The Floating Heads *or* Look, Don’t Look!

Floating heads are all the rage. In the fatsosphere and beyond, we get floating heads and elegantly draped bodices adorned in jewels and sparkle. Alluring smiles and dashing eye shadow frames perfectly pecked cheeks and the cutest dimples I’ve ever seen on a grown man. Hair is coifed and sexy and when not, attention is sought out to alter that. Our faces are our best foot forward.

Indeed. When one’s body mass index is slightly larger than say, 12 or so the shift in photographic presence goes from a full figure to a floating head. Not unlike a character from the Harry Potter series, nearly headless anyones can be seen trolling the internets and office desks of properly manicured spaces everywhere.

I wondered about this recently. I too have a large collection pardon the pun, of head shots. I like the way my cheek bones look in a down-tilted camera angle. I’m ok if you get me at the right angle…..so says the line of a favorite song. I like my round shoulders in a purple shirt. I like my disappearded neck fat. Is good – makes me look like a super star sans opinions on my health and weight status.

And I see these shots *everywhere* there can be a photo of a humanoid. In a recent fatshionista livejournal community thread there was discussion of posting full figure shots with blank heads. The discussion fell into “well sometimes there’s just nothing decent to say about someone’s outfit so I remark on their face, hair, make-up, etc.” Le sigh. How often do we hear that? “Oh you’ve got such a pretty face!” or “Oh I love love LOVE your make-up!” Well gee, thanks for seeing the neck-up. I’ve got this great rack draped in some awesome fabric and I found these sexy low-rise maroon pants and I’m wearing kick-arse knee-high boots. Let me tell you about my bra, too.

There’s a bellyshots campaign that Fatshionsita featured a while ago (yay!) via the awesome Lesley. There’s a revolution, fat style, to get bellies and belly-lovin all over the interwebs. Groovy. I can bear my belly for the world to stare at. My naked belly without the awesomeness of what I’m wearing today. That’s easy. That’s headless and nekkid and you don’t have to look at me as a part of fashionable, sexy culture. Just nekkid culture.

But what happens if we force ourselves, nay our culture to look at fat as part of culture? That’s what Fatshionista! Is all about, right? Force feeding fat fashion into the starving mouths of the fashion industry? Not giving them a chance to say cute face! Cute hair! But rather to look at the bodies that are rockin’ the industry.

Hm. What would that revolution look like? No longer would the headless bodies be signs of a dying culture, obsession, greed, over-consumption, media disregard for humanity and bodily integrity; instead it would mean fat revolutionary fashion force feeding sexy fat bodies front and center. Not giving one another an excuse to continue to ignore our bodies. Not giving in to these head shots. Hm.

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