the words are nice BUT that woman is not fat so why is she writing that she used to be thin and now she's not but that she's come to terms with her body and she likes it?! i am sure her intentions are good but i just don't like when people of her size say they're fat or overweight (even if she doesn't use those words) because they contribute to this whole fat hysteria and phobia!
>>i just don't like when people of her size say they're fat or overweight
in your opinion, what is the "official" definition of "fat", or is there/should there be one? hysterias and phobias by definition are NOT based in reality. were the people burned at the steak by the early Christians really witches? were Jews really contributing to the decline of Germany? the answer is no. in many people's eyes, this woman is considered to be fat. her words are a result of how she feels, living in this anti-fat culture, whether or not she is objectively "obese". her words are genuine -- she feels the pressure the same way you do.
i can seriously say that most thin girls who think they're fat are the ones who set the limit on what's fat (based upon themselves and a beauty myth that is not realistic) and what is not and therefor it becomes very low and that's when they start to feel pressure from around them that they are fat, they create their own pressure and they create pressure for others. every person has their own idea on what's fat but there's also a general idea and i don't think that girl is fat at all and i feel offended that she think so because if she's fat then what am i?! i don't have a certain point on the scale that i call fat but she's just not fat and i doubt that the pressure she feels is even half of what i feel, or what other people my size feel. and i know i am not the only one offended when thinner girls claim to be fat and say that they feel such pressure from the society, because they have no clue!! i think everyone feels the pressure to be thin but feeling that pressure is not the same as being fat feeling the pressure to be thin and
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you are quite coherent and articulate, even at 7am -- thank you. :-)
>>i don't have a certain point on the scale that i call fat but she's just not fat
-- here's another thought to consider. girls with a severe/advanced stages of anorexia, who are literally starving to death, do so because they firmly believe that they are fat. they look at their bodies in the mirror, and SEE what they think is fat. is it their brain producing that impression? yes. does it matter? no. they still feel it. at that point, it becomes an obsessive glitch in their brain, and they have no control over it. it is now considered a clinical disorder, listed in the DSM with other things that are considered to be a mental illness. had there not been such an emphasis on thinness in this culture/fashion industry, would we have such a "disorder" as anorexia? probably not. is that girl putting the pressure on herself? yes. but it is a REACTION to the societal pressure, and not it's cause.
what she's basically saying, is that a thin-obsessed culture hurts all of us. i don't see how it's a bad thing. and look how many people agreed with her. the more people feel that an emphasis on thinness is a bad thing, the sooner this view will be challenged. when this view becomes unpopular, it will no longer be used by the industry.
i know that's what she's saying but it bothers me when she think of herself as fat because that means she think of others her size or bigger as fat too. she is not fat! it's these points of views that adds to the whole fat hatred.
i thought the conclusion of her post was that she now accepts and loves her body exactly for what it is, and no longer cares about the skewed opinions of others. :-)
at least that's what i understand from the post, that she used to be skinny and now she's bigger and that todays beauty standards are askewed and she feels that it is unfair. if she thinks it's unfair for others (who actually are fat) it's ok with me but if she feels it's unfair for herself then it bothers me, that's what i wanted to say all along. that she shouldn't feel that it's unfair that she's fat and is treated badly about it.
.....bleh, i shouldn't write stuff like this when i have been awake all night and my brain feels like mashed peas!
>>that she shouldn't feel that it's unfair that she's fat and is treated badly about it.
-- is it unfair for ANYBODY to feel bad for being treated badly? is it only ok for certain groups of people to feel that way, and the rest should just swallow their discomfort? people feel bad and stepped on and hurt for so many reasons in this culture, izan. she obviously has reasons for what she feels, and noone's feelings should be negated. she does not say these things to make fat people feel fatter, obviously. i understand the natural impulse to compare everything to your own experience, because that is how we understand the world around us. but other people's feelings and experiences are not any less valid, just because we think we're been dealt a worse hand in life. pain is, unfortunately, universal.
ok, i need to cut in with something here... my first language isn't english so maybe i express myself clumsily. i don't mean that she shouldn't find it unfair if people treat her badly and say that she's fat. what i mean to say is that she shouldn't listen to those who have said that she's fat. she isn't and she should be able to distinguish herself from fat/obese people and not think that she is fat and therefor feel sorry for herself, because what is there to feel sorry for when she isn't what they might have said to her that she is... does that make sense? it's so hard to try to express yourself in a language that isn't your first language. i know my english is pretty good but some times i know what i want to say and i can't phrase it the way i want to! bear that in mind when i write, ok, thanks
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>>i am talking only about how it's harder to be accepted the fatter you are & that she shouldn't feel too bad & soak up the harsh words as much because she's not super fat
-- i don't think ANYONE, regardless of their weight, should "soak up the harsh words". my point exactly!
that lady is also 5 feet tall. so for her, on her small frame, gaining 30 pounds can feel like getting seriously fat. you can't measure everyone by the same standard.
i am not measuring them all by the same standard, you need to stop taking each word i write too seriously (there's another word for this but i can't remeber it right now...that you read too much into something i say), i was trying to explain what i meant and obviously i didn't succeed or you read me wrong. it's not like i sit here with a weight table and check who's fat and who's not, i'm not stupid i do know that two people can appear to be the same weight but they're not, but there's still a big difference in being short and weigh 200 pounds and be tall and weigh 400 pounds, the heavier person will still be the one who has the most odds against him/her! the person who appears to be the fattest is the one most likely to get picked on
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http://www.livejournal.com/users/catelin/130758.html
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-- some people NEED to be told how misinformed they are. lets see if it does him any good..
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in your opinion, what is the "official" definition of "fat", or is there/should there be one? hysterias and phobias by definition are NOT based in reality. were the people burned at the steak by the early Christians really witches? were Jews really contributing to the decline of Germany? the answer is no. in many people's eyes, this woman is considered to be fat. her words are a result of how she feels, living in this anti-fat culture, whether or not she is objectively "obese". her words are genuine -- she feels the pressure the same way you do.
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>>i don't have a certain point on the scale that i call fat but she's just not fat
-- here's another thought to consider. girls with a severe/advanced stages of anorexia, who are literally starving to death, do so because they firmly believe that they are fat. they look at their bodies in the mirror, and SEE what they think is fat. is it their brain producing that impression? yes. does it matter? no. they still feel it. at that point, it becomes an obsessive glitch in their brain, and they have no control over it. it is now considered a clinical disorder, listed in the DSM with other things that are considered to be a mental illness. had there not been such an emphasis on thinness in this culture/fashion industry, would we have such a "disorder" as anorexia? probably not. is that girl putting the pressure on herself? yes. but it is a REACTION to the societal pressure, and not it's cause.
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.....bleh, i shouldn't write stuff like this when i have been awake all night and my brain feels like mashed peas!
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-- is it unfair for ANYBODY to feel bad for being treated badly? is it only ok for certain groups of people to feel that way, and the rest should just swallow their discomfort? people feel bad and stepped on and hurt for so many reasons in this culture, izan. she obviously has reasons for what she feels, and noone's feelings should be negated. she does not say these things to make fat people feel fatter, obviously. i understand the natural impulse to compare everything to your own experience, because that is how we understand the world around us. but other people's feelings and experiences are not any less valid, just because we think we're been dealt a worse hand in life. pain is, unfortunately, universal.
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-- i don't think ANYONE, regardless of their weight, should "soak up the harsh words". my point exactly!
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