Archive For May, 2011

Friday Fluff: Me and Oprah, and a very amenable beluga.

By | May 27, 2011

Over on xoJane, I wrote a post about what Oprah and I have in common. When Oprah tries something new, millions of women will follow, diets included. And yet, if Oprah can’t manage to make herself permanently thin, with all her resources, then what the hell kind of chance do the rest of us have? […]

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The awesome power of no.

By | May 23, 2011

Whenever I write things elsewhere that are critical of bodily norms, and especially about weight, there are always certain Bingo-friendly responses. The most common one is a sort of exasperated, heaving insistence that I—or anyone else—“just” lose weight. Don’t talk about things, for heaven’s sake! Don’t criticize the popular cultural messages about bodies and health! […]

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Friday Fluff: xoJane and me

By | May 20, 2011

So xoJane is a thing, a new thing perpetrated by Jane Pratt, late of Sassy and Jane. The former was a massive influence on my formative years, the latter I loathed, just a little bit. Nevertheless, when the opportunity came to contribute to Jane’s latest project, my positive memories of the former won out over […]

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Real Quick: The chicken and the egg

By | May 19, 2011

A few sharp-eyed readers have sent me a link to this recent poll of South Florida ob-gyns, which revealed that some offices outright refuse treatment to all women over a certain weight. Fifteen obstetrics-gynecology practices out of 105 polled by the Sun Sentinel said they have set weight cut-offs for new patients starting at 200 […]

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Short Cuts: Weight Watchers and obesity stigma for all! edition

By | May 13, 2011

David Sirota is a columnist over at Salon, and a couple weeks ago, he wrote an article about the cultural differences in how fatness is perceived in men versus women, inspired by Weight Watchers’ recent announcement that they plan to start targeting men explicitly in their advertising. It seems men are an untapped group in […]

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So Michel Foucault and Jeremy Bentham walk into an elementary school cafeteria*

By | May 12, 2011

Five elementary schools in San Antonio are embarking on a “research project” which amounts to extensive surveillance and measurement of students’ lunchtime eating habits. “We’re trying to be as passive as possible. The kids know they’re being monitored,” said Dr. Roger Echon, who works for the San Antonio-based Social & Health Research Center, and who […]

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Gagaphrodite and other new myths. [Crosspost]

By | May 10, 2011

My (relatively brief) analysis of Lady Gaga’s new video for “Judas” is up over on Gaga Stigmata. In it, I look at prostitution as the video’s main thematic thread, and its messages about what our culture does to women in positions of power. Check it out: Gaga/Magdalene: Unpacking Prostitution in “Judas”. Here is a quote […]

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You bitches are expensive! (Or, Brink has a lady problem)

By | May 9, 2011

So! Brink is a shooty video game coming out tomorrow. I only know this because my husband is quite excited about it, and obviously my vagina acts as a barrier to my enjoying shooty video games. At least, that’s what a surprising number of big-name video game developers seem to think. It’s true that I’m […]

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Short Cuts: You wanna be on top? edition

By | May 5, 2011

Let’s start at the bottom, and work our way up. The Daily Mail, true to its usual levels of fail, has published an article whose sole purpose is to showcase a paranoid theory that wearing leggings will make you fatter. Physiotherapist Sammy Margo said: ‘Leggings… hold in and support the quadriceps (thigh muscles), buttocks and […]

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Fat NYC: An uncharacteristically fluffy picture post

By | May 4, 2011

So! Last weekend found Marianne and I in New York for the Fat Girl Fleamarket, and for our promised live Fatcast. The Flea was amazing, as usual, and I think the Fatcast went okay, though I was hopelessly distracted by technical difficulties and by the mimosas our brunch waiter totally peer-pressured us into drinking beforehand. […]

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