Can A Feminist Diet?

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  • LoveleeB
    LoveleeB Posts: 560 Member
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    This should be titled "Can a Feminist Turn a Global Epidemic That Equally Affects Men and Women into a Feminist Issue?"

    I mean, come on. Being healthy isn't political. It's just a personal choice. If you're not happy with yourself based on the *media's* idea of what's attractive, it's because you're impressionable and haven't yet found your independence and self-worth beyond what other people tell you.

    Well said. I like your title better!!! haha
  • hemlock2010
    hemlock2010 Posts: 422 Member
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    I don't see staying fat as pro-feminist, and I don't see getting more fit as bowing to the demands of a patriarchal society. I want to be strong and fit so that I can be a better martial artist.

    For me that's a partly personal and partly political goal. I want to be a martial artist because I enjoy it, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't originally attracted to it b/c I wanted a sport that wasn't traditionally girly.
  • Ajontheguitar
    Ajontheguitar Posts: 695
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    /Quote
    I'd like to know what society DOESN'T have standards of beauty, and why it's such a problem. If we lived in Nigeria and were married to Nigerian men, if we were thin it would make them look like abusive paupers. Many places in the world find beauty in being overweight or obese because it's associated with wealth.
    /Quote

    Absolutely took the words from my mouth. It's not political, it is or it isn't.
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,248 Member
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    I exercise and eat right to be strong, not to be tiny and cute and frail.

    Yeah, I feel a lot better about my appearance since dropping ~30 pounds, but it wasn't about my appearance for me, and I never felt deprived. It's not, or shouldn't be, a matter of "hitting the gym vs. wine and cheese." You can have both. I do!

    I'm sure there's a lot of women who look at diet and exercise as punishment - repentance - for overindulgence, inactivity and becoming overweight.

    I don't. I look at eating right and being active as a reward. As a way of showing my love for myself. As a way of telling my body, "I'm NOT going to take you for granted!" I don't want heart problems, lung problems, diabetes, high blood pressure and all the other illnesses that hurt my parents. I want to be healthy, strong and powerful.

    Looking better in a bikini is just a wonderful side effect. :smile:
  • BeverageTreats
    BeverageTreats Posts: 149 Member
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    I agree with LorinaLynn. Personally, I find it helpful to pretty much avoid thinking about the "weight" aspect as much as possible. I make it my goals to swim farther or lift up heavier things. Yes, I monitor my nutrition pretty closely, but that's secondary, in support of my strength and endurance goals. The scale is one tool I can use to monitor my progress toward my physical goals, but it's probably the least relevant.

    Another thing I like to do is to culturally appropriate the language of male athletes. :happy: I don't count calories, I log nutrition. I don't diet, I enter a cut phase. :tongue:

    Becoming more physically capable is its own reward, on a level much more basic than any sort of social constructs.
  • jtsmou
    jtsmou Posts: 503 Member
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    Can a feminist make me a sandwich?
  • Heather75
    Heather75 Posts: 3,386 Member
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    Can a feminist make me a sandwich?

    What kind?
  • jtsmou
    jtsmou Posts: 503 Member
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    Can a feminist make me a sandwich?

    What kind?

    Turkey and salami with swiss a little bit of mustard and some balsamic vinegar

    :)
  • Heather75
    Heather75 Posts: 3,386 Member
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    Can a feminist make me a sandwich?

    What kind?

    Turkey and salami with swiss a little bit of mustard and some balsamic vinegar

    :)

    Okay, but this in no way implies that I am subservient. I just enjoy making sandwiches.
  • Mumblelove
    Mumblelove Posts: 19 Member
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    Can a feminist make me a sandwich?

    I've already made u a bacon one!!! Open a door for me first!
  • jtsmou
    jtsmou Posts: 503 Member
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    Can a feminist make me a sandwich?

    I've already made u a bacon one!!! Open a door for me first!

    The door to the kitchen is that way Biscuit
    >
  • jtsmou
    jtsmou Posts: 503 Member
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    Can a feminist make me a sandwich?

    What kind?

    Turkey and salami with swiss a little bit of mustard and some balsamic vinegar

    :)

    Okay, but this in no way implies that I am subservient. I just enjoy making sandwiches.

    Ok, as long as I don't have to think about the deeper societal impact of the sandwich arts
  • monicainacoma
    monicainacoma Posts: 84 Member
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    "Fat" is not a feminist issue. The issue is the way women are treated in response to that. Being "fat" is a health issue. On a side note.. Bikini Kill is one of my favorite bands EVER.. and here's a good song about not being accepted for being too fat or just not good enough..

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNJaug-MIJY
  • Mumblelove
    Mumblelove Posts: 19 Member
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    Can a feminist make me a sandwich?

    I've already made u a bacon one!!! Open a door for me first!

    The door to the kitchen is that way Biscuit
    >
    Thanks noodles, remember u must also always be on top and pay for my nomz!!
  • monicainacoma
    monicainacoma Posts: 84 Member
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    I
  • Kalrez
    Kalrez Posts: 655 Member
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    One can absolutely diet and be a feminist, assuming your reason for dieting isn't motivated by a feeling of "having" to diet to be accepted or to be beautiful.

    In my case, I'm not unhappy with how I look. Sure, I'd like to buy smaller clothes. But I carry my weight well and am proportionate. However, I want to be healthy. I want to have more energy and stamina to live and enjoy life. Using those reasons as my main motivation to get in shape/lose weight, I started this journey.

    I think if you view things from that perspective, dieting can fall in line with feminism. However, if you're dieting so your husband/bf/so will find you more attractive, or so that our patriarchal society will deem you beautiful, then that doesn't really fall in line with feminist ideals.
  • monicainacoma
    monicainacoma Posts: 84 Member
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    Can a feminist make me a sandwich?

    I struggle with my feminist side and my black sense of humor.. you, sir, made me laugh!
  • jtsmou
    jtsmou Posts: 503 Member
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    Can a feminist make me a sandwich?

    I struggle with my feminist side and my black sense of humor.. you, sir, made me laugh!

    That was a cool song, why did you delete it?

    This is a cool one too

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gvls5Y8SeEo
  • fteale
    fteale Posts: 5,311 Member
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    I think the question is overthinking the reality. A diet is pointless. If you want to be a healthy weight, eat healthily. That's all there is to it. Eating healthily is a human issue, not a female specific one. Bringing feminism into it is bordering on the obsessive.

    I think trying to fit a media ideal of size and shape and thinking you are less of person for not achieving it is a feminist issue, but that has little to do with "dieting" That is more about mental wellbeing.

    I agree the diet industry is flat out bonkers, manipulative and cynical, though.
  • dayglo4
    dayglo4 Posts: 18
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    Consider this though,
    If you were to pick up some magazine that had some article labelled top 100 Bachelors/Bachelorettes, with mainly celebs of some sort, how many of the eligible women do you think would be overweight/chubby? zero most likely.

    Would this be the case for the men? Probably not. I'm not saying you would see a obese man in there but you would be much more likely to see a 'bigger' man or more variety in body types for the men than the women. For women to considered a prize catch so to speak, they need to fit into a minimal selection of body types, always well groomed, look young as possible, etc. I'm not saying this is everyone's personal view, but a societal norm.

    There's nothing antifeminist about wanting to be healthy or fit for yourself, but unfortunately what drives many women to 'diet' is that they want to become someone 'worth' more in society, to be considered 'desirable'. They feel that their worthiness is directly related to how close they can become to the ideal. Again, not everyone feels this way, and a lot of us here are here for our health, but going on a 'diet' is focused on losing weight above all else because you feel you're not acceptable as you are and need to lose it fast. That's why women fixate on numbers on the scale, "I have to be below 130" "I have to fit this size" "I have to look great in this kind of outfit"

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