MONIQUE

Are there attitudes that fat women have against skinny women? The comedian Monique calls skinny women the following: skinny b(s), skinny heifers, she talks about how she wants to fight skinny women. Why does she have such animosity towards skinny women. Is what she said really valid? Is she feel that she really happy about about being fat or is she envious because she is not skinny? What's the underlying issue?

EXCESS FEE

In the news recently it has been reported that American Airlines began charging obese individuals who can not comfortably fit into their airline seats the cost of two seats. Other airlines are following suit... It seems a little unjust to do because I am a thin individual and those seats are uncomfortably narrow for anyone who is tall, or not obese. I think the airlines should first remodel the interior of their aircraft and make the seats more travel friendly for all before attempting to charging obese individuals the cost of two seats to travel via their aircraft.

OBJECT-IFY

The contestants on the 'Biggest Loser' are looking great! There are some contestants on the show that have lost over 100 pounds. There are 7 contestants left on the show. The average weight loss for the remaining contestants is 109. However, when the show began (when the contestants were at their largest) during the weigh in portion of the show, before they got on the scale the men had to take their t-shirts off before getting on the scale and the women had to remove their shirt and in their sports bra before being weighed. Last week at the fourteenth week state the contestants are looking good. HOWEVER, during the weigh in the contestants no longer had to take their t-shirts off. Because it seems like now that the contestants are getting smaller the show can no longer objectify them. There isn't a shock value with the severity of their weight. This year I've been looking at the show more objectively, and my eyes have been opened a great deal.

'FIT'NESS

I know a person that teaches a class at the 2 different gym locations. To look at her one would not conclude that she was anywhere near fit enough to actually teach a class. She's what one would not only classify as a 'big boned' individual but she also has a wide middle with stomach rolls.

But that got me thinking about what is fit? Does fit mean a muscular, athletic build? Or does fitness come in all shapes and sizes??

POLL

I was listening to the news this morning and heard that there was a poll conducted where women were asked 'If they were given the choice would they rather be called a slut or fat?' Amazingly 71% of the women surveyed said they would rather be called a slut.

That reveals a great deal about the female psyche and perceived body image.

RUBY'S INTERVIEW WITH OPRAH

First I want to start off by saying that Ruby looked fabulous on Oprah. For me, Ruby's personality is effervescent. Part of Ruby's appeal is that she is so open and honest and that everyone or at least most people can relate to the battle of losing weight. I was mistaken about Ruby's initial size. Ruby went from and unimaginable 700lbs to her 356lbs frame. What an achievement!!! She chose to lose the weight naturally because she felt that there was not a quick fix. She wanted to learn why she ate as much as she did. She wanted to fix her problem and learn how to properly eat. She said that as a teenager she weighed between 250 and 280lbs. Although society would look at her and wonder how she got so big. . However, her motivation for losing the weight was that she didn't realize how limiting her life was and that the world was not made for people her size. Ruby answered one of my questions from my first blog about whether fat people are truly happy. Ruby said that she was always a very happy person. Her friends accepted her as she was and she never had a 'pity' moment.

BALLY'S TOTAL FITNESS

The national gym called Bally's aired a commercial that said 'skinny jeans are in'. The commercial TOLD the viewer that they needed to get into a gym (Bally's) so that they can fit into a pair of skinny jeans. Newsflash: skinny jeans are not for everyone. What do you think about that?

RUBY

So today Ruby is going to be on the Oprah Winfrey show. I don't have a DVR , however since I'm home studying for an exam I will watch the show and will comment on her interview.

Who is Ruby? Ruby has a reality t.v. show on the Oxygen network. The series chronicles her life during her weigh loss initiative. Ruby is a woman that when the show began weighed like 500+ lbs. We see her various struggles with attempting to lose the weight, the prejudices from other that are placed upon her, we listen to her talk about her relationship with food. One episode was on clothing and styling issues. Another episode was about her flying to California and how she had to pay for two airline seats because the seating on the aircraft were too narrow. She's extremely open and honest with her experiences on the show. Needless to say, I'm very excited to see her on the Oprah show.

ARTICLES I'VE FOUND

So I looked up scholarly articles on fat culture and in this one particular article it discussed how a woman's self-image is tied into our appearance. The messages we see in the media are both overt and subtle messages in terms of our appearance. Women are in a constant uphill battle because from early on girls are taught that the single most important aspect of being female is our outward appearance. When we look at media images on t.v. we see cosmetic after cosmetic ads and slender models squeezed into clothes that are a size or two smaller than their actual size which conveys the message that we need to spend all kinds of time and energy to be beautiful at any cost. It's natural for females to compare ourselves to the dominant image portrayed in the media. So with this being said where does that leave women who do not fit within these images?

THE BIGGEST LOSER

I love to watch reality t.v. and one of the shows that I watch on a regular basis the Biggest Loser. The reason I love to watch this show is because it is so inspiring and I am such an underdog advocate. There isn't one show that I've seen that I haven't cried while watching it. Last week's show was about teaching the contestants how workout outside and not having to be dependent on a gym. One image that I saw on the show was of some of the contestants outside playing in the mud and getting completely drenched in mud. They said they were having fun but I don't think it was the best image to show on t.v. If someone who may be critical of the fat community were flipping through the channels and saw this image it would perpetrate the view of fat people looking like sloppy pigs. I think that during the editing process it was purposely shown to objectify the contestants. I think to maintain the integrity of the show that scene should have been left out. It just makes me leery about t.v. programs such as these that advertise that they are 'helping' people.

IDEALIZED PICTURE OF HEALTH

So Jessica Simpson has been in the entertainment news lately because she was pictured performing at an outside concert (in Florida??) and she appeared to have gain some poundage. Now the media will not leave the poor girl alone because of her apparent weight gain. Society views it an unforgivable sin for women to gain weight. Do we internalize the pressure to stay thin? Also, why are men given a pass and women are not? Is that fair? Also, if Jessica Simpson goes from a size 4 to say a 12 would she be less happy? Will her quality of life actually decrease? Will she be pressured to exercise (based on society feedback)? Will her career actually suffer? Will she begin to exercise because she wants to be 'healthy'? What is healthy? Are we all supposed to maintain a smaller size to be considered healthy? Can we not be a size 12 and be considered healthy?

INCEPTION

Is the quality of life for those who do not fit into the 'ideal' decreased. What is the ideal? Well what images do we see portrayed in the media, news, t.v. & print? I'm watching the Bachelor andfind myself wondering if society will ever progress to the point where we will see a bachelor with a little girth? Or when we see a full figured Bachelorette? The Grammys were on last night and on the red carpet I saw a never ending parade of small waisted women, thin little legs, cut arms, huge smiles & mega confidence. Some women seemed rather happy and proud of themselves that they managed to fit into their size zero ensemble. Concerning the women present, the red carpet rhetoric were how this person and that person had a gorgeous body. Also, I heard continuous comments of how great of shape some of the performers and stars were in. But my question is what about those in the larger community? Are they unhappy because they are not model perfect? Do they want to be? I don't know. .... Do you have to be in an 'ideal' perfect package in order to have a fulfilling life?