Dear Oprah

Today in line at the grocery store, I looked up and saw O, saw you. The cover of O shows the "you now" looking at the body of the "old you", the thin, in shape you with a little blurb saying something like "How did I do this to myself again?" Then my eyes scanned up to TV guide, "Oprah reports being 200 pounds". Logging on here: "Did you fall off the weight-loss bandwagon?"

In the words of Kate Harding over at Shapely Prose (kateharding.net): STOP! Please, please... stop.

We have an issue, an epidemic if you will, in America and it's spreading all over the world. And it's not "obesity". It's disordered eating and idealized beauty images that are plaguing women, making them alter their bodies to look like "The real housewives of Orange County" (who all look like strippers.. and that's not a compliment.). As a woman who so many look to for guidance, you have an ability I wish I could possess; you can make great waves of change.

It took me a long time to accept my body. I know I'm only 25 and only weigh 152 pounds at 5'3", but I've starved myself, cut calories, thrown up, and based my self-worth on the size of my jeans rather than the degrees I earn. I have the privilege of teaching college students public speaking while earning my masters, but I can't make women worldwide ditch the scales and start eating when they are hungry, stopping when they are full, and finding "exercise" that makes them happy, rather than the latest high calorie burning workout.

I ask you to look into Health At Every Size and to educate your viewers on it. I ask you to really, really, really make a difference. To really give women hope. To really show the world that, "HEY! I'm beautiful just how I am."
Say that aloud.
Feel that power.
Now imagine the world of women saying it in unison.
Please Oprah, make my wish come true.

-- Junior

TA DA!

Thesis Proposal Meeting tomorrow at 3pm Pacific time.
yay.

Did I mention how I threw a paper at a wall today and yelled "I FUCKIN HATE THIS!"?

Wooohooo Graduate Schoooolz.

Hey! I know! Let's Post on how much we hate fatties!

I just attending NCA (National Communication Association conference) this weekend. It was held in my town, San Diego. And to tell you the truth, I was the worse convention goer ever. I attended ONE panel. I did not return after brunch on Saturday because I couldn't "handle" it. I worked 12ish hours of volunteering-- 6.5 hours (a little over because I was early) to get free registration by telling famous names in communication where to grab dinner and how much the trolley is. And then 5.5 for my University as the smiling, very friendly, come to SDSU representative. My feet hurt. I was so tired. I was stressed. I didn't know what to do. I hated it. I talked it out with friends on how if this was what it was going to be like, I didn't want to get a PH.D. Etc. Etc. Etc.

So today I decided to start looking at real jobs to get a feel of what was out there and what I could get. Now I have a B.A. in Communication with a Concentration in PR. I worked in Marketing for about 2-3 years. And I will have a Masters in Communication Studies in May with my thesis being on the Fat Acceptance Movement. I want to work in Health Promotions, specifically for a Health at Every Size campaign or organization. Even Dove would be awesome (sure it's a two steps forward, one step back in the whole "Love yourself!... buy our Wrinkle Cream!", but I would love to keep it in San Diego if possible.

So I do a little googling around... and I find THIS:
Obesity in America, justified by the NAAFA

Really?
Yes, Really.


1. NONE of these people GOT the message. As you can see obesity is addressed in terms of "monsters", "whales", "fat asses", etc. etc. etc. Oh and that obese folks are just flat out lazy. Lack of self discipline is thrown out and in general the obese and overweight are made fun of.
Such as this post from papayamon:
as far as so few people actually losing weight and keeping it off, the problem is that people really don't give a damn. when it comes right down to it, they're going to eat and lay on their asses.

anyone ever try to help someone lose weight, only to find out that they didn't have a prayer of succeeding? and all because the dieter was obstinate about eating too much of the wrong foods and refused to exercise. they'll give themselves "treats" and make exceptions galore at every turn.

everyone want to "lose weight". it's a huge industry. yet when it comes right down to it, the only thing they'll do is eat another pizza and park their ass on the couch to watch tv.

if someone wants to be fat and promote that as a good thing, that's their right. however, i am going to view them as undisciplined and unhealthy, both of which are true.

Ok... when I weighed 178 pounds, I WORKED my asssssss off. 1-2 hours a day at the gym. Watched every freakin calorie and etc. And you know what? It came back. Sure I could have continued to starve myself and become a gym bulimic to fit a society standard, but instead I just decided to LIVE. I started running to get outside. I started cooking more and got into going green by shopping local and organic, I started enjoying the taste of butter when making eggs. I stopped being tied to the scale. And I ended up with better self-esteem and overall better mental and physical health. (Interestingly, I also found this study that illustrates just how fantastic health at every size is!)

2. How about this one ladies?

Quote:

Originally posted by The Iron Lord Okay, my name is "DieBeefbags." Here's my contribution to the site... http://www.naafa.org/discussion/ulti...c&f=1&t=001906 Quote: Originally posted by chiknphat: OK. They *must* be out there. Is it really such a hard task to make a beautiful, supportive bra in plus-sizes? Specifically, I'm looking for 46DDD or 48DD. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sorry, dear. That's called a circus tent, not a bra.

Yeah. lol your fat. and I don't know what boobs look like because I'm on a bodybuilder forum... sorry... it slipped. But it makes a point. You want to judge and be the top of some beauty hierarchy, I'm gonna call you a tool.

3. Some of these folks have "doctor" as part of their names. Yeah... Doctor... Good job on sticking to the idea of "First, Do No Harm". (a blog I am currently writing a rhetorical crit on showing how blogs)


4. Speaking of Doctors, here is this post by GulfCoastAquari:
buffdan, that's hilarious. And so freakin true. He said...

Quote:

Okay, I have an issue with this....if you're so happy being obese, then why are you afraid to go to the doctor? Shouldn't you march in there proudly and demand to be weighed? What's the problem all of a sudden? Do you think that maybe, just maybe, the doctor is concerned about your health and would like to help you? You know he's going to say something about your weight, and you know why he's gonna say it. There should be NO REASON for you to ever avoid going to the doctor.....

What are they going to say to that? They'll just delete it to alleviate the guilt of single-handedly having just eaten an entire Cheesecake.

So... I guess none of these folks have read the research on that once a patient is discriminated against based on size that the patient typically will not go back to the doctor due to the discrimination?? HELLO!


I am also pretty certain that many of these folks are the guys and gals who work at the gym. And if this is what they think of me, I think I'll stick to my runs on the boardwalk...

Anyone else angry?

Not only angry, but my mission in life is becoming very, very clear.

My Own Fat-Talk Narrative

Hey! It's Fat Talk Free Week! Yay!
And to celebrate I thought I would participate in a little third-wave feminist contridictions.

For Health Comm today, PGM asked us to write a little story about something we have done lately that we weren't proud of.

Story time:

I tap it with my foot and impatiently wait for the blinking "--" to stop, focus, and ask me to step on with a welcoming "00.0". I look ahead, then down. It's still thinking. I look up, trying not to shift my weight so I can get an accurate reading. (Read: Not add addition non-existant pounds)Heaven forbid I have to do it all over again. I look down and there it is.

Like an over timer, my weight "bings" in my head. And from it I quickly mentally count my calories for the day, remember the foods I ate, the lack of exercise I participated in, calulate the time of month it is, and step off. Disappointed. Again.

I did this about an hour after sending an email to my students and peers, posting on social network sites, and reaching an "empowerment" from my everyday activism of addressing and "rallying" behind Fat Talk Free Week. My brain says "Research maintains that third-wave feminist not only embody politics (Fixmer & Wood, 2007), but are also comfortable with their contridictions (Sowards & Renegar)."

But I feel like a big, old hypocrit...

Pencils down!
We then went over concepts from Frank's "The Wounded Storyteller"-- What do you wish to become from the experience, how does a story represent movement, who does the listener become, telling a story is a form of resistance.

And then we were asked to write the same story over...

Draft Two:

The early orange glow of sunrise peeks into my office window as I sit down at my desk, type in my password, take a sip of green tea, and open my inbox. In bold, unopenned email font, there it is. RE:Fat Free Talk Week. Click, Click.

"Thank you!" it says," I've been harrassed most of my life, mainly from family. Just little comments but you know. I really liked the blog!"

I feel as if I have just left the ocean's waves, I am awake at 6am. Rather than wondering and debating breakfast options, a cup of cereal with non-fat milk or egg whites with spinach, I have a slice of Harvest Loaf. Pumpkin bread with chocolate chips and walnuts. Unlike last night, I bypass the mirror and scale and take a shower. Today, shorts and t-shirt seem comfortable and unrestricting.

My mind is not reeling over a missed morning run or a calorie count or the large and ever growing "Thesis Article" stack of feminist ideologies and rhetorical strategies. I just feel free.



After reading Shapely Prose today, I wonder if this is my survivial technique. Just to take it one day at a time and slowly let the guilt and shame go while transcending my identity.

-----
almost 6 pages of thesis proposal done!

Maybe Google isn't that fantastic...

I love Google.
I have used GMail since 2004ish. Google Chat is one of the only chats most businesses have yet to figure out how to keep employees from using. (Although, college libraries figured it out.) Joe and I use Google docs to keep track of our bills per month and I save papers and my students grades on it. Plus, Google has a state of the art "Drunk Email disabler", which asks you a bunch of Math questions before you can send an email in the wee hours of a drunken morning. Hell, this blog is supported by Google.

So what's not to love?

How about when technology goes "too far"?

Google ads are a great way of generating revue for blogs and small websites. Know what google Ads aren't good at doing? Figuring out how not to be offensive.

Remember Highlights? That kid mag that your dentist had with the game where you would find the out of place items? Lets play that shall we. This is a website offering a brief history of the Fat Acceptance Movement, Can you spot what is out of place in this webpage?


















Did you find it? Need some help? Ok!

See it? Yeah, thought that could help.

Now, I know that those of us with Gmail accounts have made jokes and quips about the Ads we get based off our our emails. Right now I have an Ad for Diapers because my boyfriend send me an email that called me "baby" in it, but come on...

What is this?!

When I started thinking about my pending thesis over this past summer, I had no idea where to start. As a M.A. Grad Student in Communication Studies, you would think the options would be wide open. Most of my work had been within obesity, food, and disordered eating anyways: A Rhetorical Critique of The Biggest Loser, A Proposal for studying the Communication Competence within Obese children ( I feel that obese children are at risk for not being perceived as competent due to being teased and etc by peers), An Ethnography on Dinner Studio--a Meal Prep Kitchen, and a Rhetorical Critique of Women Who Eat ( Which just got accepted to Western Communication Ass. Convention!). My Thesis chair suggested looking at the Fat Acceptance Movement. Ok! Sounds good.

This blog will be capturing my thesis process, my woes and highs with the ordeal, issues within academia seen by a grad student, teaching adventures, and my own personal critics of issues I see.

My Thesis is looking at the Fat Acceptance Movement through Blogs-- SO why not have one of my own-- and how contemporary activism has changed by analyzing the blogs through their Consciousness-Raising functions.