Body Positive or Promoting an unhealthy lifestyle
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EvgeniZyntx wrote: »GingerbreadCandy wrote: »EvgeniZyntx wrote: »ruqayyahsmum wrote: »MireyGal76 wrote: »
Big people shouldn't be relegated to wearing tarps because the current market doesn't "like" the way they look!
Or America could follow other country leads and make it hard to find clothes above a size 14 or 16. That way, people might be a bit more motivated to lose weight, if they actually had to wear tarps because they are too big.
I don't think it's ok to give the message that you can be morbidly obese like that woman and that it's ok. It's just not ok. And no, I don't like skinny models either, but at least they are 20-30 pounds from a normal weight... not 200+.
well i guess i better get down to millets and buy a tent then.
i dont need motivation from being forced to dress like im a freak. ive lost 165lb and still dont fit under your size catagory
why dont i deserve to dress nicely and comfortably? why should i be singled out because im bigger?
i gained weight as a combo of health problems and being attacked when younger so i gained as a protection. im losing now for my health but ill damn well dress nicely and hold my head up high while i work my way down the scale
What countries are forcing fat women to wear tarps. In all my travels, I've never been there.
Could I get a list? Or is this just fanciful victimhood?
China I believe?
Alright, but if we start comparing Asian sizes to Western sizes it is a sure-fire way to get everyone on this forum depressed.
That said, Japan did sort of "forbid" waistlines over a certain measure. I can't find any source with more reliability than just rumours though, so I don't know the details.
Was this the all powerful Ministry of Waistlines and Foot Binding?
Again, no. No tarps there for the obese.
Nah, it was a bit more complex than that and did not really have anything to do with tarps or clothing.
This is pretty much the only more or less reliable article i could find on it: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/13/world/asia/13fat.html?em&ex=1213502400&en=c6f2623fbee96495&ei=5087
ETA: Foot binding was also never a Japanese practice.0 -
I am SOOOOOO glad to see these comments here. Man, this woman has been in the news due to this and I'm so tired of the fat bashers. It's downright shameful. I'm a size 20 (which actually makes me question whether or not she is really a size 22; she seems bigger than I am; but she's also much shorter). I've been this way my entire life. I have PCOS and thyroid disorder and try to live each day healthily. I exercise. I eat well 95% of the time. I do what I can with what I have, and I am so effing sick and tired of people assuming that big girls just sit around eating Twinkies and chicken McNuggets all day long. I do think a poor diet in childhood made me who I am today, but I refuse to shame myself over it. I'm here to be healthy, not to make others happy. I hope Tess feels that way too. There are many ways to work toward health, and weight loss is only one. Not fighting yourself but rather fighting FOR yourself is key. I don't know her story, but I know mine-- and I'll never be a size 5. Hell, I'll probably never be a size 10. And that's OK for me. I love myself as is and I wish other women would too.0
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Some of the responses here disappoint me greatly.
I don't believe she is promoting an unhealthy lifestyle in the way that thinner models sometimes can. And here's why- thin models are by far the majority, while "plus-size" models are definitely the minority. Unless you specifically shop at plus-size stores, or look for this type of thing, what are you likely to see? Thin women.
Society stigmatizes fat people to such a great extent I don't believe it's possible for plus-size models or the fat acceptance movement to change people to the extent posters seem to be suggesting. To say that introducing plus-size models can influence people as much as the absolute smorgasbord of societal bias toward thinness can and does is ridiculous.
And to say that society should make finding plus-sizes harder- I just don't get it. In the first place, plus-size clothing is already hard to find, much less plus-size clothing that one would actually want to wear. Sure, there are stores that specifically cater to plus-sizes, but if you walk into your typical "normal" person clothing store, good luck finding something attractive that fits. It is immensely easier for thin/slim people to find something that fits, even in the U.S, which I believe is relatively more accepting of overweight people than other countries.
Secondly, why should we make clothing hard to find just because people are a bigger size? Fat people are still people. Fat people still need the basic life necessities and they have feelings whether they are trying to lose weight or they are fine being fat for life. I distinctly remember hating shopping, crying in the dressing room because nothing fit. This did not "inspire" me to lose weight. Actually, learning to love myself and my body lead me to make the decision to lose weight. Hatred isn't a very good motivator. It may work for a while, but why would a person put so much effort into making something they hate healthier and better?
I think the majority of the people on this forum were "fat" at one point, and it astounds me that any of us could put stock into the opinion that fat people should be treated differently. It's not about health, it's about basic human decency. Treat others as you would like to be treated.0 -
Well at least she's actually plus size. I keep seeing women smaller than me (I'm size 6) as models for size 14+ stores and it pisses me off.
Personally? I'd go shop at that store.
That being said, I think there's a very fine line between being 'happy with your body no matter what' and denial.
Very well said Francl27. I agree with that.0 -
arditarose wrote: »msjessicamccoy wrote: »Some people are larger and have healthy lifestyles. Some people are smaller and have healthy lifestyles. Some people are larger and have unhealthy lifestyles. Some people are smaller and have unhealthy lifestyles.
Size is not the best indicator of health or healthy lifestyle.
To a certain extent.
Yup. I'm not sure you'd find a lot of morbidly obese people that are healthy overall.
took the words out my mouth. So like how people want to be the so called ED model are some people going to want to be morbidly obese because a model is? That not goods. Are there any advantages to being morbidly obese because I know one none. I know several disadvantages though.
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seltzermint wrote: »TheVirgoddess wrote: »It's all good if you don't mind panting like a hound after a flight of stairs... I don't mean to sound harsh at all and this has nothing to do with her looks or her confidence. Being a size 20 is just bad for your heart... and the notion that someone size 20 is "as healthy" as lower weight women (barring other health factors) is just not true. I am not trying to trash her by any means... I need to lose weight myself, but I am also a realist.
I was a size 20 when I started this whole thing, and I assure you that I never panted like a dog.
Yes. Isn't it offensive when people assume? I feel similarly when I read about sweating & chafing. WTF
It's offensive for me to share my personal experience as a morbidly obese woman? I did experience sweating and chaffing...and "panting like a dog" at light activity. I'm glad for you that you didn't, but my experience was just different, unfortunately.
What IS offensive is that people actually say you can not judge "health" by body weight. Maybe in certain cases, but that is certainly the exception and NOT the rule. If it were the rule, obesity (or obesity related disease) would not be the number one cause of preventable death in this country and we would not all be here wanting to do something different for ourselves.
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I'm all for loving yourself no matter what. If you don't love yourself then what's the point. Your value is not in what you look like or how much you weigh.
I also have no problem with an actual plus sized "plus size" model. Put those clothes on some who actually looks like the target population, thank you.
I do have a problem with her "effyourbeautystandards" campaign. I'm noticing a lot of makeup, hair dos, trendy clothing, and even, gasp, shaved legs & underarms for someone who's trying to rebel against the current standards of beauty. Someone who doesn't care about beauty standards is someone who doesn't try to conform to beauty standards. Like my friends who don't ever wear makeup, or have shaved their heads, or dress modestly in long skirts and zero cleavage ever. That's effing the beauty standards.0 -
racheljonel wrote: »seltzermint wrote: »TheVirgoddess wrote: »It's all good if you don't mind panting like a hound after a flight of stairs... I don't mean to sound harsh at all and this has nothing to do with her looks or her confidence. Being a size 20 is just bad for your heart... and the notion that someone size 20 is "as healthy" as lower weight women (barring other health factors) is just not true. I am not trying to trash her by any means... I need to lose weight myself, but I am also a realist.
I was a size 20 when I started this whole thing, and I assure you that I never panted like a dog.
Yes. Isn't it offensive when people assume? I feel similarly when I read about sweating & chafing. WTF
It's offensive for me to share my personal experience as a morbidly obese woman? I did experience sweating and chaffing...and "panting like a dog" at light activity. I'm glad for you that you didn't, but my experience was just different, unfortunately.
What IS offensive is that people actually say you can not judge "health" by body weight. Maybe in certain cases, but that is certainly the exception and NOT the rule. If it were the rule, obesity (or obesity related disease) would not be the number one cause of preventable death in this country and we would not all be here wanting to do something different for ourselves.
Thank you, exactly...0 -
you can absolutely be body positive and health focused. Self-acceptance is a GREAT place to be coming from to make gradual and sustainable health changes. NOT doing yo-yo dieting is a very good health move. As I track, work out, and lose weight, I am MORE positive about my body just as it is.
I do think some of these girls who are all about body acceptance and being so healthy at any size are frankly too young to really understand the effects excess weight can have over time. I was a very healthy 25 year old at 200+, but at 35 years old the consequences are much clearer. But then again, my excess weight clearly stemmed from very unhealthy behaviors such as binge eating and being sedentary, but that is not the case for all people with excess weight.0 -
I love Tess, she is smart and funny and beautiful. I am a fat girl, and will be for a while and when I see "plus size" models that are a size 12 trying to sell me clothes it sucks. I mean they look awesome in the clothes and they appeal to the general masses it is a gross misinterpretation of what the clothing they are selling is going to look like on my body. At least Tess is real.
And for those bashing her fat.. eff off. Seriously she works out 4 times a week.
I'm really sick of this sentiment. If she works out 4 times a week, she obviously eats a lot of food to maintain her weight (any and all "health issues" aside). The amount of visceral fat that she has is not good for her, no matter how much she exercises. I'm not bashing her or hating on her. The facts are the facts.
She should love herself. Absolutely and 100%. But that doesn't negate the facts.0 -
SingRunTing wrote: »I do have a problem with her "effyourbeautystandards" campaign. I'm noticing a lot of makeup, hair dos, trendy clothing, and even, gasp, shaved legs & underarms for someone who's trying to rebel against the current standards of beauty. Someone who doesn't care about beauty standards is someone who doesn't try to conform to beauty standards. Like my friends who don't ever wear makeup, or have shaved their heads, or dress modestly in long skirts and zero cleavage ever. That's effing the beauty standards.
All of the above, or the fact that the campaign is coming from a girl that uses corsets and photo angles to make herself appear thinner. But she really loves her body, yall.
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Tess is a beautiful person and I applaud her for the things she does to try and promote body positivity. That being said, it is one thing to be positive and to love and accept yourself today just as you are......until you can be better. One should never stop trying to improve and be better than yesterday or even 5 minutes ago. I know it sounds like I am being an *kitten* but, I use to be one of those who thought, "If you can't love me the way I am, then you don't love me at all", and "I am a big beautiful woman and if you don't like it, who cares". I would get mad if anyone even suggested I try to do something to change it. I only got mad though because I didn't want to put in the work. I didn't want to have change my eating habits. I wanted people to accept me without me having to change anything. So, yes, you are beautiful today no matter what your size, but don't just accept it because you don't want to do the work. People tell themselves all kinds of things to make what they are doing or not doing sound ok.0
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I don't think her existing as a model will make much difference or "encourage people to be unhealthy" (or to strive to gain weight for that matter).
Many models are unhealthy by definition because they are too low on the BMI scale and you don't see it encouraging many people to lose weight to the point of being unhealthy (there are exceptions, but these have more deeply rooted issues than simply looking at models). Why is it acceptable to have representation at one end of the unhealthy spectrum but not at the other?
There will always be people who are obese and don't care, and people who are thin but have body dysmorphia regardless of how models look like.
I think this is good. It's really nice to have representation at any size. It used to be annoying that when I wanted to shop for plus size clothes, as a size 26 person, to see a size 8 "plus size" model wearing a medium or a small when real plus size starts at 1X. It did not represent the actual item of clothing I wanted to consider buying. It did not show how it sits on an actual overweight person, how the sleeves fit, how the curves modify the length.. etc. I had to imagine myself wearing something, then imagine the worst possible fit scenario, then pick the ones that were the least offensive in my head.
Now that I'm a smaller size, some brands cast plus size models in my size (14/16) and shopping has become much easier.
I personally did not mind my body when I was morbidly obese, and I don't mind it now that I'm plain old obese, and I know for a fact I won't mind it when I reach my maintenance. This "body acceptance" and "beauty standards" schtick applies at all sizes and shapes, you know. Glorifying obesity alone as the epitome of challenging beauty standards is at best shortsighted.0 -
I love Tess, she is smart and funny and beautiful. I am a fat girl, and will be for a while and when I see "plus size" models that are a size 12 trying to sell me clothes it sucks. I mean they look awesome in the clothes and they appeal to the general masses it is a gross misinterpretation of what the clothing they are selling is going to look like on my body. At least Tess is real.
And for those bashing her fat.. eff off. Seriously she works out 4 times a week.
She is still unhealthy and if she truly is working out 4 times a week, she's doing something wrong considering she still looks the way she does.
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I'm curious if anyone would be still be interested in her as a model if she lost 100lbs. Even though the revolution claims to be "embrace" who you are, I recall backlash when other large people who are an inspiration losing weight, and then they are shunned by the "fat community". The mentality almost seems to encourage her to stay fat.0
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I think she's radiant. I also think if I had an ounce of her self esteem at her age, that I would have had the self worth and courage to start my fitness journey a long time ago. I don't think appreciating her beauty is going to encourage people to get fatter, but it will inspire some to see beauty in themselves.0
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I'm curious if anyone would be still be interested in her as a model if she lost 100lbs. Even though the revolution claims to be "embrace" who you are, I recall backlash when other large people who are an inspiration losing weight, and then they are shunned by the "fat community". The mentality almost seems to encourage her to stay fat.
I agree. They say she works out 4 times a week. If someone her size was working out 4 times a week AND eating less calories, the weight would be falling off. Based on the photos, that's not the case which leads me to believe she is eating at maintenance and has no intent of losing weight (because then she'd be seen as a hypocrite).0 -
I can't believe this thread is still going ..
she wants to be a plus size model, who cares????
some people like it, some don't....
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