Thursday, June 14, 2007

Roundabout

Some things I've heard got me thinking...

I was asked, "Why is it ok for heavy women to say nasty things about about about skinny women, but not the other way around?"

That was asked of me by a woman who considers herself heavy. She's writing a paper for a class, and she asked if I would proofread it and give her my thoughts. One of her main points in the theme was that the whole "real beauty" movement is just another example of Americans lowering the bar, and not striving to be the best we can be. She made an interesting point that in the latest issue of a popular magazine, there's an article about the American Idol winner celebrating her "curvy body", and immediately following that is an article about amazing weight loss stories. She said it sends confusing signals.

It got me thinking, for sure. What's your take on the "lowering the bar" comment?






Someone else said to me, "funny how one of the most vile words we speak (the "F" word) is used to describe one of the most intimate acts two people can share."






I watched my fifth episode of "Curb Your Enthusiasm" earlier. I don't think it's funny. I have never watched it before this year, and I usually insist on watching at least five episodes of a show before I feel fit to comment on it. My friends always tell me to catch it, that it's hilarious. I don't agree. I'm done with that one.

The jury is still out on, "John From Cincinnati". I'll get back to you on that.








8 comments:

  1. beauty is confusing because it means so many different things to people. the word beauty is one of the few words in the English vocabulary that is supposed to be positive thing but it's done it's fair share of hurt because people cannot meet another idea of beauty.

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  2. I don't hate skinny women lol I hate women that try to be skinny just to be skinny, instead of what is natural for them. I believe in embracing your true self, skinny, fat, average, whatever. We're all meant to be different sizes so I have to say I think women that would bash someone for the way they are naturally, and you can generally tell by looking if this is the weight someone ought to be, that those women are very self righteous.

    ~Lily

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  3. The whole "weight" and "beauty" thing is a big pet peeve of mine, so I'm glad she's doing the paper. However, if you're going to proofread, you might want to set a good example by taking one of the "abouts" out of the beginning of your entry. (Ohhhh...I crack myself up!)
    :p

    Nancy

    PS. And that f word thing? Absolutely!

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  4. I feel better now! I used to love Shelley Berman's standup comedy, so when I heard he was on "Curb Your Enthusiasm", I tried to get interested in it.

    No way. I saw one episode that had a funny moment or two, but otherwise I was bored silly.

    What I find interesting is a fat man who will badmouth a woman for being fat. And it happens all the time. As though it's OK for guys to be fat.

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  5. Big is beautiful, especially if you have plans to be losing weight soon. hehe. I think it's sad that we're (myself included) all so insecure that we mock others for either being too different from or too similar to ourselves.

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  6. Since this is an obsession of mine, I have to speak up. Rudeness is rudeness whether it's a skinny woman talking trash about a fat woman or a fat woman doing the same about a skinny woman. Either is wrong. However, there is such rudeness and hatred directed towards fat people just because they're fat. It's another form of prejudice but one we culturally accept. Being repeatedly exposed to ill treated by prejudice can make you angry -- very angry -- and that can bubble out in some nasty ways. I think that most of us can understand that kind of anger from having worked through other prejudices, whether we've done it in personal or cultural aspects. We recognize that the remarks are rude, ugly and wrong when they come from a fat person, but on some level, there is a bit of sympathy because there is part of us that acknowledges that there is prejudice against fat people, even if it's subconscious. Hating people just because they're skinny is much more rare than hating someone because they're fat. As far as lowering the bar about beauty, I lean more to us broadening it. The standards of beauty are still almost impossibly high to reach, but we're coming to accept more and different types of beauty. (I'll shut up now and quit hijacking your blog.)

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  7. Anonymous9:26 PM

    I think the skinny/fat thing is quite simple. It is much easier to be fat than skinny. Of course there are exceptions, but they prove the rule. Most people who are fat want to be thin. Most people who are thin want to be thin. That is why.

    I kind of like "Curb Your Enthusiasm". It puts me in the mind of "Seinfeld", which I sorely miss. I didn't like it the first few times I saw it because I lacked context. Now I get it.

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