This video is fascinating. I thought it would be depressing, but it’s not at all.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yUTJQIBI1oA]
Have you seen A Fat Rant?
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12 Comments
I agree with Joy’s point that it is petty and unproductive to judge people by their looks.
Despite this fact, I don’t feel liberated by her fat rant.
She claims that her fat should have no effect on her flamboyant and athletic lifestyle. This is a lie.
Movement is a form of rejoicing at being alive. If you are fat, you can’t run as fast, you can’t climb stairs as fast, and you can’t move as fast. Lightness is a form of energy; extra mass inhibits that energy.
By stating that the formula for a thin person is having good genes, she is absolving herself responsibility. She is living in a delusional world where scientific facts are not taken into account. Those scientific facts include the following: the fact burning excess calories leads to weight loss, and the fact maintaining a lower weight leads to a longer life. If she loves life and values energy as much as she claims, she would allow herself to acknowledge these facts.
Being aware of these facts does not make a person a slave to the fashion industry. The fashion industry is irrelevant in regard to these facts, screw them.
She claims to love herself, but I think losing weight requires a higher level of self respect – tough love, responsibility, and the ability to forgive yourself and when you screw up.
Bombshell
I agree with what you’ve said that:
But I think the feelings she’s expressed in her Rant are also valid. For me, it was like I had to embrace a fat future as one of the steps in fighting it.
I never did it as publicly as she did, but there was a point when I thought that it would never be possible to control my weight (and oh, boy — it’s still a struggle!) and had to reach a sort of acceptance with it.
And then, almost as soon as I did that I started taking baby-steps toward getting it back under control.
Maybe that sounds silly.
I used to go on diets & lose lots of weight and (like she mentions) gain it all back within some period of time — I’ve kept it off for 3-4 years, but it came back . . . .
And of course, that was discouraging.
But, after going through that period of acceptance of my fat self and my obesity. And the fact that it wasn’t a secret from anyone but me. I mean it was obvious.
As I contemplated making a commitment to losing & controlling my weight — I realized that obesity isn’t curable. It’s only controllable.
And that’s totally changed my attitude this time around. So while I’m going through a difficult time right now, I don’t feel like a loser. I feel like I’m just in one of those stages in the cycle of control that’s harder (and less fun) than some of the other stages.
And I think my internal Fat Rant’s were as important a part of that process as any of the other stages.
Agreed.
My inner fat self is alive and well. She’s the sensual self, the self that likes to eat and have sex, the self that tells condescending people to kiss her ass, the self that is a protective bad-ass. I like her, I’d just prefer her to exist as an element of my psyche, rather than as actual saddlebags. She can do an excellent job keeping vigil without physically manifesting herself in the folds of my stomach.
Part of taking care of yourself means realizing that existing in a thin body doesn’t mean that you have to give up your inner fat self. It doesn’t mean that you are a skinny drone. It doesn’t mean you are slave to patriarchy or the fashion industry.
If anything, the discipline developed from losing & maintenance makes you MORE kick-ass.
Bombshell
Wow. I totally agree.
TY, KB. : )
KB, I want to address a post that you made earlier, which unfortunately I couldn’t find. However what I have to say relates directly to the discussion here as well.
A few weeks back I posted about a fear of looking one’s best and getting unwanted attention. KB, you mentioned something to the effect that you understood how I felt, but that it was too late for you. I am assuming that by this you meant that you have reached an age where this no longer matters.
I want to contradict you.
No matter your age or natural beauty level, we all have several looks – we can look our best, or mediocre, or our worst. One element of looking our best is weighing our best, but their are other elements: taking care of our hair, using good moisturizer, choosing clothing intelligently, wearing good shoes, etc.
While it is an objective fact that men are wired to like younger, thinner women, there are many other things they like too that 99.9% of young thin women don’t have (except me – BRUAHAHAHA). I’ll leave it to people’s reasoning and imagination to figure out what these things might be.
Choosing to look one’s best, in terms of weight and other aspects, is scary, because it puts us in a vulnerable position: our husbands may not like it (because what if other men now look at us?), our coworkers may not like it (jealousy), and we may get unwanted attention and have to expend energy deflecting that attention.
That having been said, I refuse NOT to look my best each day. I only have one life to live. Why wouldn’t I want to live it looking my best?
It can be a struggle not to gain weight, or not to purposely wear bulky clothes or ugly shoes – this correlates directly with the struggle to have self confidence. In other words, it can sometimes be a struggle to have the self confidence to look ones best on any given day.
My goal is to develop an outlook where looking my best is not a struggle but just a natural function of my optmisitic personality.
KB, I hope this doesn’t embarrass you, but I looked at the group pic you had posted and you are really cute! It is NOT too late in your life to look your hottest, if you don’t mind my brazenly saying so. You could choose clothes that aren’t as loose, get a hotter haircut, etc, etc, whatever it is – you know better than I do what your best look is.
It IS within the realm of possibility that this year could be your HOTTEST year ever, despite the fact that you are no longer 20!
We’ve all been knocking the fashion industry recently (myself included) but how about using it for its true purpose – by picking out products and clothing that make us look BETTER than we would naked! (Thats a tall order, but the fashion industry actually delivers, if you know where to shop!)
Bombshell
{{Bombshell}} Thank you very much for the encouraging words. I really appreciate it.
But, I swear, I don’t remember ever saying or thinking that it was too late for me. Are you talking about the discussion that came with this post? This conversation is the closest I remember to what your talking about.
And I WAS feeling discouraged that day (I can tell by my final comment.)
But even then, I don’t think I was feeling hopeless about it.
I actually had a pretty huge ego-boo a couple of weeks ago. I went to a big Democratic Sha-bang in Topeka. Their annual “Do.” I use to go every year, but haven’t gone for 20 years — since the year I got divorced.
I got my hair “done” & my makeup was perfect. I had cute little 1″ high spike heeled shoes and a black-velvet pants suit. And I thought I looked pretty good.
But the interesting thing was that it was pretty obvious other people thought so two. All night guys were doing double-takes as I walked by. And I don’t remember that ever happening before.
I don’t know if I was actually HOT — but I know I was worth a second look. It was an interesting experience. Because I really am more used to being invisible….
On a totally different subject. You mention knowing where to shop. Do you have a suggestion for where to buy pantyhose?
Anyone? Anyone?
spanx.com
: )
You’re welcome.
And congrats on being your best looking you, I am trying to do the same.
(and one of the first people I saw was my ex-husband — we hadn’t seen each other for 20 years. So the timing of my “looking good” was “great”)
Thanks Bombshell, I’m off to spanx.com….
Wow. I’m going to have to think about this. $32 tights. Incredible before and after photos. But with my luck I’d put a hole in them the first day.
I totally believe in body-shaping underwear, though. (thinking)
If you like that, you might be interested in http://www.sassybax.com/
They make bras and such.
Is it cheap? I’m really interested in an expensive(ish) source for pantyhose.