance of a larger sample.
When I would work with buyers, they would literally pass over items that were cut in a 4 or 6, because it "didn't look right"...even if they were actually ordering those same sizes for their store. This of course, leads the reps to ask the designers to only cut samples in a 0 or 2 because they can't sell from a size 6 or 8 sample collection.
@theonlybirdleftintheaviary: That is so weird! I would expect people with textile and clothing construction expertise to be able to visualize how the samples will look in different sizes. Thanks for the insight :)
@kolea: You would reasonably expect that, yes.
I think you're assuming a competence that used to be there but really isn't anymore, particularly among the "but Ah'm a desyyyynah" types.
(Full disclosure - my grandmother was a dressmaker so good
1) she could look in the Bloomingdales catalogue or NYT and reproduce clothes just by looking at the pictures, and
2) her workmanship was so exquisite I can still wear a blouse -- with covered buttons -- that she originaly made for herself.)
@Rooo sez BISH PLZ: you're so right. My mother and grandmother are also dressmakers...so I was also spoiled in terms of having the best halloween costumes and dresses in elementary school. But yeah, I often do overestimate the competence of designers and others in fashion. I guess I just like to think there's a keen eye behind all those $500 dresses. I think in most cases that is hit or miss.
I love stories like this. Crystal Renn is just such a great example for women. I've always said that we have a love/hate relationship with food. Women are told by the images we see in fashion magazines that we should be skin and bones. Then we turn on TV and see advertisements of Paris Hilton seductively eating a cheeseburger.
Its no wonder women develop eating disorders! We need to be told that it is okay to eat and it is okay to be ourselves. Eat a balanced diet, exercise, and accept the body you were dealt.
It has taken me so long to realize this. I've done Weight Watchers numerous times, only to regain 3Xs the weight I lost every time. I finally had to accept the genetic makeup I got from my grandma and realize that having chocolate cake every once in a while is fine as long as I enjoy my broccoli and work out too!
@psychgirl1221: I lost 53 pounds the first time I WW, and loved it. However - I could only take the constant monitoring of every morsel I ate for so long, and have put on 40 pounds. Yes, I am a sugar addict and need to stop; yes, I need to start working out.
But first, I'm going back to WW; it makes me accountable. I refuse to believe that I am destined to be this size for the rest of my life; my dad is a Type 2 diabetic and has changed his life, and my arthritis is much worse with the weight.
Of course, that box of tootsie roll mini-chews I just ate is not helping.
@gerbilsoutofexile...is cheap and easy:
personally I love WW - it helped me lose my baby weight but in the end I found it to be a big mind game - scrutinizing everything I ate and drank. The positive is that I learned how to add quickly and I was able to gauge the total points of a latte and LF coffeecake from Starbucks!
I go back and forth if I want to join - I sometimes feel the vanity of if I lost this much I can lose another 10! But lately I see ladies like Crystal Renn or Christina Hendricks and I'm okay with myself and I know I look foxy in a sweater set and pencil skirt!
@cupscake: I'm glad you're so happy with yourself; I only wish I could feel the same. Truth is, I look like shit at this weight (165). I have a big double chin, and a huge gut, and cottage cheese thighs that make me weep. So I don't get curvier/sexier - I get really ugly.
Even losing the 40 pounds I want to lose puts me 20 over my original weight, which I know is impossible to get back to (I have a thyroid disease). But I know that carrying weight in the mid-section is the most dangerous place to carry it - and where I carry so much.
Cafezinha promoted this comment
Edited by gerbilsoutofexile...is cheap and easy at 09/15/09 4:51 PM
gerbilsoutofexile...is cheap and easy was starred
gerbilsoutofexile...is cheap and easy was unstarred
@gerbilsoutofexile...is cheap and easy: I know this must be hard for you, but you're really conveying a major sense of self-hatred right now that seems hugely tied into your weight and how you look. By using numbers and words like "ugly", you're conveying that not only you feel unhappy like this, but that there's something wrong with this size in general.
If you're feeling this down on yourself, I suggest finding a therapist who specializes in body image issues, and possibly eating disorders. They tend to be more sensitive to weight related concerns and can really help you get perspective. Or you could try an nutritional therapist, who can help you find a healthier outlook/habits with food, but also towards your body.
No amount of self-loathing is going to be good for you. And this level of hating your body is not good. We would never talk to a friend the way we sometimes talk to ourselves. If you can, try to be kinder to yourself.
"Nobody should look on the runway and only see size 14's. That's ridiculous!"
Speak the truth, Crystal! It's not about seeing all super-skinny girls, or all super-curvy girls in fashion- it's about seeing all girls that are doing what feels right for them. The bodies of some women naturally gravitate to size 0, while other women might settle around 8, still others 16, and so on. The moral of the story isn't "Be plus-sized", it's "Be yourself".
I'm just going to announce this to everyone:
Thank god for out-spoken, healthy models like Crystal Renn.
I'm about to meet up with my under-weight mom and sisters who all have extreme eating disorders and I'm feeling high-anxiety.
I've battled EDs in the past. But, for the last few years I've been ok/happy with my body.
Lately, a new medication has caused me to gain weight. I'm still in a healthy range, but over 20lbs heavier than I've ever been before. The anxiety I'm feeling about my new shape and esp about meeting up with my fam. is intense.
I'm so anxious, I just used my tax returns to go out and buy some killer clothes for my new rounder body (your welcome, fashion industry.) just for this vacation with family. I hate that I need props to even approach feeling comfortable with my fam. and not sliding back into unhealthy habits.
So, ahem, thank you to Jezebel and to Crystal Renn for this post and article.
Positive reinforcement and all that. :)
I am loathe to comment on issues related to body size on this site because people are, justifiably, sensitive about it, and I don't have any personal perspective to bring to the conversation. But I have noticed in the past few weeks a concerted effort to mock or demean people that diet. I like the idea often espoused by some commenters on this site to live and let live. Mind your business when it comes to other people's bodies and whatever they choose to do with it. If that is the case, what is this fascination with telling people NOT to diet and telling them how they would gain it all back and are wasting their time. Is it really anyone's business if a person wants to spend her/his days dieting?
@sshacker: I think your point is well taken, and this is such a sensitive topic, a topic that is difficult to talk about without some defensiveness and strong opinions. I am firmly in the "do whatever you want and leave me alone" camp. I think some of the anti-diet and even anti-thin sentiment comes from an inherent judgment that comes from the other side (I think you'll find more judgmental "dieters" than "non-dieters") and guards are up. It's difficult for me to articulate, but while I very much dislike it when people make comments about women's thin bodies in a negative way, I do not think it can be put into quite the same category as making comments about someone who is fat. This is for a few reasons. Most importantly, being thin, in this space and time, is a culturally accepted reflection of beauty. I liken this to white people who claim they've encountered racism. This might be true, but it's not the same. Secondly, comments around a person being fat almost inevitably lead to blaming of behaviors. And, in our society, denying yourself is more powerful/respected than overindulging....when it comes to food. I have no clue if this is making any sense. But, yes, in the end, people should mind their own business and certainly not make claims about people's "health" based on their bodies.
@sshacker: This is a fair point. No one should be ostracized for a personal choice they make that doesn't really hurt or affect anyone else.
But I think in general, most of the criticism of dieting on Jezebel and by bloggers like Kate Harding tends to focus on the degree to which we have a culture of dieting, where you are either a size 0 or you are actively trying to lose weight through diet and/or exercise. My company has a lot of "get healthy" initiatives that tend to take the form of "Let's all join Weight Watchers!" or "Let's all commit to lose as much weight as we can by November!" That's fine for the people who share those goals, but for those of us who don't, we are often chastised for not participating or even for eating sweets at the office. My director has a lot of food issues and eats an extremely restricted vegetarian, no-sugar diet. Which she often breaks and then feels terrible about. And she takes out her frustration by constantly commenting on what the rest of us are eating.
So while I don't think anyone should be made to feel bad for dieting, I think we should all be more aware of how talking about dieting and losing weight a lot can start to affect other people in a negative way.
@sshacker: I don't think I've seen anyone "mock" anyone for dieting. But there has been an effort to point out that "dieting" as we currently view it, in a lot of ways, is really problematic. I think there's been general discussion of the diet industry/cultural obsession. Not mocking individuals who diet.
The point of discussing dieting is really to critically look at it. Because it's a huge industry with a specific agenda, and because it's part of our larger beauty culture. And the truth is, a lot of the diets currently out there, encourage unhealthy restricting and obsessive food habits. They encourage, at the very least, disordered eating. And the truth is, they don't work. Drastically cutting your calories is generally not something you can maintain forever, nor is it healthy to view foods in moral terms of "good" and "bad". The diet industry is based on the yo-yo effect, or the perpetual diet. And there's compelling evidence that dieting is the real culprit in our issues with maintaining healthy weight and body image.
Most nutritionists will tell you that diets don't work. Because they're not sustainable and require a lot of food restrictions that aren't practical or healthy. If a person wants to change they way they eat they're better off seeing a nutritionist and finding what areas of their diet they can improve on (add more veggies, lean meats, healthy fats, carbs) than they are obsessively counting calories.
I think the only point this site has ever made is that individuals can do what they want. But they should have all the information.
@sshacker: This was my reaction at first, too, but then I thought about it. I think when people say "Diets don't work, don't even try" they aren't referring to eating a healthy, balanced diet with normal portions. They're talking about diets where all you eat is a fiber cookie that expands in your stomach to make you feel full or the Special K Diet where all you eat is 1/4 a cup of cereal per meal and 90 calorie snack bars. Yes, you may lose weight but as soon as you start eating normal foods again you'll gain it back. In a sense, spending time on a diet like that instead of focusing on eating healthy foods IS wasting time.
I don't think anyone is saying don't try to eat healthy or don't work out. They're saying don't put your faith in diet plans that are essentially designed to fail.
@sshacker: I see your point and your comment is really interesting. I think my issue with it is one often raised here: The "I can choose my choices!" defense. The idea that our own "free decisions" should be beyond reproach for their social and political implications.
I put those words in quotes because, though we feel like our life choices are our own, they're likely shaped by influences and constructs of which we may not be aware. "Diet" is a broad term. Does it mean an XYZ-calorie per day intake? Does it mean an attempt to generally eat more veggies or give up soda?
In many contexts, a "diet" is a means to change one's body. And we should be asking WHY. Health? Or thin-ness? Both? I think it's hard to separate social pressures and aesthetic conformity from the mindsets and decisions that produce "dieting." And that's what people want to talk about, and rightly so.
@JerseyGrrrl, @Sev: Very valid points but as I mentioned to tired fairy above, does it matter? What 'diet' is being embraced? Not my business what anyone puts in their mouths. If I will not chide anyone for eating a macdonald's meal, I am not going to get on my high horse about anyone doing what is considered the opposite.
@sshacker: I completely agree. If you want to diet that is entirely your business and more power to you. I don't think anyone should single you out and tell you how you will gain it all back.
However, I don't think a comment in general about the statistical likelihood of success, or a column discussing such likelihood should be considered an attempt to mock or demean dieters. Perhaps I am wrong.
Jan74 promoted this comment
Edited by Vivelafat says Sweep the leg, Johnny. at 09/15/09 4:15 PM
Vivelafat says Sweep the leg, Johnny. was starred
Vivelafat says Sweep the leg, Johnny. was unstarred
God, she is so beautiful. And she makes me feel beautiful. I am about her size, and my thighs look like that when I sit, and if she can be beautiful, so can I. It makes me feel very positive about myself. And I love that she wants all sizes on the runway.
You now know "The Secret": if you don't believe you are beautiful, no one else will. It's a mind/body connection. If the inside is rot, the outside will mirror that reality eventually by giving you the face you've earned.
And yes, both you and she are very, very beautiful!
@GirlyQ wants Ziva: Crystal Renn is stunning and her thighs and knees, especially, have a beautiful shape.
I read a lot of old Russian and European novels and historical nonfiction, and it's always amazing to me to read descriptions of beautiful women having sensual round shoulders, plump arms, etc. Did you know that Marie Antoinette wasn't considered sexy until after she got a little older and had children, after her figure filled out? It's one thing to hear that the very thin, very young beauty standard wasn't always there, it's another to look at Crystal Renn.
11/11/09
We eat GM crops and animals, yet we can't take the intellectual risk of entertaining a secular government that works to resolve real problems with science, economics, and policy? Cowardly. Too much controversy, too much work.
If there were a profit in abortions, you'd be able to get one at a vending machine, like a photo-booth. #kateharding
11/11/09
If we expect tax payers to pay for other legal, safe, medical procedures. Why can't we expect tax payers to pay for this unexpected health consequence?
*Also, my tax money goes to lots of things I don't personally agree with, that doesn't mean I dont pay my taxes or hold out on something till I get my way. #kateharding
11/11/09
Wordy McWord. If the Democrats are throwing women and gays under the proverbial bus, the only thing they have left is minorities...minorities who don't happen to also be women and/or gay.
I wanna be a lobbyist when I grow up. #kateharding
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"I don't want to send John Cornyn another form letter that he's not going to read."
They have you blacklisted too? #kateharding
11/11/09
This is barely a choice lately. Like Kate, I've had it. #kateharding
09/15/09
I think if we stopped photoshopping even size 2,4,6 models, it could increase self confidence. Because then we could acknowledge that no person (no matter what size there are) is perfect.
That's my two cents for the day....
09/16/09
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09/15/09
I think a start would be using plus size models in children's media. It's all well and good for Glamour to show us "real" tummies, but I worry most about young girls and the ridiculous images they absorb. I think if they were shown a variety of sizes that were all held up as desirable - not just the pretty thin girl and her chunky brainy friend - it would be a big help.
09/16/09
09/15/09
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09/15/09
Since the runway samples usually go to either a PR firm or the sales showroom right after the show, the sales reps and buyers are the only ones to see them before the orders are "cut" (this is when the clothes are actually made to order; and most designers only cut the sizes that are ordered). As such, (and from experience) when sample sizes are larger, buyers often complain, "Ugh! That looks too boxy/baggy/[insert complaint here]", based on the appearance of a larger sample.
When I would work with buyers, they would literally pass over items that were cut in a 4 or 6, because it "didn't look right"...even if they were actually ordering those same sizes for their store. This of course, leads the reps to ask the designers to only cut samples in a 0 or 2 because they can't sell from a size 6 or 8 sample collection.
09/15/09
09/15/09
I think you're assuming a competence that used to be there but really isn't anymore, particularly among the "but Ah'm a desyyyynah" types.
(Full disclosure - my grandmother was a dressmaker so good
1) she could look in the Bloomingdales catalogue or NYT and reproduce clothes just by looking at the pictures, and
2) her workmanship was so exquisite I can still wear a blouse -- with covered buttons -- that she originaly made for herself.)
09/15/09
09/15/09
Its no wonder women develop eating disorders! We need to be told that it is okay to eat and it is okay to be ourselves. Eat a balanced diet, exercise, and accept the body you were dealt.
It has taken me so long to realize this. I've done Weight Watchers numerous times, only to regain 3Xs the weight I lost every time. I finally had to accept the genetic makeup I got from my grandma and realize that having chocolate cake every once in a while is fine as long as I enjoy my broccoli and work out too!
09/15/09
But first, I'm going back to WW; it makes me accountable. I refuse to believe that I am destined to be this size for the rest of my life; my dad is a Type 2 diabetic and has changed his life, and my arthritis is much worse with the weight.
Of course, that box of tootsie roll mini-chews I just ate is not helping.
09/15/09
personally I love WW - it helped me lose my baby weight but in the end I found it to be a big mind game - scrutinizing everything I ate and drank. The positive is that I learned how to add quickly and I was able to gauge the total points of a latte and LF coffeecake from Starbucks!
I go back and forth if I want to join - I sometimes feel the vanity of if I lost this much I can lose another 10! But lately I see ladies like Crystal Renn or Christina Hendricks and I'm okay with myself and I know I look foxy in a sweater set and pencil skirt!
09/15/09
Even losing the 40 pounds I want to lose puts me 20 over my original weight, which I know is impossible to get back to (I have a thyroid disease). But I know that carrying weight in the mid-section is the most dangerous place to carry it - and where I carry so much.
09/15/09
If you're feeling this down on yourself, I suggest finding a therapist who specializes in body image issues, and possibly eating disorders. They tend to be more sensitive to weight related concerns and can really help you get perspective. Or you could try an nutritional therapist, who can help you find a healthier outlook/habits with food, but also towards your body.
No amount of self-loathing is going to be good for you. And this level of hating your body is not good. We would never talk to a friend the way we sometimes talk to ourselves. If you can, try to be kinder to yourself.
09/15/09
Speak the truth, Crystal! It's not about seeing all super-skinny girls, or all super-curvy girls in fashion- it's about seeing all girls that are doing what feels right for them. The bodies of some women naturally gravitate to size 0, while other women might settle around 8, still others 16, and so on. The moral of the story isn't "Be plus-sized", it's "Be yourself".
09/15/09
Thank god for out-spoken, healthy models like Crystal Renn.
I'm about to meet up with my under-weight mom and sisters who all have extreme eating disorders and I'm feeling high-anxiety.
I've battled EDs in the past. But, for the last few years I've been ok/happy with my body.
Lately, a new medication has caused me to gain weight. I'm still in a healthy range, but over 20lbs heavier than I've ever been before. The anxiety I'm feeling about my new shape and esp about meeting up with my fam. is intense.
I'm so anxious, I just used my tax returns to go out and buy some killer clothes for my new rounder body (your welcome, fashion industry.) just for this vacation with family. I hate that I need props to even approach feeling comfortable with my fam. and not sliding back into unhealthy habits.
So, ahem, thank you to Jezebel and to Crystal Renn for this post and article.
Positive reinforcement and all that. :)
09/15/09
09/15/09
09/15/09
But I think in general, most of the criticism of dieting on Jezebel and by bloggers like Kate Harding tends to focus on the degree to which we have a culture of dieting, where you are either a size 0 or you are actively trying to lose weight through diet and/or exercise. My company has a lot of "get healthy" initiatives that tend to take the form of "Let's all join Weight Watchers!" or "Let's all commit to lose as much weight as we can by November!" That's fine for the people who share those goals, but for those of us who don't, we are often chastised for not participating or even for eating sweets at the office. My director has a lot of food issues and eats an extremely restricted vegetarian, no-sugar diet. Which she often breaks and then feels terrible about. And she takes out her frustration by constantly commenting on what the rest of us are eating.
So while I don't think anyone should be made to feel bad for dieting, I think we should all be more aware of how talking about dieting and losing weight a lot can start to affect other people in a negative way.
09/15/09
The point of discussing dieting is really to critically look at it. Because it's a huge industry with a specific agenda, and because it's part of our larger beauty culture. And the truth is, a lot of the diets currently out there, encourage unhealthy restricting and obsessive food habits. They encourage, at the very least, disordered eating. And the truth is, they don't work. Drastically cutting your calories is generally not something you can maintain forever, nor is it healthy to view foods in moral terms of "good" and "bad". The diet industry is based on the yo-yo effect, or the perpetual diet. And there's compelling evidence that dieting is the real culprit in our issues with maintaining healthy weight and body image.
Most nutritionists will tell you that diets don't work. Because they're not sustainable and require a lot of food restrictions that aren't practical or healthy. If a person wants to change they way they eat they're better off seeing a nutritionist and finding what areas of their diet they can improve on (add more veggies, lean meats, healthy fats, carbs) than they are obsessively counting calories.
I think the only point this site has ever made is that individuals can do what they want. But they should have all the information.
09/15/09
I don't think anyone is saying don't try to eat healthy or don't work out. They're saying don't put your faith in diet plans that are essentially designed to fail.
09/15/09
I put those words in quotes because, though we feel like our life choices are our own, they're likely shaped by influences and constructs of which we may not be aware. "Diet" is a broad term. Does it mean an XYZ-calorie per day intake? Does it mean an attempt to generally eat more veggies or give up soda?
In many contexts, a "diet" is a means to change one's body. And we should be asking WHY. Health? Or thin-ness? Both? I think it's hard to separate social pressures and aesthetic conformity from the mindsets and decisions that produce "dieting." And that's what people want to talk about, and rightly so.
09/15/09
09/15/09
09/15/09
However, I don't think a comment in general about the statistical likelihood of success, or a column discussing such likelihood should be considered an attempt to mock or demean dieters. Perhaps I am wrong.
09/15/09
09/15/09
09/15/09
You now know "The Secret": if you don't believe you are beautiful, no one else will. It's a mind/body connection. If the inside is rot, the outside will mirror that reality eventually by giving you the face you've earned.
And yes, both you and she are very, very beautiful!
09/15/09
I read a lot of old Russian and European novels and historical nonfiction, and it's always amazing to me to read descriptions of beautiful women having sensual round shoulders, plump arms, etc. Did you know that Marie Antoinette wasn't considered sexy until after she got a little older and had children, after her figure filled out? It's one thing to hear that the very thin, very young beauty standard wasn't always there, it's another to look at Crystal Renn.