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Kate Moss "Nothing Tastes As Good As Skinny Feels" Backlash
Gay And Bisexual Teens More Vulnerable To Eating Disorders
Pro-Ana 2.0

Anorexia: Not Just In The Brain, But In The Womb
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Vivien Smith-Smythe-Smith
11/20/09

In reply to Kate Moss "Nothing Tastes As Good As Skinny Feels" Backlash
Also: she 'ushered in' heroin chic? Srsly? Heroin chic began in the 90s/earlier, and she only dated a smack addict- I thought she was supposed to be 'Cocaine Kate.' Urgh!
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Vivien Smith-Smythe-Smith
11/20/09

In reply to Kate Moss "Nothing Tastes As Good As Skinny Feels" Backlash
Tbh, I really, really hate this statement, but I did also think that Kate Moss was maybe being more than a little tongue in cheek. That's not to discredit the idiocy of such a statement, but she does seem the type to make flippant statements like that purely because it is sort-of expected of her.
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bananaballs
11/20/09

In reply to Kate Moss "Nothing Tastes As Good As Skinny Feels" Backlash
Not sure if it's been said already, but I think when she says, "If you're beautiful on the inside, it will show on the outside" is way more damaging. It's not true, and it's a terrible thing to say.
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Kiran59
11/20/09

@bananaballs: How? I say this as a anorexic who had a variation of the "Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels" posted in her locker.

I think that quote you mentioned is just one to encourage inner beauty and not worry too much about weight. I find it much more healthy then this one.
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bananaballs
11/20/09

@Kiran59: I took it along the lines of "you get the face you deserve." Meaning if you are superficially beautiful then you are internally beautiful, and vice versa. Now, I'm sure she didn't mean it that way, but that's the way I believe it sounds. Conversely, as a non-anorectic, I actually always took the phrase "nothing tastes as good as thin feels" as a mantra to prevent oneself from overeating and/or as encouragement to practice discipline when planning meals. But I totally see how people with ED would take it the way they do.

It's hard to please everyone, which is why I'm not really pissed at her for saying any of this stuff, because I don't think she meant harm to anyone. Everyone takes what they hear and applies it in their own unique way. But I just think of all the less conventionally beautiful people in the world and wonder how a statement like that would make them feel, coming from a supermodel.
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Vidya108
11/20/09

@bananaballs: I don't understand how her statement could be read as positive in any sense. 'Overeating'? 'Discipline in planning meals'? What do those even mean? A person with healthy eating habits eats a wide range of foods, and eats until he or she is reasonably satisfied. What would constitute 'over'-eating or 'un'-disciplined eating?
The way Moss' statement contrasts eating with thinness also perpetuates the idea that weight is determined by food intake; i.e., that it's possible (and good) to get/stay 'thin' by eating less -- certainly not true for a huge proportion of the population.
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bananaballs
11/20/09

@Vidya108: I wasn't trying to convey that her statement was positive. To me, and FOR me, "overeating" means eating past the point where you are full, and being disciplined means making healthful choices, balanced meals, etc. That's what those terms mean to me, and I apologize for any confusion.

I agree with you that that phrase probably shouldn't be used very often, but I was just making a point that her original statement is something I would never say. It's not like I was qualifying the one thing with the other.
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Rooo sez BISH PLZ
11/21/09

@bananaballs: "To me, and FOR me, "overeating" means eating past the point where you are full, and being disciplined means making healthful choices, balanced meals, etc. That's what those terms mean to me"

I don't know that that's necessarily a problem. I think the problem arises from the assumption that if one has those habits, one will automatically be thin. That's not the case, nor is its inverse -- if you 'overeat' and don't make 'healthful choices', you will automatically be 'fat' -- true.

I know you know some people who eat huge amounts of junk all the time and are rail-thin.
(If you don't, I can introduce you to several of my annoying cousins.)

I'm also sure you know the purported definition of 'fat' varies, in the U.S. practically according to coast. Someone who's deemed 'skinny' at size 4 in the midwest can also be perceived as 'fat' in Beverly Hills.

It's the linkage between eating habits and body size that's at issue in your statement. Correlation doesn't equal causation.
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Scout
11/20/09

In reply to Kate Moss "Nothing Tastes As Good As Skinny Feels" Backlash
I never understood the fascination with this girl (only a girl would make such a stupid statement) - she is not particularly interesting to look at.

I guess both SKINNY and MEDIOCRITY sells.
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roxythekiller
11/24/09

@Scout: There are plenty of stupid boys who make these statements, too.
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Scout
11/24/09

@roxythekiller: really? please find me a boy/man who said "nothing tastes as good as skinny feels" and I'll send you $5

Of course, boys and men make stupid statements but very rarely having to do with body image.

Kate should know better given the rampant body abuse, self-mutilation and esteem issues in her industry.

#tips
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roxythekiller
11/25/09

@Scout: You can save your $5 for a trip over to California. I used to live near LA, and believe me, plenty of boys there tell girls to lose weight, or suggest that girls shouldn't eat this or that. They believe that skinny girls are happier... and probably cheaper to take out to dinner.

Kate doesn't know better. The drugs have taken their toll.
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Edited by roxythekiller at 11/25/09 2:00 PM roxythekiller was starred roxythekiller was unstarred

tiredfairy
11/20/09

In reply to Kate Moss "Nothing Tastes As Good As Skinny Feels" Backlash
My biggest issue with this statement, and what it suggests, is that you need to deny yourself to be "skinny"...or that you'll feel better as a person if you match the ideal body type, regardless of whether it's actually healthy for you or not. Maybe being skinny doesn't feel good to people, not because of what they eat, but because that's not healthy for their body.

Plus, I'm not sure we know how skinny feels in a vacuum. We value and idealize certain body types over others. So psychologically, meeting the beauty ideal may "feel good"...but it might not be achieved in a healthy way, or actually be healthy, or result in actually feeling good so much as feeling like we meet the ideal.
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Rooo sez BISH PLZ
11/21/09

@tiredfairy: "Maybe being skinny doesn't feel good to people, not because of what they eat, but because that's not healthy for their body."

But ... deprivation in order to please others is a requisite for the well-behaved modern woman! Where are your morals, young lady?

*has vapors, faints*
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sybann
11/20/09

In reply to Kate Moss "Nothing Tastes As Good As Skinny Feels" Backlash
Anyone who can say this has dead tastebuds or goes to lousy restaurants.
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5ft of fury
11/20/09

@sybann: Or: probably has a complicated, largely negative relationship with food, control, and their body image.
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sybann
11/21/09

@5ft of fury: who doesn't. And men don't count.
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brokenscope
11/20/09

In reply to Kate Moss "Nothing Tastes As Good As Skinny Feels" Backlash
Things that feel better than skinny.

-Running full out for a very hilly mile.
-Breaking body weight on a lift for the first time.
-Back flips.
-Three minutes non-stop on the heavy bag.
-1 arm push ups

I'm lucky someone introduced this stuff to me before I took drastic action trying to lose weight early in college.
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whynotshesaid
11/20/09

In reply to Kate Moss "Nothing Tastes As Good As Skinny Feels" Backlash
Clearly she has never eaten at Five Guys.
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whynotshesaid
11/20/09

@whynotshesaid: I see that the rest of the commenters and I are sharing a train of thought. Brava, commentariat. Brava.
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Zulkey
11/20/09

In reply to Kate Moss "Nothing Tastes As Good As Skinny Feels" Backlash
were we all looking to Kate as a source of health advice before this quote came out?
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sarah.of.a.lesser.god (aka Mrs. BrutallyHonestHobbit)
11/20/09

@Zulkey: No, but I can bet solid money that her quote is making her even more of a goddess to the pro-anorexia set.
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winner
11/20/09

@Zulkey: Soooo drinking until I black out isn't a good idea?
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BetteD
11/20/09

@winner: Don't you bring blackout drinking binges into this! You stay away from My Favorite Things (TM)!
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Zulkey
11/20/09

@winner: I'm still waiting to hear her mantra on getting photographed doing coke because I won't know what to do about that until she advises me!
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winner
11/20/09

@BetteD: Wait wait, calm down. It's fiiiiinnnnne; apparently, that's what the cocaine is for. Smelling salts, Betts, smelling salts.
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SarahMC
11/20/09

In reply to Kate Moss "Nothing Tastes As Good As Skinny Feels" Backlash
Good food is one of life's greatest pleasures. I, for one, am not willing to give that up in order to be skinnier.

At the same time, Moss is PROOF that skinny is exalted so much in this culture that is DOES feel good to be skinny (or, to fit perfectly into that narrow physical ideal). It doesn't have to be that way, but Moss' statement is a symptom of our misogynistic body standards, not the cause.
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Eleanor Ramilly
11/20/09

@SarahMC: Agreed. I think that instead of feeling angry toward Moss- who is a woman, who is someone with a mental disorder, who has always been told it was a good thing- we should feel angry at the people that hire her. Or, perhaps, acknowledge that people hire her because skinny does sell, and make an effort to realize the part inside of us that supports the whole fucked up mentality is something that needs to change, too.
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Edited by Eleanor Ramilly at 11/20/09 2:36 PM Eleanor Ramilly was starred Eleanor Ramilly was unstarred

BetteD
11/20/09

@SarahMC: Well said. The women who fall victim to these ideas are always the scapegoat in these situations.

It reminds me of how magazines like Star constantly pick on celebrities weight, then turn on them when they are "too thin," saying they promote an unhealthy lifestyle. The patriarchy will never be made to answer for creating and enforcing these paradigms, so we have to have someone to blame.
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rd2uk
11/20/09

In reply to Kate Moss "Nothing Tastes As Good As Skinny Feels" Backlash
Shes clearly never had my mamas banana bread.
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girl_talk
11/20/09

In reply to Kate Moss "Nothing Tastes As Good As Skinny Feels" Backlash
You know what tastes better than skinny? Chocolate.
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burningdinner
11/20/09

@girl_talk: Cheese, too.
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TubOfTaft
11/20/09

@burningdinner: Chocolate cheesecake!
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Sukie in the Graveyard
11/20/09

@girl_talk: burritos. With sour cream.
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LucilleMcGillicuddy
11/20/09

In reply to Kate Moss "Nothing Tastes As Good As Skinny Feels" Backlash
I kind of understand what the person means when she says "skinny sells" but aren't we all supposed to be getting fatter? so I guess it sells us poor self-images? that we're supposed to want to be skinny?
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Edited by LucilleMcGillicuddy at 11/20/09 2:19 PM

Eleanor Ramilly
11/20/09

In reply to Kate Moss "Nothing Tastes As Good As Skinny Feels" Backlash
That is so depressing to me, and so unbelievably warped.
It is acknowledging that the opinion of others is more important to you than your own personal pleasure.
Like many commenters, I've struggled with disordered eating. Unlike Kate Moss, however, my own warped mentality was not constantly rewarded. It was cause for concern. Before judging her too harshly, I think everyone should remember that this is a woman whose mental illness has been praised.. maybe not with words, but definitely with actions.
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HarpMadness
11/20/09

In reply to Kate Moss "Nothing Tastes As Good As Skinny Feels" Backlash
No, lady, disagreeing and being upset can and does lead to doing things to change stuff. Really. Granted, there seem to be forces out there that do not want us to know this, but seriously, don't give up -- makes it too easy for them.
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BetteD
11/20/09

@HarpMadness: The whole "we can't do anything about it" attitude is total bs. Show your disdain with your $$. Promote body-positivity in your life and with regards to your spending.

I'm not disappointed or surprised that Kate Moss made that statement. It's sort of a "No shit!" moment for me. It does piss me off that people think that this paradigm of lionizing thinness is the only way it can be and the only way it has ever been. Actually, it isn't, and it hasn't been. STFU
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