Entries Tagged 'Feminism' ↓

Fat Princess

fat princessOriginally uploaded by mo pie
The furor over the game “Fat Princess” has finally hit the mainstream media, and its long past time I wrote about it here. After all, back in those halcyon days when I had spare time, I used to play video games; these days, my husband and one of my best [...]SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: “Fat Princess”, url: “http://www.bfdblog.com/2008/07/29/fat-princess/” });

Related Stores

Continue reading → Fat Princess

A Perfect Ten: Does Your Partner Love Your Body?

We all know that there is no such thing as an “ideal beauty,” right? And that we women shouldn’t define ourselves or our self-worth according to what men find sexy, right? It is with this disclaimer in place, then, that I tell you the preferred body type for men, according to this survey (link NSFW) [...]SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: “A Perfect Ten: Does Your Partner Love Your Body?”, url: “http://www.bfdblog.com/2008/07/23/a-perfect-ten-does-your-partner-love-your-body/” });

Related Stores

Continue reading → A Perfect Ten: Does Your Partner Love Your Body?

BFD BlogHer Meetup Report

So, that was BlogHer! A very interesting, overwhelming experience. People were so friendly and awesome, I felt I could strike up a conversation with anyone at any time—and I did a lot of that. There were also lots of mommybloggers everywhere, so much so that it didn’t feel quite like my scene a lot [...]SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: “BFD BlogHer Meetup Report”, url: “http://www.bfdblog.com/2008/07/20/bfd-blogher-meetup-report/” });

Related Stores

Continue reading → BFD BlogHer Meetup Report

Best Links Ever

I read blogs daily, and bookmark a lot of links for you guys, but don’t always manage to write about everything. So this week I’m going to try a little links roundup… in case you missed it.
First up, Fatly Yours, about the idea that size-acceptance blogs are just “fat people sitting around making excuses”:
I [...]SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: “Best Links Ever”, url: “http://www.bfdblog.com/2008/07/18/best-links-ever/” });

Continue reading → Best Links Ever

Post-Pro-Ana

You’ve probably heard of pro-ana groups online. They’re pro-anorexia groups where people, mostly young girls, of course, go to share their sources of “thinspiration” and talk about their strategies for ingesting the bare minimum of calories. Well now there’s We Bite Back, a post-pro-ana group dedicated to helping and supporting people who are recovering [...]SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: “Post-Pro-Ana”, url: “http://www.bfdblog.com/2008/07/15/post-pro-ana/” });

Related Stores

Continue reading → Post-Pro-Ana

Celebrity Fatwatch: Eyeroll Edition

Has there been more uproar lately about celebrities gaining and losing weight, or have I just noticed it more? Three posts I ran across today in quick succession:
1. “Carnie Wilson’s War” (with video from the Tyra Banks show, of course) is Carnie’s battle with her weight after her highly publicized weight loss surgery.
2. Britney Spears [...]SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: “Celebrity Fatwatch: Eyeroll Edition”, url: “http://www.bfdblog.com/2008/06/10/celebrity-fatwatch-eyeroll-edition/” });

Related Stores

Continue reading → Celebrity Fatwatch: Eyeroll Edition

“Fat People Smell Bad,” Says Subway

Quiconque e-mailed me to alert me to a Subway commercial, which she blogged about, that implies that people who eat fast food get automatically fat and that, among other things, this means they smell bad. I know, I almost can’t believe it either. (As soon as I or anyone else finds the video, I’ll add [...]SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: ““Fat People Smell Bad,” Says Subway”, url: “http://www.bfdblog.com/2008/06/09/fat-people-smell-bad-says-subway/” });

Related Stores

Continue reading → “Fat People Smell Bad,” Says Subway

Friday Open Thread

Here’s your open thread, with a tidbit to kick off discussion: what has the size acceptance movement done to make you feel good about yourself?
SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: “Friday Open Thread”, url: “http://www.bfdblog.com/2008/05/23/friday-open-thread/” });

Related Stores

Continue reading → Friday Open Thread

Guess What 99.5 Out Of 100 “Beautiful People” Have In Common?

I’ve been carrying around People Magazine’s 100 Most Beautiful issue all week, having bought it because I thought it would be interesting to talk about, but it wasn’t until the weekend that I had time to crack it open and check it out. And oh my god, it was worse than I thought! I [...]SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: “Guess What 99.5 Out Of 100 “Beautiful People” Have In Common?”, url: “http://www.bfdblog.com/2008/05/11/guess-what-995-out-of-100-beautiful-people-have-in-common/” });

Related Stores

Continue reading → Guess What 99.5 Out Of 100 “Beautiful People” Have In Common?

The Vain Van

Originally uploaded by mo pie
The Vain Van by Emily Duffy was at the Maker Faire this year, and I took a picture of it for you! The back asks “I look fat? By whose measure?” and one side asks “Who profits from your self-loathing?” The other side says “Vanity, thy [...]SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: “The Vain Van”, url: “http://www.bfdblog.com/2008/05/09/the-vain-van/” });

Continue reading → The Vain Van

Wii Fit

I admit; I really want a Wii. And I think the idea of the Wii Fit is awesome; one of the advantages of having a Wii is that it keeps you moving around while you’re playing games. So then why do I find this article vaguely sexist and irritating? Because the Wii Fit is [...]SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: “Wii Fit”, url: “http://www.bfdblog.com/2008/05/02/wii-fit/” });

Continue reading → Wii Fit

Airbrushing The Thin

even cammy diaz isn’t perfect Originally uploaded by mo pie
We all know that OK Magazine lied about Britney’s weight loss, and Glamour airbrushed America Ferrera. And now there’s another problem—or is it a problem? Conde Nast has admitted to airbrushing ultra-thin models to [...]SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: “Airbrushing The Thin”, url: “http://www.bfdblog.com/2008/04/22/airbrushing-the-thin/” });

Related Stores

Continue reading → Airbrushing The Thin

A Perfect Storm Of Evil

Paris Hilton and Kim Kardashian (I am really sad that I know who either of these people is) and The Evil (hint: a food), all together in one news tidbit. Apparently, on a Vegas radio show, Paris said of Kim:
“I would not want [Kim’s butt] — it’s gross! It reminds me of [the evil] [...]

Related Stores

Continue reading → A Perfect Storm Of Evil

A Fate Worse Than Fat

And now for the bad news. I’m posting a link to this article not to bring down the room, but to get the message out there yet again: demonizing fat and fat people is a BAD IDEA that can seriously skew our ideas about self-worth. Just ask the women who participated in the studies [...]

Related Stores

Continue reading → A Fate Worse Than Fat

You’re Fat, Ugly, Slutty And Dumb (And So Am I)

First, a slight meta note: I’m having some back-end issues with the blog, so posting may be a little spotty this week as I try to clear it up. In the meantime, I’ve been sitting on this article that inky sent me while I was out of town; it’s by local writer Violet [...]

Continue reading → You’re Fat, Ugly, Slutty And Dumb (And So Am I)

Some Advice

Yesterday I ran across two great posts that I wanted to share; first, Rachel’s, which details some advice from magazines of the 1950s. (One magazine from the 70s that I sometimes bring into my classes has an article about how to raise your son to be a “real man” and contains the line, “Do you [...]

Related Stores

Continue reading → Some Advice

How To Piss People Off

I’ve been going through my mailbox from when I was out of town, and here’s one of the stories that I missed: sixteen-year-old Chloe Marshall won the title of “Miss Surrey” and is the first plus-size girl to compete for the title of Miss England.
“Everybody thinks you have to be a tall, slim blonde and [...]

Related Stores

Continue reading → How To Piss People Off

“A Perfect Size 4?

When I was in junior high, I read V.C. Andrews and The Baby-sitters Club, not Sweet Valley High. I do remember seeking out the one where someone named, I think, Regina dies of a cocaine overdose. But beyond that, I wasn’t interested. I just couldn’t relate to Jessica and Elizabeth Wakefield. I was neither [...]

Related Stores

Continue reading → “A Perfect Size 4?

Venus

venus of willendorf Originally uploaded by mo pie
Last week, I was in Vienna. One of the things we did there was to visit the Museum of Natural History, specifically to see the 25,000-year-old Venus of Willendorf. (I had no idea this piece was in Vienna; [...]

Continue reading → Venus

What’s Your Score?

Sometimes I feel that items for this blog are self-explanatory. Like the description of this Japanese video game.
A young woman who was once svelte and lovely has binged on too many sweets and pastries. As a result of extreme indulgence, her waistline has blossomed and her weight has surpassed 220lbs (100kg). When she reaches [...]

Related Stores

Continue reading → What’s Your Score?

Make Me A Match

A very interesting and sad story about eating disorders within the Orthodox Jewish community, from Jezebel. Evidently, in arranging their marriages, one of the criteria for some Jewish men is that their brides be below a size 8.
And in a move reminiscent of that Ben Stiller movie, sometimes they take the mother’s dress [...]

Related Stores

Continue reading → Make Me A Match

Word Usements

Language is power. Which is why this Utne Reader story is so fascinating.
[T]he language we use to describe fat people smacks of race, class, and gender stereotypes. More euphemistic words for fat are used to describe those in higher-paying professions… [A] Google search for “portly” resulted in descriptions of doctors, lawyers, and professors, but rarely [...]

Related Stores

Continue reading → Word Usements

Celebrity Fatwatch: K-Fed

So, apparently Kevin Federline has gained some weight and the gossip blogs are buzzing about it. In a way, it’s refreshing to see people care about the weight of a male celebrity for a change. His publicist had this to say:
“Since when does a picture qualify the New York Post to assume someone is [...]

Related Stores

Continue reading → Celebrity Fatwatch: K-Fed

Flirting For Fat Girls

In the comments, Stacey Stardust asks: how do you know a guy is flirting with you?
This may sound like an incredibly dim-witted question, but I never got hit on a lot when I was a size 12-14 (my ’skinny time’ ;)) and I certainly don’t think I get hit on at all now. When a [...]

Related Stores

Continue reading → Flirting For Fat Girls

Big Fat Ad

big fat ad Originally uploaded by mo pie
I saw this poster in San Francisco over the weekend, put up by some public health initiative, I believe. Of course I thought of you, and snapped this picture!
The first dotted line says “STARTED GOING FOR WALKS DURING LUNCH [...]

Related Stores

Continue reading → Big Fat Ad

Anorexia Is Hott

According to Elle magazine, by way of Jezebel, men actually are hot for ultra-thin women. At least in New York.
You know that whole thing about how being superskinny is an ideal originated by the fashion industry and perpetuated by female competitiveness and like, totally NOT AT ALL what men are interested in etc. etc.? [...]

Related Stores

Continue reading → Anorexia Is Hott

Weight Loss… Cosmetics?

If there’s one universal problem plaguing women today, it’s that we all feel terribly guilty about one thing. That thing, of course, is our lip gloss. Can I get an amen?
In a list of hypothetical resolutions posted at Sephora, one is (big surprise) “I Will Lose Weight.” The tie-in product to this resolution [...]

Related Stores

Continue reading → Weight Loss… Cosmetics?

Our Bodies, Our Ideal Selves

Sorry for the missing posts this week! I’ve been working around the clock at both of my jobs, and the lack of sleep has given me a horrible cold. I’ve spent the last few days doped up on cold medicine, sleepy and confused. Fortunately, we’ve got BFDiva Becky to pick up some of my [...]

Related Stores

Continue reading → Our Bodies, Our Ideal Selves

Ugh-vertising

Reader Chelsea alerts us to this horrifying commerical from the “anti-gym” guy we talked about before. Remember him? The impotent one? I know, I know. “We’re just giving him more attention!” But it’s not like anyone who reads this site will be dumb enough to join his gym, right? Feministing describes the commercial in detail:
The [...]

Related Stores

Continue reading → Ugh-vertising

That’s Weightertainment

What do Oprah, Britney Spears, and Kirstie Alley have in common? They’re all part of the phenomenon that one writer calls weightertainment: our obsession with how much people weigh or don’t weigh. She blames Oprah for starting the trend, and posits that the best way for a celebrity to gain attention these days is to [...]

Related Stores

Continue reading → That’s Weightertainment

Thinism

We don’t have a category for “Thinism” or “Weight Gain” and maybe we should. Miss England has been told to gain weight if she wants to win the Miss World title. Supposedly, this is to set a better example for the youth of tomorrow. Which is, of course, binge eating.
Miss England says:
Miss [...]

Related Stores

Continue reading → Thinism

Giving Up Sex For Sex Appeal?

In order to lose weight, a significant percentage of British women turn to drastic measures… like cocaine. And that’s not the only shocking statistic in this little (not at all scientific) poll!
Thirty seven per cent had taken slimming pills, 15 per cent had taken speed or cocaine and 26 per cent had used laxatives as [...]

Related Stores

Continue reading → Giving Up Sex For Sex Appeal?

Childhood Rape Linked To Obesity

There’s no way really to put a positive spin or a clever title on this bit of research, which shows a link between childhood rape and obesity in women.
Researchers surveyed about 2,500 men and women aged 21 and found 7.5 % had had intercourse against their will before the age of 16. While the [...]

Related Stores

Continue reading → Childhood Rape Linked To Obesity

Pretty, Fat

A provocative comment today, from veduna, on our past post about chubbygirl27.
The thing about chubbygirl27 is that she’s one of those really good-looking chubby girls, and she knows it. She doesn’t really represent the plain overweight women who, but for their size, would receive some attention but combined with their unspectacular looks, are completely looked [...]

Related Stores

Continue reading → Pretty, Fat

Fat Girl Art

fat girl number 9 - guts Originally uploaded by anongrrl
I’m trying to hunt down a picture of my wedding dress to show you all for feel good Friday, and hopefully that will materialize sometime before the end of the day. (Here I am in a pool; [...]

Related Stores

Continue reading → Fat Girl Art

This Is Why It Matters, Glamour

Another thing that made the rounds while I was off was this video, but it’s well worth linking to, for those of you who haven’t seen it. It talks about the effects that magazine images and other media have on young women.

If you’re unable to view the video, this article hits many of the [...]

Related Stores

Continue reading → This Is Why It Matters, Glamour

Weirdest Courtship Ritual Ever

Thanks to Pop Culture Junk Mail, I discovered a very funny site dedicated to mocking sexist, illogical, badly drawn, and otherwise ridiculous Stupid Comics. I thought of you guys when I read this one, in which a woman loses 56 pounds in 5 weeks, then hooks up with the boss who ordered her to lose [...]

Related Stores

Continue reading → Weirdest Courtship Ritual Ever

Is Fat A Feminist Issue?

In case anyone missed the very interesting discussion in the comments to this post, I wanted turn it into its own post. I feel like there’s a lot more to say about this issue (or at least a lot more I’d love to hear about). In the original post, I talked about the [...]

Continue reading → Is Fat A Feminist Issue?