Thank you for the link, Jay

Here is a more attrative pic of Beth Ditto. That particular pic I showed you just shows her size.

http://i.a.cnn.net/cnn/2006/SHOWBIZ/...ry.beth.gi.jpg

It IS very interesting to see a nontraditional body, though, especially because I think my stomach looked so much like hers at my highest weight. I thought mine was just weird looking, but hers looks like that, too! TOO COOL!

According to the BMI, "morbidly obese" is anyone who has a BMI over 35. So, if she is 5'4" and weighs 204 or more, she's considered "morbidly obese".

I suscribed to BBW (Big Beautiful Woman) and Radiance in the late 80's and early 90's. In 1991 I had a short story published in BBW. The story is on my Blog under weight loss fiction, with a few slight editorial modification (there were a few references to the 20th century). BBW was more a style magazine than an activist magazine, though they stressed focusing on a healthy diet and exercise, and demphasized weight loss. Radiance was more radical.

One thing that both magazines agreed on was that strict dieting generally results in weight gain, not weight loss for many people. It's certainly been true for me. In the 90's I gave up dieting, and fully embraced much of the fat acceptance ideology, not so much out of thinking fat was fabulous, but out of extreme fear of putting on more weight as a result of dieting. For about 5 to 7 years I stopped dieting all together and never gained (or lost) an ounce. I don't regret my fat acceptance years, in fact it did kind of rock to be able to get more than one season's wear out of my clothes (even if they were size 28's and I weighed 308 lbs). If I hadn't given in to the pressure to diet, my guess is I would still weigh 308 lbs. Imagine where I might be if I had learned even sooner (say my first diet in kindergarten).

In the 70's and early 80's many diet plans actually encouraged the belief that once you reached your goal weight, you'd be able to eat whatever you wanted, or at least much differently than you did while losing. The idea of finding a food plan that you can live with for the rest of your life, is relatively new, as is the idea that it is acceptable to lose weight and make modifications to your diet and activity level slowly. Even today "Quick weight loss" articles are guaranteed magazine sellers (that and apparently a decadent, gooey, and ideally chocolate, dessert recipe).

One of the reasons I still believe in some fat acceptance principles, is I think we label people as fat, long before they are, and far before there is a health issue attached. Wrapping up vanity in the mix makes the whole thing harder, not easier to deal with. People jump into yoyo dieting and eating disorders to escape the "fat trap," but like quick sand it only drives them more deeply into the muck and makes it more likely that they will eventually be as fat or fatter than they think they are.

There are going to be some people who are extremely active and fit, who eat a very balanced diet, and still weigh a little more than our culture finds appealing. Fatness and fitness are both on spectrums (slightly different spectrums) and where each of us will be or want to be are going to vary.
If you're smack dab in the middle of your "ideal" weight according to the charts, there will still be people arguing that you're shortening your life and not realizing how great it feels to be truly healthy, because you eat meat, or dairy, or don't run marathons, or don't take bee-pollen or whatever it is that they're doing. Some of them may even be right.

I am not familiar with The Gossip's music, but I'm extremely happy to see an overweight female become famous. It seems that so many "musicians" have gotten famous because they're cute or "hot", not talented.

I agree, phantastica!

Colleen, good points. And as far as fitness goes, let's not forget NFL linemen. They are athletes and weigh a lot more than would be a "healthy BMI."

And I always think of the Hawaiian kings and queens--a culture where fat was beautiful--and the fact that they went surfing on huge, heavy boards.

Jay

I have never owned my fat. I dont want to own it. I've lost 35lbs and I'm still fat but I feel a lot better about it now. There is a light at the end of the tunnel. I cant wait until I'm JUST overweight and not obese anymore! Only the people on this site would understand that goal! lol

Shane, are you talking about Beth Ditto?

Dude, she's kinda the ultimate rebel. I remember Kiera Knightley saying that she thinks Beth Ditto was sexy. Although I appreciate woman of larger size being proud of their looks, I still find the clothes she wears a tad bit unflattering for her...

Ericah, your post made me realize something. I don't think my FAT is sexy, but I refuse to let my fat "own" me. I am still sexy, beautiful, and I like my body, even though I am in the process of changing aspects I dislike.

woops way to late in the conversation...

Anyway, the Fat acceptance movement was pretty radical in the late 90s as well. When obesity (morbid) was on the rise, many obese persons were demanding for rights such as

1) nude beaches not disriminating against them
2) airplanes giving them a second seat without paying for it
3) certain things to be made certain sizes for them
4) and etc....

because ultimately they were free to choose their lifestyle and they don't want to be discriminated for their lifestyle choices. I think the moevment died down a bit recently when they realized that there was no way insurance companies would part with them.

http://www.naafa.org/

Fat acceptance organization, still trying to change the world!

I guess there's a difference between accepting fat people and saying that living an unhealthy, inactive lifestyle is okay... There are SO many issues involved. I don't think I've ever 100% OWNED my fat. I've been overweight since I was 10 or so, I've never been a "normal" sized person.

I'm finally in a "healthy" weight range for my height, but I still feel fat. I still jiggle like a jello bowl on my belly area. I'm not at my goal yet and I'm not toned yet (workin' on it)...but I don't think I ever would want to OWN my fat. For me, owning it would be just not caring...which would have led to me gaining even more weight, which would have led to me becoming obese, which would have elevated my risk (even more) for health issues... Kinda a snowball. Maybe there are those who wouldn't let it snowball...but I'm not one of them.

When I'm down to 18-20% body fat and I'm fit-looking for the most part, then I'll consider owning whatever fat's left on me

Own my fat? No way. I believe that in real life, I am more tolerant than a lot of folks about other people's fat, but not my own.

I love being curvy! There's a reason my goal weight is still a reasonably high-healthy BMI. I still think I looked fine at a higher weight, and a part of me actually misses the "ba-doomp!" of having a bigger booty! Anytime I see larger gals like the one shown rocking her fat, I am happy for them.

Besides, I learned long ago that weight is not directly related to attractiveness. Confidence, personalized style and a dazzling smile are attractive regardless of weight.

Ericah

That is how I feel. I was never fat before. Don't want to be fat again. My husband thinks I am sexy at 198. I love that about him he accepted how I was. I didn't think I was and this is for me, not for anyone else. BUT I don't want to be skinny. Way to many woman these days, look at the news, mags, movies and tv want to look like sticks. Have to say, from most men I have ever asked, and this was before I gained all the weight so it had nothing to do with them not wanting to hurt my feelings. Men, at least ohio men, want woman with a bit of meat on their bones. But then most of us are corn fed country bumpkins lol

BUT I loved haveing a chest, womanly curves. 120 is a goal I may find a few lbs more is ok, hubby would be happy with that. That 120 is not set in stone. It is just a general goal. I do not want to lose looking like a woman. Have no desire to be built up and down like a man lol.

I think the "fat acceptance movement," like other civil rights causes is composed of a wide spectrum of members. On one end, there are people feeling and saying very, very, very quietly "we're pretty sure that we are (barely) human, please treat us that way."

It is that parenthetical "barely" that I think horrifies even people in the middle of the group, wanting to reach down and bring their fellow members at least to the middle, audibly and clearly proclaiming "We ARE human, please treat us that way."

Then there were a few of us, cocky so and so's, who had the audacity to say loudly and clearly "we're not only human, we're as good as most of you other people, and we expect you to treat us that way, and we're willing to say it to your face if you don't"

Well my goodness, that doesn't sit well with some people, and some people are going to get mad and fight back and some of them are even going to say "you aren't human, and you never were human, and you're never going to be human as long as you are fat."

So then rebels, reactionaries, or activists or whatever name you want to call them emerge from the movement who respond - "Oh, yeah, well you guys are doody heads, and we rock, in fact we're the best, and the rest of you guys are barely human, so there pblffgh."

Yeah, it sounds like the playground, but that's human nature; and, we all are human, despite what some people like to believe.