Marie Claire blogger provokes outrage with her post about fat/obese people

Scarinae

A blogger for the magazine Marie Claire posted an article on Monday called Should "Fatties" Get a Room? (Even on TV?), which is essentially her thoughts about a CBS sitcom called Mike & Molly that is about two obese people who meet at Overeaters Anonymous. In less than two days, she has received nearly a thousand comments, most of them from people who are very upset about her remarks. Some of the commenters are cancelling their subscriptions to Marie Claire, and others are calling for the writer of the piece to be fired.

Here is an excerpt:

I think I’d be grossed out if I had to watch two characters with rolls and rolls of fat kissing each other … because I’d be grossed out if I had to watch them doing anything. To be brutally honest, even in real life, I find it aesthetically displeasing to watch a very, very fat person simply walk across a room — just like I’d find it distressing if I saw a very drunk person stumbling across a bar or a heroine addict slumping in a chair.

The writer has since posted an apology under her original post, saying that she did not mean to hurt anybody's feelings. It also turns out that she used to have anorexia.

Do you think that this is a shocking insight into the judgmental world of women's media (especially considering that Marie Claire is a publication that prides itself on boosting confidence in women of all shapes and sizes, for example it deliberately never suggests diet plans the way other magazines do) Or do you think the writer kind of has a point, in that obesity is becoming normalised in society despite the health risks?

pollypocket10

Fishie wrote: »

A blogger for the magazine Marie Claire posted an article on Monday called Should "Fatties" Get a Room? (Even on TV?), which is essentially her thoughts about a CBS sitcom called Mike & Molly that is about two obese people who meet at Overeaters Anonymous. In less than two days, she has received nearly a thousand comments, most of them from people who are very upset about her remarks. Some of the commenters are cancelling their subscriptions to Marie Claire, and others are calling for the writer of the piece to be fired.

Here is an excerpt:



The writer has since posted an apology under her original post, saying that she did not mean to hurt anybody's feelings. It also turns out that she used to have anorexia.

Do you think that this is a shocking insight into the judgmental world of women's media (especially considering that Marie Claire is a publication that prides itself on boosting confidence in women of all shapes and sizes, for example it deliberately never suggests diet plans the way other magazines do) Or do you think the writer kind of has a point, in that obesity is becoming normalised in society despite the health risks?

I'll probably get slated for this but I think she has a point. I've seen adverts for this and the characters are seriously obese and I really don't think that this is something that should be glamourised.

IMHO it's the same as have seriously underweight people shoved down our throats. Neither is healthy and I don't think they are appropriate role models.

WindSock

I can't see how a person compares obesity to alcoholism or drug addiction. Being addicted to saturated fats does not impair a persons conscious judgement to the same extent, and does not cause them to behave differently or make them do just about anything for their next fried chicken fix.
Pretty lame article. There is no such thing as normalising obesity, no one wants to be obese. Does having obese actors on a tv show appeal only to obese people though?

Asphyxia

I actually love the Mike and Molly show I haven't seen any disgusting bits on it. They don't dress revealing and you definitely cannot see anyones "rolls and rolls of fat" on that show.

Links234

It's a pretty nasty article, and comparing someone with weight issues to an alcoholic or heroin addict is really low.

I think eating disorders are very misunderstood and people who think they can bully someone thin are doing more damage than they know.

PopUp

Fishie wrote: »

It also turns out that she used to have anorexia.

Doesn't surprise me at all. Not because people who've suffered from eating disorders are more inclined to be nasty - of course not - but because IME when people start pontificating about "fatties" or the like it's always coming from massive insecurity. People who are happy and confident about the way they look have no interest in slagging off others who don't fit their ideal.

jokettle

Just wanted to add a small point:

I know lots of people are saying you can't compare over-eating to drug addiction, but there is at least one well known rehab centre in Dublin that treats alcoholics, drug addicts, gambling addicts as well as eating addicts. That includes anorexia, bulemia and over-eaters to the point of obesity. The same addictive processes (linked the the "reward centre" in the brain) are in place. Certain treatments which work for alcohol/drug addictions etc are also used to treat these eating disorders, Cognitive-Behaviour Therapy being a major one.

I'm not for one second condoning or agreeing with what the blogger wrote. I just wanted to add a bit more info to the discussion.

Handsome Bob

Fishie wrote: »

Or do you think the writer kind of has a point, in that obesity is becoming normalised in society despite the health risks?

Just going on that excerpt you posted, there's nothing in it that suggests to me that the writer has genuine concerns over obesity and the health risks attached. Indeed, comments like this one:

I find it aesthetically displeasing to watch a very, very fat person simply walk across a room

Suggest to me that the writers problem is purely a superficial one. It "offends" her eyes. It has no value or substance IMO.

ztoical

LZ5by5 wrote: »

Suggest to me that the writers problem is purely a superficial one. It "offends" her eyes. It has no value or substance IMO.

Had a quick look through the piece and it is very much based around the outward appearance. She tries to touch briefly on the health side of things but it's clear from the piece and her add on that she herself has serious issues with her physical appearance and admits to having an obession with being thin. Saying you find it 'aesthetically displeasing' is a really nasty turn of pharse TBH. What are we to do? Ban any one who doesn't fall into the 'aesthetically pleasing' box from leaving their house? That's one of the reason some people become very overweight or develop other issues, getting abuse from total strangers just for walking down the street would just make you stop going out. How does this women think people loose weight? They need to go outside. Should you put your whole life on hold until your at the perfect weight? How do you know the fat person walking down the street wasn't once a really really fat person and has lost weight and is in the process of losing more?

iguana

Links234 wrote: »

It's a pretty nasty article, and comparing someone with weight issues to an alcoholic or heroin addict is really low.

Why? In the context of the show she is writing about the characters are using the same 12-step programme that is commonly recommended to alcoholics and drug abusers. The comparison makes complete sense in that regard.

And outside of that regard serious over-eating is usually a symptom of a psychological problem alongside physical cravings brought about by abusing your body long-term. Just like alcohol and drug addiction.

iguana

WindSock wrote: »

Being addicted to saturated fats does not impair a persons conscious judgement to the same extent, and does not cause them to behave differently or make them do just about anything for their next fried chicken fix.

That's not true at all. A long-term poor diet has an impact on your brain chemistry. It will cause headaches, irratability, mood swings, sugar rushes, reduces cognitive function to varying but sometimes extreme degrees etc.

It's not as suddenly extreme as getting drunk/stoned/high but long-term it can cause irreversible brain damage.

pollypocket10

I just read the whole article out of interest. I don't think it is all that nasty to be honest. Doesn't come across as bullying to me and I must say I have heard much worse in main stream media and day to day conversation.

I don't think relating over-eating to alcoholism is too far wrong either. They are both mental illness', with hugely negative effects on your physical health, that need to be overcome.

This sort of portrayal makes it seem like it's ok to be this size, almost fashionable. It's not, it's dangerous to your health and I can't see how this can be positive.

It's one thing to bully someone, another completely to just tell it how it is, being seriously overweight is dangerous and it's never nice to see people abusing there body whether it be with alcohol, smoking, drugs or overeating.

People don't seem to have a problem when someone points out how smoking makes you unattractive with yellowing teeth etc, why is this so different?

Eviledna

Ah, the oul treasure- no such thing as bad publicity
Provocative piece is written to provoke.

It seems to be becoming fashionable to have a negative attitude about the larger among us, especially among the superficial. Marie Claire, a fashion magazine is knee deep in superficiality, and there comes a point where educated people have to treat this kind of argument as they would the utterings of fundementalists of any kind.

It would be great if everyone on this earth could get a chance to walk in everyone else's shoes, but the sad fact is that this woman has probably never been obese. So she can't possibly understand the struggle with weight, and how these kinds of attitudes are really counterproductive to healthy weight.

Unfortunately, there are plenty of ignorant writers in the world. I guess the only way to show our disdain for this kind of extremist prejudice is through our reading patterns. Marie Claire used to be a slightly more upmarket mag, but if they start sampling the tabloid trash pool, they'll get the same readership.

It's just really sad that so many agree with her. Supply and demand, eh?:rolleyes:

Handsome Bob

iguana wrote: »

Why? In the context of the show she is writing about the characters are using the same 12-step programme that is commonly recommended to alcoholics and drug abusers. The comparison makes complete sense in that regard.

And outside of that regard serious over-eating is usually a symptom of a psychological problem alongside physical cravings brought about by abusing your body long-term. Just like alcohol and drug addiction.

To be honest, I think it's tad unfair to compare food addiction to alcohol and drug addiction. I mean from my experience, excluding the lazy accusations of overweight people being a drain on a tax payer, they are not hurting anyone other than themselves perhaps. An overweight person is not a liability to those around him or her.

Whereas in comparison, the drug or alcohol addict can be very destructive to not only himself but to those around them.

iguana

LZ5by5 wrote: »

To be honest, I think it's tad unfair to compare food addiction to alcohol and drug addiction. I mean from my experience, excluding the lazy accusations of overweight people being a drain on a tax payer, they are not hurting anyone other than themselves perhaps. An overweight person is not a liability to those around him or her.

Whereas in comparison, the drug or alcohol addict can be very destructive to not only himself but to those around them.

It does depend on your idea of destruction though. On a day to day level living with a morbidly obese loved one will be a million times easier than living with a substance abuser, yes. However, I doubt it's any less heartbreaking to lose a 47 year old loved one to a massive heart attack than it is to lose them to liver failure.

As well as that children who grow up with parents who are seriously over-weight due to poor diet and bad lifestyle choices are generally subjected to the same diet and lifestyle. Which can impair their development, cause serious health problems and leave them battling weight issues for the rest of their lives. That's a pretty destructive legacy to leave your children.

Handsome Bob

iguana wrote: »

It does depend on your idea of destruction though. On a day to day level living with a morbidly obese loved one will be a million times easier than living with a substance abuser, yes. However, I doubt it's any less heartbreaking to lose a 47 year old loved one to a massive heart attack than it is to lose them to liver failure.

As well as that children who grow up with parents who are seriously over-weight due to poor diet and bad lifestyle choices are generally subjected to the same diet and lifestyle. Which can impair their development, cause serious health problems and leave them battling weight issues for the rest of their lives. That's a pretty destructive legacy to leave your children.

True, it does depend on your definition of destruction. But I would describe the above as more irresponsible than destructive. Even if someone brings their child up on a pooe diet, that does not necessarily mean the child will go on to become a liability to others unless we're talking about obesity to the point where someone is confined to their house.

When I say destructive, I mean that a fat person won't keep you up all night wondering if they are going to get home in one piece. Or that they will make your living environment so unworkable that you can't bring other people into the house. You don't have to worry about a fat person causing you or others severe mental or physical stress.

Basically, I think it will take a whole lot longer for an obese person to become a liability than it will for a drug or alcohol addict.

Links234

iguana wrote: »

Why? In the context of the show she is writing about the characters are using the same 12-step programme that is commonly recommended to alcoholics and drug abusers. The comparison makes complete sense in that regard.

And outside of that regard serious over-eating is usually a symptom of a psychological problem alongside physical cravings brought about by abusing your body long-term. Just like alcohol and drug addiction.

Yeah but some people have medical issues that cause them to gain weight. my aunt has diabetes and put on weight. a girl I know has problems with her legs and can't really exercise

It's just not a fair comparison.

Ciaran500

WindSock wrote: »

Being addicted to saturated fats...

Completely unrelated but I hate this nutrition myth that is just generally accepted based on nothing and is diverting attention from some real problems. Saturated fat does not cause obesity, heart problems, cholesterol problems, cancer and so on...

If anyone wants to discuss this properly head over to the Nutrition forum.

Now back to our regular programming :pac:

iguana

LZ5by5 wrote: »

When I say destructive, I mean that a fat person won't keep you up all night wondering if they are going to get home in one piece.

They will if they suffer permanent brain damage, have a heart attack, a stroke, acquire type 2 diabetes, suffer repeated hypo-glycemic shock. If they are your partner their weight could make them infertile (though this tends to be reversible if they get healthy) which has an extremely destructive impact on a relationship.

LZ5by5 wrote: »

Or that they will make your living environment so unworkable that you can't bring other people into the house.

This is true for the vast majority of people who are morbidly obese. As long as they are still physically capable of most tasks the house will be fine. But take a situation like the one in the movie What's Eating Gilbert Grape? Your household situation becomes just as unworkable if not even more so. Granted it's only a small minority who reach that stage, but it is a growing minority.

RhubarbCrumble

In a way I can see the authors point. Obesity does seem to be accepted as 'the norm' these days. Once an overweight woman would have been referred to as overweight or obese, now she's called a 'real woman'. It seems that so many people don't care about their appearance or their health anymore. I can understand if someone is overweight and there's a medical reason for it, but it's my honest opinion that the majority of people who are overweight find themselves in that situation because they don't have a healthy diet and don't bother to exercise.

A few years ago we were constantly bombarded with pictures of unrealistically thin women by the media. People (and women in particular) felt under pressure to be thin. I don't think that these underweight women were a good role model, but nor do I believe that the 'real women' whom we hear so much about nowadays are a good role model either.

iguana

Links234 wrote: »

Yeah but some people have medical issues that cause them to gain weight. my aunt has diabetes and put on weight. a girl I know has problems with her legs and can't really exercise

It's just not a fair comparison.

Yes they do but the original writer did specify that she wasn't writing about people with physical medical problems that lead to weight problems. Also when someone is addicted to alcohol the GABA producers and receptors in their brain malfunction to an enormous degree so "just quitting" isn't simple. It takes years, sometimes decades for the brain to get back to normal once alcohol abuse has stopped and this causes physical problems to the addict which can temporarily correct once they drink alcohol. (Although in the last 5 years there have been a couple of medical breakthroughs on correcting this but full studies and tests have not yet been carried out. Early tests have proved shockingly effective.)

It's less of a disease than a self-inflicted injury but once the "injury" is there it doesn't heal easily. And few people cause themselves that "injury" unless there is a psychological trauma at the back of it. (There may be a genetic lower tolerance for certain substances but family patterns are far more likely to be caused by psychological problems that stem from growing up with an addict than genetic issues.) This is very, very similar to people who over-eat due to psychological issues.

Chuchoter

Personally I find the idea of basing a show on people being fat to be rather offensive in and of itself, but onto the blog.

What she said was exaggerated and unnecessary, however I honestly fail to see a difference between really, really obese people (outside of pre-existing conditions like problems with mobility) and drug addicts. Its something that damages your health, it effects children and relationships and is something that is incredibly hard to stop. I do not understand the whole 'size acceptance movement' and I don't understand how the word 'curvy' has been made to mean fat in the magazines. Being really skinny is not healthy, neither is being overweight, its just that more people are overweight so its easier for us to side with that as opposed to the skinny bitch.

Dudess

I can see both sides. I don't think a show like that is glamorising obesity - more like it's treating it as something to be laughed at.
The normalisation/celebration of obesity... hmmm. On one level, there is the tiptoe-ing around it, the fat acceptance movement (fine if it's appealing to people to be less cruel, not so fine though if it's advocating complacency), then there's the phenomenon of it being ok to make "Skinny bitch!" comments but no way is it ok to make similar comments in relation to a fat woman's size. And obesity is on the rise.
At the same time though, skinniness is still, in general, far more idealised than overweight (not even obesity, just chubby - or even average-sized; there was the genius remark here recently enough by I think two people that this woman is overweight :rolleyes:), overweight people put up with horrendous abuse, and there is far more understanding of those with eating disorders involving lack of food, but a huge amount of misunderstanding re those who have issues that cause over-eating.
Sometimes obesity is simply down to laziness and greed, but it's inaccurate to apply this to all overweight people - e.g. if a person aged 30 is 30 stone, it's unlikely they got that way by themselves, and more likely they grew up in a household where they were fed high-calorie crap for years before they could make their own dietary decisions. Extremely difficult to reverse that damage.

I also think addiction as an explanation for obesity seems perfectly fair - and have suggested it to those who advocate the overly simplistic approach of "Eat less, exercise more" to those who are overweight. It's even harder to kick than, say, cocaine, because at least you don't need cocaine... whereas you need food. Going cold turkey on food means something totally different.

I was reminded of a post from some time back on another forum which I thought was really good, but some may find it insulting:

Yes I know food can be addictive. It has been proven that the sugar and carbohydrate rush from certain foods provides a high to which some people are more susceptible than others. In my experience of life though, people don’t look at the alcoholic downing their twentieth pint at the bar or the junkie begging for change for the next fix and feel any range of emotional response that doesn’t include disgust.

I once worked with a girl who was at least eighteen or nineteen stone, probably heavier, and she was around five foot three. She’d arrive to work a little early in the mornings with several different types of fizzy drinks in 500ml bottles and a wide variety of crisps, sweets and biscuits. These would be drank and eaten before 9.30, when we began work.

At lunchtime she’d head around to the local convenience store and arrive back with half a dozen different types of fat laden pastries like sausage rolls, battered burgers and Cornish pastries. She’d eat them in such a ferocious rush she’d practically throw them down her throat and then she’d wash them down with yet more bottles of fizzy drinks. Sometimes she’d buy spicy chicken wings and when she did she’d chomp her way through them with such rampant enthusiasm that she’d take no notice of the orange grease spreading all over her face.

Now, I’m not a cruel-minded person and I don’t go out of my way to find fault with people, but watching her gorge herself like that was, in a word, disgusting. Come five am she’d heave her enormous arse up onto a bicycle and cycle the five minutes home and I suppose that was designed to minimise the damaging way she was treating her body every day. Needless to say she was wasting her time because she was probably burning about twenty of the thousands of calories she’d consumed before she’d even had her dinner each day. She was morbidly obese but also her hair was continually lank and damp with grease and her skin was a real mess, red and inflamed but also dry and flaking in places and usually she’d have a number of large angry looking spots. The way she treated her body was an awful thing to watch.

Watching people overindulge in anything till the point where it’s clearly killing them is bound to provoke negative feelings. It’s an understandable and natural human response. Treating a person badly because of how badly they’re treating themselves is a whole other issue though, and I think that is the line where natural revulsion and ‘fattism’ exists.

It may seem cruel of the writer to say she finds the sight of morbidly obese people unappealing, but she can't help how she feels, to be fair - and it's true: there would not be the same outcry if she said she was disturbed by the sight of an extremely emaciated body.
Cruelty though is inexcusable - the comments on AH are despicable. I stupidly get involved in those AH discussions and often get the "I guess you're overweight" comments, which is actually not true, and to be honest, one of my biggest fears is to become overweight... but I just despise bullying. :mad:
However I don't think it's bullying to not find fat attractive - and it's certainly not bullying to object to complacency regarding this serious health issue. I don't think the "real woman" stuff though is urging women to become fat, moreso urging women who are fat not to feel awful about themselves - at the same time though, it can go too far: telling a size 14-16 girl to embrace her curves and dress to flatter her shape is reasonable, but telling a 20-stone girl to accept how she is, is pretty dangerous.
It all depends on the language used though - I don't believe in the "telling it as it is" approach as that could just serve to make a person feel more sh1t than they already do, but I don't think tiptoe-ing is the answer either.

WindSock

iguana wrote: »

That's not true at all. A long-term poor diet has an impact on your brain chemistry. It will cause headaches, irratability, mood swings, sugar rushes, reduces cognitive function to varying but sometimes extreme degrees etc.

It's not as suddenly extreme as getting drunk/stoned/high but long-term it can cause irreversible brain damage.

I said it doesn't to the same extent. While these are the effects of a poor diet, it can hardly be compared to the altered state of consciousness of a substance abuser/addict. An obese person can still manage to hold down a job, keep a family and drive etc. Many drug addicts and alcoholics can't. While I have heard accounts of some addicts still going about their daily lives as normally as possible, they seem to be in the minority.

Ciaran500 wrote: »

Completely unrelated but I hate this nutrition myth that is just generally accepted based on nothing and is diverting attention from some real problems. Saturated fat does not cause obesity, heart problems, cholesterol problems, cancer and so on...

If anyone wants to discuss this properly head over to the Nutrition forum.

Now back to our regular programming :pac:

Fair enough, I am not a nutritionist to any degree, nor have I heard that saturated fats aren't the cause of many health problems. I always thought they did. Or was it trans fats? Either way, I am aware not all fat is bad but perhaps I was wrong to state obese people are addicted to fats, when in fact it is more likely addicted to eating the wrong types of foods in abundance.

iguana

WindSock wrote: »

While I have heard accounts of some addicts still going about their daily lives as normally as possible, they seem to be in the minority.

Why do you think that? The majority of addicts are functional or highly functional, at least in the first few decades of their addiction. I only have US statistics on this but only 27% of adults drink more than 3 units a week and roughly 90% of alcohol is consumed by 10% of people. There are an awful, awful lot more alcoholics than most people know. According to WHO estimates over 2% of the population of the world are alcoholics but the ratio is much higher in western countries.

The thing is nobody talks about addiction until it spirals out of control, it's embarrassing and people are ashamed of it so they do everything to prevent anyone else finding out. Not just the addict but their families. That's why it's so common to suddenly see signs of long-term addiction in the recently divorced/widowed. It's not that the addiction has sprung up due to the loss but that their is no longer a sober person holding their life together.

WindSock

You may be right there about the length of time it takes a person to become a substance addict, and the amount there are around us, but what I was trying to say is, a person addicted to food /eating/ has an eating disorder does not operate on their addiction in the same level of altered conscious as a substance addict.

I know this is an extreme example, but you rarely see a morbidly obese person as a down and out on the side of the street begging for some money to spend on McDonalds.

The only time an obese person is hindered from living among society like everyone else is when they physically can't leave their house anymore, but they are still usually compus mentus, albeit perhaps to a lesser degree due to their poor diet and lack of activity and social interaction.

I am not disagreeing that there are big problems with obesity and what drives a person to have an eating disorder though. But I would not class them in the same bracket as substance addicts. Same with gambling, sex & internet addicts.

IrishEyes19

I dont think she has any right to refer to them as if they are dirt on the side walk which is how that piece actually comes across when you read it correctly. I mean to actually say she cant bear seeing them walk across the room, thats cruel and offensive.

If she had made a point in non offensive means by saying that really obesity should not be glamourised as it is as just as much a problem as other disorders, fair enough, but to demean two people who are over-weight kissing, is quite below the belt style of writing to be honest. She deserves to be fired to be honest. I wouldnt tolerate such writing.

She actually is cruel to these people personally, not mentioning anything about solutions to weight problems, she just vulgarly offends people who are. Nasty piece of writing.

iguana

WindSock wrote: »

I know this is an extreme example, but you rarely see a morbidly obese person as a down and out on the side of the street begging for some money to spend on McDonalds.

I don't think it's extreme, I see down and out addicts most days around Dublin. The equivalent with an overeater though would be a shut-in, someone who is too fat to leave their home, so unless you knew them or were a healthcare worker, you'd never see them.

I do suspect there are an awful lot more "homeless" drunks than there are overweight shut-ins though. But I'm researching alcoholism at the moment and not morbid obesity so I have no idea of the figures in that area.

The thing is though that while there are certainly very big differences between how over-eating to morbid obesity and alcoholism/drug addiction manifest on a base level they are the same. They are usually a mental health issue brought about by psychological problems like a trauma or upbringing, though sometimes masking a more severe mental illness. After a few years of subjecting the body to unnecessary substances the body becomes reliant on them and the brain chemistry is altered making "just quitting" very problematic. Eventually the addiction can cause severe health problems, some irreversible (including brain damage) and very premature death. Also these problems very often run in families, possibly contributed to by genetic factors, but most certainly due to environmental.

Maguined

IrishEyes19 wrote: »

I dont think she has any right to refer to them as if they are dirt on the side walk which is how that piece actually comes across when you read it correctly. I mean to actually say she cant bear seeing them walk across the room, thats cruel and offensive.

If she had made a point in non offensive means by saying that really obesity should not be glamourised as it is as just as much a problem as other disorders, fair enough, but to demean two people who are over-weight kissing, is quite below the belt style of writing to be honest. She deserves to be fired to be honest. I wouldnt tolerate such writing.

She actually is cruel to these people personally, not mentioning anything about solutions to weight problems, she just vulgarly offends people who are. Nasty piece of writing.

Was she not trying to make this point though in her comparison though? that socially it is considered "okay" to be reviled by the effects and outward symptoms of a substance abuser? if we see an alcoholic or a drug addict in the middle of the street, barely able to stand and we said we viewed the state these people are in is "disgusting" i doubt as many people would try to defend them that the comment was cruel and too personal an attack on them. Yet if we see an extremely obese person in the middle of the street with their outward symptoms of the stored excess fats in their body while they are eating even more unhealthy food and wheezing from simple exercise it would not be considered "okay" to be disgusted by this sight.

So in society the sight of someone slowly killing them self through alcohol or drugs is taboo and not acceptable but the sight of someone slowly killing them self through lack of exercise and unhealthy food choices is acceptable is illogical.

careymary

I think the writer is totally 100% right, I mean yuck why should fat people be on telly, my only complaint is that the writer didnt go far enough. I mean there are so many people who shouldnt be on TV like:
Ugly people
people with freckles
ginger people
tall people
short people
skinny people
brunettes
blonds
people with black hair
people with blue eyes
people with brown eyes
........................................................

for fricks sake there was this guy maybe 60 years ago, he didnt think people with brown hair/eyes or any abnormality deserved to live in his world, they must have been aesthetically unsuitable for him..............

Its so wierd to read some other peoples replys though, personally I am 5ft 4" 17stone, size 20 clothes 28yrs old and I think yeah why the F**k shouldnt I see people similar in stature to myself on TV, I am sorry if my existance bothers some people but to be honest their ignorance and intolerance bothers me

Chuchoter

careymary wrote: »

Its so wierd to read some other peoples replys though, personally I am 5ft 4" 17stone, size 20 clothes 28yrs old and I think yeah why the F**k shouldnt I see people similar in stature to myself on TV, I am sorry if my existance bothers some people but to be honest their ignorance and intolerance bothers me

Because its promoting being unhealthy maybe?

bluecatmorgana

I have to say as an obese person this makes me hate myself even more. I know I disgust people, I know people think I'm lazy and disgusting, I dont need it published in marie claire. It justs confirms what I already know, I should stay away from people and stay inside until I lose weight.


I think thats it in a nutshell for me.

iguana

crayolastereo wrote: »

Because its promoting being unhealthy maybe?

The thing is though that outside of stations that get licensing money and have a social remit because of this, tv stations couldn't really give a toss about the health message of their shows. The entertainment industry is about two things and two things only. Entertaining and making as much money as possible while doing so.

If they will get huge audience share with a show that promotes a healthy lifestyle they will go all out with it. But if a significant audience wants to watch ten morbidly obese people eat cake while rhapsodising about the tasty goodness, they will show that too.

careymary

crayolastereo wrote: »

Because its promoting being unhealthy maybe?

Sorry to be stupid on top of everything else, but how is it promoting being unhealthy? Its merely acknowledging that unhealthy people exist too! In real life unhealthy or overweight/obese people exist alongside others but how many do you see on tv in a soap or sitcom or anything other than a Lorraine Kelly reality show type thing?

Chuchoter

careymary wrote: »

Sorry to be stupid on top of everything else, but how is it promoting being unhealthy? Its merely acknowledging that unhealthy people exist too! In real life unhealthy or overweight/obese people exist alongside others but how many do you see on tv in a soap or sitcom or anything other than a Lorraine Kelly reality show type thing?

Well first off, you're the one who was comparing having blue eyes to being morbidly obese, which is a comparison that makes absolutely no sense. When we have alcoholics on the TV (who are unhealthy because of their behavior which is possible to change, though very difficult) they are not portrayed in a glamorous light, as this TV show is doing.

Yes this journalist was unnecessarily cutting and offensive in the way she was saying it, but it is unhealthy to be overweight. No two ways about it. If it was healthy to be fat, no bother! But its not.

iguana

crayolastereo wrote: »

they are not portrayed in a glamorous light, as this TV show is doing.

Is this tv show doing that? I've only seen the trailers but don't the titular characters meet at an Over-eaters Anonymous meeting where they are both attending as they want to get healthier? The woman, Molly, is working out in the trailer and asking her mother not to eat cake in front of her while she does so, as she wants to lose weight. And another trailer has Mike and a friend talking about how embarrassed he is to let her see his body. That doesn't sound like they are glamourising obesity but looking at it honestly in a "humourous" way. (The quotation marks are because none of the jokes seemed terribly funny to me.)

Delicate_Dlite

hmm, This is a very interesting topic.

The blogger writes like an person with personal issues with weight, so not shocked to see she has ana. She comments practically purely on apppearance, and though I understand ppl finding it offensive, I see it more of a symptom of her (former?) illness. It's not pleasant, I agree.

I've watched a few episodes of this show, and found it light laughs with cheap fat jokes.

The characters met at a O.A meeting and are therefore shown as, having issues with food and trying to work on there issues. So I can't see how it's glamourising their weight/food issues. Sure they may not be shown in such bad light as an alcoholic, but it is a comedy.

As for the comparisons of obese ppl with other substances abusers. Not all obese people have an ED, and not all ppl with an overeating disorder are obese. However I think ppl with ED's, especially BED are comparable with addicts, in that they get the same 'reward' in their brain as an addict would get.

I understand how ppl would view an alcoholic as worse, more of a liability, but a person with an overeating disorder (OD) is harming themselves with a substance as well, killing themselves in some cases and I realise that a alcoholic may spend every penny on drink, a person with an OD may also be a financial liabilty, due to inability to work/health problems (meds/bills).
And both may cause their children to inherit issues with drugs/food/drink.

Abuse of alcohol/drugs and food can be considered as a form of self harm. I'm not saying all overweight ppl fall into this category, but some do.

I've never lived with an alcoholic/drug addict and I can only imagine it to be close to hell. I have BED myself though, and I do recognise that in some ways, I share similarities to an alcoholic/drug addict. I'm not saying that having BED is harder than or as hard as coping with other addictions or trying to use my problem as an excuse.

As for acceptance of overweight ppl in real life, I find it swings and roundabouts. I've been obese and am now a healthy weight. I am treated better in some situations since loosing the weight, but I've also found that ppl find it acceptable to comment negatively about my weight/shape now that I'm smaller.

I've also witnessed this in my friends, who range from a size 6-28, the larger ladies get stares and sniggers, (on the rare occasion) but the smaller ladies get open insults about not being real women/having no curves/having ed's (far more frequently). Loosing or gaining weight for some can be incredible hard.

And as for in the media, I don't read most women's media, as they normally have the same 'celebs' on the cover one week calling them ill/anorexia and disgracful rolemodels to pics of them the next week pointing out rolls/cellulite/having let themselves go.

Rockery Woman

Fat/Obese People.

Seems to me that in this country we have an accepting attitude about weight. For example, when I put on a lot of weight a few years ago (size 18) some people said I looked "well" others said "you look better with a bit of meat on you" and others, older people (grandparents and associated old people) said "Oh God, you are getting very fat, you need to lose weight". That generation never saw fat people in a time when life was hard and food was scarcer.

It seems that amongst our generation its acceptable to be fat. There are lots of fat people and thats it. No big deal.

Back in my school days, you could count the fat kids on one hand, nowadays its probably half fat/half thin ratio.

I work with a lot of foreign nationals and they are baffled by our attitude to weight. Its normal to call a fat person fat in Eastern Europe - not so here! One of the girls in work refers to another guys big belly all the time "he is not good-looking he has a big belly" (but actually I find him uber attractive;)) If you are fat, you are ugly seems to be the opinion.

But its acceptable to be fat in Ireland. It does not automatically make you ugly,stupid or a second class citizen. As for the blogger - she's probably sorry she wrote that article now!

Logical Fallacy

Links234 wrote: »

It's a pretty nasty article, and comparing someone with weight issues to an alcoholic or heroin addict is really low.

I think eating disorders are very misunderstood and people who think they can bully someone thin are doing more damage than they know.

She didn't compare them, she referenced them together as something she doesn't like to see, huge difference.

Lia_lia

The blogger just sounds like a bit of an airhead to be honest.

Omg fat people kissing GROSS!!
:rolleyes:

Chuchoter

Logical Fallacy wrote: »

She didn't compare them, she referenced them together as something she doesn't like to see, huge difference.

Yes but there is a possible reasoning behind not having people living very unhealthy lifestyles on the TV, having blue eyes is not unhealthy nor a lifestyle.

Dudess

Rockery Woman wrote: »

Fat/Obese People.

Seems to me that in this country we have an accepting attitude about weight. For example, when I put on a lot of weight a few years ago (size 18) some people said I looked "well" others said "you look better with a bit of meat on you" and others, older people (grandparents and associated old people) said "Oh God, you are getting very fat, you need to lose weight". That generation never saw fat people in a time when life was hard and food was scarcer.

It seems that amongst our generation its acceptable to be fat. There are lots of fat people and thats it. No big deal.

Back in my school days, you could count the fat kids on one hand, nowadays its probably half fat/half thin ratio.

I work with a lot of foreign nationals and they are baffled by our attitude to weight. Its normal to call a fat person fat in Eastern Europe - not so here! One of the girls in work refers to another guys big belly all the time "he is not good-looking he has a big belly" (but actually I find him uber attractive;)) If you are fat, you are ugly seems to be the opinion.

But its acceptable to be fat in Ireland. It does not automatically make you ugly,stupid or a second class citizen. As for the blogger - she's probably sorry she wrote that article now!

Again, I think while much of what you say is true, there are some very contradictory points of view/messages out there also. Obesity is on the increase, yet in our grandparents' day and age, I bet a size 14 curvy woman wouldn't have been sneered at as "fat", teenage girls wouldn't have wanted to be stick-thin, etc. Pre Twiggy, the desirable female body was a curvy one: Monroe, Taylor et al. Now in fairness, these women were still quite slim, and superbly proportioned... but they were still curvy.

I disagree it's acceptable to be fat today... while at the same time acknowledging there is seemingly evidence to contradict that. I think though, being fat is seen as a norm, but not an acceptable one (which I know in itself is contradictory ).

Handsome Bob

Rockery Woman wrote: »

But its acceptable to be fat in Ireland.

No it's not, your inner circle and work colleagues may pander to you, but society as a whole treat fat people with contempt. Ask any fat person if they feel absolutely accepted and see what they say.

Hrududu

Rockery Woman wrote: »

Fat/Obese People.
It seems that amongst our generation its acceptable to be fat. There are lots of fat people and thats it. No big deal.

I think our generation accepts a lot more than the generations before us. I don't see the big deal to be honest. Some people are obese, that has nothing to do with anybody but them.

If the article had been about changing perceptions about overweight people then that might be an interesting topic. But phrases like the ones quoted earlier are just mean spirited. The author's eyes are offended when a fat person walks across the room? So should television only allow thin and beautiful people on it?

Sometimes it just seems like there a lot of people out there that are offended that other people live their lives differently to them.

Cheap Thrills!

Slightly OT but this so called journalist can't even spell heroin (as in heroin addict) she spelt it as heroine, as in the female protagonist of a story.:rolleyes:

How do these people get jobs writing for international publications?

LegacyUser

Marilyn Monroe has no modern-day equivalent (except perhaps the Mad Men actress). Her type of figure is all but extinct in the modern woman.
She was curvy, but certainly by no means overweight& unfit, as most modern "curvy" women are. And, clothes-wise, the 1950's size 16 is def smaller than the 2010 size 16- visit any vintage store.
I read a really interesting article with Raquel Welsh recently. I've always seen THAT bikini photo and thought, oh well, it was fine for her, she was young& beautiful with a fast metabolism. Turns out, in real-life, at that exact time, she was a separated mum of two. And she says she's always strived to maintain her figure because she figured it was a gift from God,& no way was she going to waste it! Made me see her in a whole new light.

Scarinae

I don't think it's so much about what she said, but how she said it. Plenty of people have written about the increasing problem of obesity in Western societies without being downright nasty... I do find the fact that she used to be anorexic adds an interesting dimension to the story, it somewhat explains her attitude but it in no way excuses it... I also think it's interesting that nobody thought to tone it down before it went online, maybe sub-editors etc in fashion media are so desensitised to such opinions that they didn't even consider that it might cause offence.

It seems to be snowballing... It's been covered on Jezebel, Sharon Osbourne and Dita von Teese have drawn attention to it on Twitter, and there are now over 2000 comments on the blog post. Apparently they have received over 28,000 letters and emails of complaint, and there is even a protest tomorrow outside the Marie Claire offices in New York

Scarinae

Cheap Thrills! wrote: »

Slightly OT but this so called journalist can't even spell heroin (as in heroin addict) she spelt it as heroine, as in the female protagonist of a story.:rolleyes:

How do these people get jobs writing for international publications?

Maybe I'm one of those disgusting heroine addicts, as I love reading books? :pac:

southsiderosie

Cheap Thrills! wrote: »

Slightly OT but this so called journalist can't even spell heroin (as in heroin addict) she spelt it as heroine, as in the female protagonist of a story.:rolleyes:

How do these people get jobs writing for international publications?

Because they get hired on the cheap. You would think, however, that Marie Claire would use some of the savings to hire a web content editor. This girl's column is going to cost them thousands of dollars in lost circulation.

Scarinae

southsiderosie wrote: »

Because they get hired on the cheap. You would think, however, that Marie Claire would use some of the savings to hire a web content editor. This girl's column is going to cost them thousands of dollars in lost circulation.

They've certainly had a lot of hits to the website as a result of the piece, there are some people who say there's no such thing as bad publicity. However, there's an incredible number of people saying they'll unsubscribe, there's even a Twitter trend #unfollowmarieclaire, if it was originally intended to drum up a little controversy to boost their hits I'd say they're really regretting it now

LegacyUser

And yet.....I wonder what the public response would be to a TV programme featuring 2 anorexics as the main characters? And if a blogger on Marie Claire voiced an objection to that programme?