Body Image

 

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"Real Women Have Curves" and Other Ways You're Not Helping

2/9/12 12:21am by jacqueline.allain
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John Loo (Flickr)

Posting a picture of Sophia Loren or Christina Hendricks on your Facebook as if it were some sort of radical, daring alternative to opressive patriarchal beauty standards is foolish at best, and harmful at worst. Seeing these kinds of images doesn't make me feel good, it makes me feel like being a womanly, curvaceous Venus is the only alternative I have to being super-skinny. The reality is that I, like many women, am neither very skinny nor lush and voluptuous. I have fat on my thighs and small boobs. I am imperfect. Where do I fit into this dichotomy?  Read more >

Why Marilyn Monroe's Size Still Matters

1/23/12 11:50am by xoxoxoe
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Marilyn Monroe

A recent Slate article by Simon Doonan on Marilyn Monroe, "Marilyn Monroe’s Two Secrets," aroused the ire of many readers for its hidden title, "Was Marilyn Monroe Fat?" Doonan claimed to know the answer (No) because he was on hand (as an employee of Christie's auction house) to view some of her last possessions, including c  Read more >

What Chinese New Year Means to My Body Image

1/20/12 7:26am by Lisa Lee
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Lisa Lee in 1998, courtesy of Lisa Lee

Chinese Lunar New Year is just around the corner. What this usually means for me is another one of those potlucks at church, where there’s way too much food prepared by way too many aunties, or a yis as I fondly call them. Like most people, I can’t wait for the hot pots and steamed fish, but as a person who has struggled with my body image, the huge feast brings up complications. In order for me to get my hands on the delicious dishes that they’ve prepared, I have to brace myself for the string of, “Lisa! You’re back! You ______ (insert either lost/gained in blank) weight!”  Read more >

How I Learned to Love Myself As A "Fat" Girl

1/16/12 9:13am by Mona Gable
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Women's magazines

[Editor’s note: From the time she was little, Teri Heidenreich was told she was fat. Like many girls, for years she fantasized about being thin and how fantastic her life would be if she could only lose weight. Then one day in college Teri noticed an ad for art models and the happenstance moment transformed her life. Teri describes what happened next at Fem2pt.0.--Mona] She writes:  Read more

Where is the Hymen?

1/4/12 9:00am by SB Sarah Wendell
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Behind the curtain (Shutterstock)

It doesn't matter how much we push for some semblance of sex ed or how many brilliant science educators get their own blogs -- as far as literature is concerned, the hymen is an internal organ. Why is that? Where is the hymen really?  Read more >

Tracey Gold's Starving Secrets: Is It Helping or Hurting?

12/14/11 9:55am by Rita Arens
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Tracey Gold

Recently I watched the first two episodes of Lifetime's new eating disorder reality show (yes, I really typed that) starring Tracey Gold called Starving Secrets. It's a subject I keep coming back to despite the ickiness of it, because only 30-40% of anorexics ever fully recover, and I did. I understand how hard it is to break the cycle. It's really important for that those of us who have done so talk about it, just so those still suffering know it is possible. And so, the show.  Read more >

Coming Out About Bulimia

10/19/11 1:31am by Jennifer Molica
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Scale by david (Flickr)

Jennifer Molica became concerned with her weight at 11, by 13, she was regularly purging. In this piece, she details the steps that eventually helped her stop. This piece is not meant as a substitute for the advice provided by a health care professional, but it's worth a read if you or someone you love is struggling with bulimia and needs a dose of tough love. If there is one thing Molica doesn't do is sugar-coat.  Read more

Size Acceptance and "The Girl of Fire And Thorns"

10/3/11 10:30am by sassymonkey
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Girl of Fire and Thorns Rae Carson

While in her review of Rae Carson's The Girl of Fire and Thorns Cat found many things to like about the novel, she questions why there needs to so much emphasis on the fact that the main character, Elisa, is not thin. What is fat? What is overweight? And as Cat asks, why CAN’T we have larger, more normal-sized heroines in stories?  Read more

A Year Without Dieting

9/15/11 5:58am by cathshaffer
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stop dieting

My year without dieting is complete, and I find myself enlightened and pleased with the results. I began the quest not to diet in August of 2010, after gaining around 10 pounds on prednisone for an out-of-control poison ivy reaction. Prior to that, I had found my weight creeping up uncontrollably, and struggled to lose it, even when consuming quite low calories. Low carb was no solution. Exercise was no solution (my body clung to fat anyway). So found myself heavier than ever before, and realized something was really wrong with my metabolism and the way my body was handling fat.  Read more >

Maggie Goes on a Diet: Does a Four-Year-Old Girl Need a Book About Losing Weight?

9/7/11 3:00pm by SAHM Answers
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Maggie goes on a diet

As if our girls don't have enough messages flying at them about their size and shape and how it contributes to their worthiness, there's now a diet book being marketed for girls as young as four. FOUR. Obviously, some controversy surrounds the book, Maggie Goes on a Diet. SAHM Answers tackles the subject and asks what your thoughts are... so share them. I bet you have some!  Read more