Stories of Substance: Body Image Round-Up

bigstock_Megaphone_News_11655422 It’s been too long! Life has just gotten in the way of writing here. I promise to do a longer post soon, but in the meantime, here are some terrific articles you should check out.

Excellent article on xoJane about whether dieting or not dieting is right for the author, and whether we should be apologizing to those around us for whatevever decision we make.

At a California restaurant called Chilly D’s, three women were shocked to receive a bill for their food with “fat girls” typed on it. Read about how they stood up for themselves and what happened to the guilty waiter  here.

Interesting New York Times article about how teenage boys struggle with body image issues and unattainable goals.

Great blog post by Rosie Molinary on shifting self-perspective and how others see us much more positively than we see ourselves.

Timely post on Adios Barbie on maintaining a positive body image during the holiday season.

Love this article on Salon by Melissa Febos about how she’s dealt with her “strong, manly hands” and what our hands say about us.

Stretch marks are a natural part of life, not a “serious health issue”! See how this author comes to term with her own on The Gloss.

Hope you are enjoying the holidays and I’ll write more soon!

Stories of Substance: Body Image Round-Up

You’ve had to deal with being called fat your whole life. Then your daughter calls a classmate fat. How do you deal with it? In this amazing essay in Allure Magazine by one of my favorite authors, Jennifer Weiner, she tackles this issue.

A TV News Anchor in Wisconsin named Jennifer Livingston received a cruel letter from a viewer chastizing her for weight. She didn’t take his bullying lying down. Instead she spoke out and addressed him and the issue of fat-shaming on the air.  Here is her original statement about him and a follow up interview on the Today Show here. The man that confronted her turned out to be a personal injury lawer named Kenneth Krause, who issued an unapologetic statement standing by his words and offering to help Jennifer lose weight. I kid you not. Read about it and see a picture of the guy here. Jennifer’s brother is actor Ron Livingston of the movie Office Space (love!) who is standing by his sister here. Krause finally apologized, but it was feeble and only because a television team cornered him in a parking lot.

What role does modesty and covering up play in the objectification of women? Thoughtful post on Beauty Redefined talks about this subject in Modest is Hottest? The Revealing Truth.

Are we treating our bodies like the enemy? Read The War Within: Your Body, Your Self  on Adios Barbie to find out.

Are thin people secretly jealous of fat people? A writer claims this to be true on Huffington Post.

Great article on male body image and superheroes on Edit-Free Society.

Stories of Substance: Body Image Round-Up

There are so many great blogs out there! Check out these great posts and news articles I found this week.

Personal, thought-provoking examination about Breaking The Connection Between “Thin” and “Healthy on Fit and Feminist.

Sally McGraw of Already Pretty takes a look at our thinking as we make changes to our appearance, and how our body image is affected, in Shame and Motivation.

Did you know that food actually isn’t our enemy that needs to battled and eliminated by exercise? Food and exercise are our friends, we need them both working in tandem to be healthy. Great article on The Fat Nutritionist about thinking about and utilizing food and exercise together in a healthy way.

Love this article by Kate Fridkis on Eat The Damn Cake called Stop Waiting to be Prettier.

Do Minnie Mouse and her Disney friends need to be put on a diet. Apparently Barneys NY thinks so. Check them out here and here. Seriously, is nothing sacred?

What do you do if your adult child has an eating disorder. Excellent advice on Weightless.

Stories of Substance: Body Image Round-Up

Sorry I’ve been missing in action.  I was celebrating my birthday last weekend! And then I’ve been working a lot.  But here are the latest interesting things I’ve seen online.

Check out Amy Poehler’s body image advice here as part of her Smart Girls at the Party web series.

Do you think the government has the right to tell us what we can eat or drink? The NYC Department of Health recently approved Mayor Bloomberg’s proposal to put a ban on the sale of large sodas and other sugary drinks at restaurants, street carts and movie theaters, enacting the first restriction of its kind in the country. Read about it here.

Reverse airbrushing may be becoming a thing now? There are reports out there that in response to the public’s demand for models that are curvier, fashion magazines are turning to Photoshop to make thin models look bigger. Leading to the obvious question, as to why don’t they just use bigger models?  You can read an interview I did with a plus size model here.

Speaking of airbrushing, crazy story/personal essay on Jezebel about a woman who found her picture in Vogue, only to discover she was missing a hand. Yes, Vogue, airbrushed her hand right off.

Taylor Townsend, top woman tennis player in the world, nearly missed a spot in last week’s U.S. Open because U.S. Tennis Association (USTA) told her they weren’t going to finance her appearance in anymore tournaments until she lost weight/got into better shape. I shit you not. Another crazy example of appearances taking precedence over actual health/fitness.

So who’s watching Project Runway tonight? I’m at work, but it will be waiting for me on my DVR. I’m hoping this is the week they get rid of Ven Budhu, that designer who body-shamed and bullied Terri Herlihy. Like I reported previously, Terri isn’t taking it lying down.  Read more about what’s up with her on her Terri’s Redemption facebook page, including pictures from a Lane Bryant event she modeled at and Terri looking gorgeous at NY Fashion Week.

Stories of Substance: Body Image Round-Up

In my last post, I wrote about how inadvertently, I hadn’t been looking in the mirror much lately. Interestingly, a PhD student named Kjerstin Gruys  just completed a year-long experiment deliberately avoiding looking in mirrors. She blogged about it here and is being interviewed on 20/20 about it.  
 
A recent study says that while 90% of patients with eating disorders are women, men suffer from binge eating just as often as women. This article on the Huffington Post discusses a new survey about pregnant women and why they hate their bodies.
 
Can feeling fat make you fat? A new study suggests that this self-fulfilling prophecy may be true.
 
Touching and honest essay on The Body Image Project about developing and fighting an eating disorder as a young woman. I developed an eating disorder around the same time and can totally relate. These issues with food and body image can last a lifetime.
 
I met Blondie Blonderson at the BlogHer Conference and couldn’t wait to check out her blog Tales From Clark Street, because she sometimes writes book reviews and I love to ready.  I was really impressed by her recent post called A New Look At My Old Body and highly recommend that you check it out, along with the rest of her blog.

Stories of Substance: Body Image Round-Up

Internet insult-slinging can get vicious. But Meghan Tonjes, creator of  Project Lifesize doesn’t suffer trolls lying down. Check out her awesome video response to the people who called her “fat” here.

Can’t we all just get along? Somer Sherwood on xoJane discusses the harm of  prejudice based on body size in her article In the Fat Vs. Skinny Smackdown, Everybody Loses.

Do you have fat toes? Apparently toe-besity (and a surgery to cure it) is a thing now. Yup. Read about it here on The Gloss.

Refreshing to read how how the next generation of activists realize that body image and the issues surrounding it is a feminist issue (and are doing something about it). The Broad Side covers it here.

When stress increases, self-care decreases, leading to emotional eating. I could so relate to this article on A Weight Lifted and appreciated the helpful advice.

Smart and interesting article by Troy Roness on the Huffington Post about how body image, homophobia  and the LGBT community here.

Is no one free from the pressure to to lose weight? Great article on Alternet about eight beautiful stars who still get called fat.

I previously wrote about pro-ana/thinspiration website Skinny Gossip here. They’ve been getting a lot of heat in the media lately (and public outcry against them). In response, they took down their “starving tips.” Keep the pressure on! Check out this facebook group that mobilized in response. Skinny Gossip apparently has ads now, including from Ideeli.com. Let Ideeli know they shouldn’t be spending their advertising dollars on such a harmful, unhealthy site by signing this petition here. Sign this petition speaking out against  Skinny Gossip’s destructive message here as well.

Stories of Substance: Body Image Round-Up

Touching post on Still Standing Online Magazine called “Body Image After Loss” about body image after the author’s body “failed” her and she lost her baby and how infertility affects body image.

Are we afraid of people who eat a lot? What does gluttony trigger in us? Read about it here.

Fabulous post on Clutch Magazine about how street harassment growing up affected the author’s body image here.

Earlier this week I wrote about the Keep It Real Challenge going on to combat photoshopped images in magazines. Want to see examples of the types of photoshopped images that demonstrate the importance of this movement? Hop on over to the always-excellent Beauty Redefined and check out their Photoshop Phoniness: Hall of Shame here.  You can read the posts of some of the participants who wrote blog posts for Day 2 here.

I love comedian Margaret Cho! So I was even more excited to find her writings on body image here. She has a lot of smart, personal and thought-provoking things to say. Definitely check it out.

Stories of Substance: Body Image Round-Up

This story both angers me and breaks my heart—a father in Ottawa may lose custody of his kids because of his weight. And this is after he lost 150 lbs. With all of these lousy, screwed up parents out there (both moms and dads), it horrifies me that this is what they are fixating on. Screwed up priorities.

According to the American Bar Association Journal, gaining weight is a hazard of those in the legal profession. It’s all the long hours, plus sitting all the time, and stress-related eating. I hear them. Welcome to my world-it’s an ongoing struggle. Anyone working long hours in stressful environments can relate. People like to say weight gain is caused by laziness, but they forget it can be caused by overwork, among a multitude of other things. Don’t be so quick to judge.

Are you overtired? Yawning and drinking a lot of coffee during the day? Some brilliant scientists came out with this study concluding that it’s your own fault. If you weren’t so damn fat and depressed, you’d be more alert and bright-eyed. Yeah right. Maybe the scientists need to spend some time in the law offices the ABA mentioned.

It was Full Figured Fashion Week this week here in New York City. Such an important and wonderful event. I’m working like crazy so I couldn’t make it unfortunately. Last year I had a great time. Hope everyone who went enjoyed themselves!

Eating disorders aren’t just for the young. New research shows that eating disorders in older women is on the rise.

Read anything interesting lately? Feel free to share.

Stories of Substance: Body Image Round-Up

The latest news/blog posts in the body image arena:

Importance of Self Care. Feeling like you aren’t getting your needs met or you’ve been putting yourself last? This great blog post by Anna Guest-Jelley of Curvy Yoga tells you how to give yourself a “permission slip” to take care of yourself.

Jerk of the Week. Apparently Comedy Central’s Tosh.O blogger Mike Pomerantz is stealing copyrighted images in order to make fat jokes. Yes, he stole a picture from the Adipositivity Project, which is a photography project showing the aesthetic beauty of large women, and posted in on his Comedy Central blog for a caption contest and a few laughs. Disgusting. Read about it here on Jezebel and read one Adipositivity participant’s reaction here on xoJane.

Good Reminder for Us All. Adore this post on Already Pretty about why body image matters.

Learn The Rules, Then Break Them! Tired of feeling like you have to dress for your body type? All of the rules can be so limiting! Check out You Look Fab’s article on Beyond Body Type Dressing Rules

Speak Out Against This! Smart article by Ragen Chastain on her Dances With Fat blog about Kenlie Tiggeman’s lawsuit against Southwest Airlines for telling her she was “too fat to fly.” You can also read about current airline policies and travel tips hereAirbus will be offering new and improved wider seats, which is a good start. We all need to fly. You’d think with all the media hype about the “obesity epidemic” more airlines would d be looking into accommodating rather than discriminating against passengers based on their size.

Inspiration! Been bathing suit shopping yet this year? Push your boundaries! This inspiring photo “fatkini” gallery by Gabi Fresh shows “31 unapologetic fat girls in bikinis.” I love seeing these “unconventional beauties” show how hot we can all look!

Stories of Substance: Body Image Round-Up

Love this post on Nourishing the Soul about aging gracefully, not getting so hung up on what your life was “supposed to be,” appreciating your life, and dreaming big for the future.

Beauty Redefined has great insights on why fitspiration isn’t so inspirational.

Jezebel gets it right on  why being mean to fat people is pointless and asking why kindness is becoming obsolete.

Are toy manufacturers “sexifying” girls’ toys? See the evidence on Adios Barbie here.

A must read. I’ve written one post and interviewed a plus size model about the use of models that look like the average consumer. Some have argued that we don’t really want to see models that look like us. But in Elle Canada, there’s an article about a new study out that debunks what some clothing retailers and designers have been claiming  And yes, race and age matter too us too.

Does the world really need a bikini hockey league? Fit and Feminist intelligently and rightfully rants here.

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