when you are reading a good book, then they start descriping some character as huge..gross....fat..couldn't have been a cheerleader..my she has let her self go.. always they have horrible sense of style, and not very bright. Then they go on to say she must weigh at least "insert weight over 125 here" she has to be at least a size "insert size over 8 here" And you realize they just described your weight and size! Made me want to throw the book across the room and feed the rest of my dinner to the dogs :P grrrrrrrrrrrr

You know what is even worse when people in everyday life say things like that.

Don't you just love it when someone you interact with says something like that and then they back check because they realize they "OPEN MOUTH INSERT FOOT".

I know for most who I know love me dearly....just don't view me the way I view myself sometimes.. and I have insecurities of course.

But...sometimes people just can be rude with unecessary comments....
Face it heavy people are so stereotyped!!!

AG!!! Sounds like a bad book! Haha. But yeah, I understand that feeling! I also feel like no one who really watches their weight (all of my skinny friends) know how to estimate a weight and what is a lot or not. They automatically think anyone over 130 pounds or something is abnormal. Ridiculous.

I remember reading a Stephen King book one time (don't remember which one), and a heavy girl was described as having a "tragically lovely face." What, like it's so horrible to be pretty and overweight? Like she would be pretty if not for her body? I got SO angry.

I also have a problem with romance novels. The female leads are always described as tall, fragile, and "willowy" (I've seen that word in more than a few Nora Roberts books). One was even described as being 110 pounds. Come on!! WHO is 110 pounds?! Does she not know her audience at all-- and is that what she thinks is the feminine ideal?

Oh man, I know what you mean. I read the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich and she has a character that she has always described as very large. I pictured her as a 250+ lb woman. In her last book, she said the character weighed 180 (as best I can remember). I know I did a double take and thought WTF??? That's certainly not large...... Kind of tainted the whole series for me.

Or Jemima J - she tries to make up for it at the end by saying she got over her obsession with being super thin by settling in to a comfortable british size 10 - which is something like an american size 6. But all I can think is---she is supposed to be blessed that her crush who didnt notice her when she was heavy fell head over heels in love with her at a size infinitesimal and then "still loves her" at a size 6?

In the same vein, a lot of media portrays the 'ideal' woman as having long blonde hair...could we get any more cookie cutter? I think that the decision makers have a Mr. Potato head type woman, so they can put on what ever hair and eye color and boob size they want. I remember as a kid trying to find dolls that looked like me....

I just re-read a Patricia Cornwell book in which she described one of the victims as "massively obese". I had a picture in my own head of someone over 300 pounds - but no; Cornwell was referring to a 180 pound woman.

I wish her website had a 'contact' section, because I wanted to write to her and let her know exactly what I thought.

This post reminds me of how I used to hear... " you have such a beautiful face" and my mother would say.. " you'd be so pretty if you just lost weight" grrrrrrrr... now I hear.. " OMG that CANT be you, that doesnt even look like you in the face" One time this guy said.... " no thats not you, even if you were that fat, you are way better looking than she is" Wtf?! What do you mean.. that is me ya idiot lol.. anyways.. maybe its late.. but thats what I thought about when reading this post

o_O

Maybe if said woman was 4", she could be considered as "massively obese" for her size, but 180 pounds? Some people need a reality check. *I'm* on the short side, and even though I'd be labelled as "obese" at 180, according to the charts, the term "massively" still wouldn't apply.

omg i totally agree - and its the same with tv programmes - the person who is described as the "fat" one is always about a size 12 same wi ugly betty - i personally think she's gorgeous wi a lovely figure!!! (hav u seen pics of her when she's not in the programme goin out!! shes so purty! lol)

Agreed!! She looks normal with a nice curvy figure! How can they call her fat?

Massively obese at 180 lbs?? That's just silly....

Tammy, I had the same reaction! I always loved Lula (that's her name, right?) because I think she's fun and I love that she has the guts to wear animal-printed spandex even if she's bigger, and when I saw she's 180 I literally put my book down. When I was 180 (only 5 pounds ago) I was "overweight," not "obese" and CERTIANLY not "massively obese"!

It's weird that people seem to think anything over 150 is gigantic.

Whaaa? Puh-lease.

I have been that weight (and higher) and I was not "massively obese". I certainly wasn't happy with the way I looked or my fitness level but my BMI was not in the upper obese category. Hmmfp.

This is why I stopped reading romance novels years ago. I found their character descriptions too assinine to subject myself to them any longer. Apparently, in the 1800s, gyms and tanning booths were in because even though they lived in England, men still managed to have a great tan and chiseled features and abs whereas women managed to have a milky white complexion with a muscular physique even though they were dainty. Color me confused. That and the nonexistent plots were just a head twirler. In one novel, the man and woman are in bed after a long night and wake up only to...eat tarts. Is that how they get their abs?? Just curious. Sorry for the rant, but romance novels get me SO irked.