Emails about being over weight?

"I’m not clear as to why the guy even sent it to her (was it in response to something? Is he just a jerk? I don’t know) "

It was not in response to something. He saw her on the news one day and decided he needed to email her. I read the entire original email before she made the video.

Jen has always been great at her job. I used to see her on tv daily when I was in high school/college. I never looked at her and went, "man she could stand to lose a few pounds". Her weight is irrelevant to how good she is at her job.

I am kind of confused with the messages about weight and self esteem going on. People complained when there are Victoria's Secret commercials promoting self love BUT the models are all sizes 0-2/ then folks became a bit happier when Dove came out with "real" women with curves and what not. NOW this with the news anchor.

So, you expect everyone in the world to have the same opinion, and there would never be any conflicting messages from the public at large? What kind of sense does that make? Do you think there's just this big mass out there consisting of everyone else in the world, and we all have one brain?

I don't think the OP was saying everyone should share one brain. I think she's just referring to the conflicting messages sent via the media over what is acceptable and beautiful.

I don't think people should be treated like garbage for being 300 lbs, but I also think people shouldn't be 300 lbs. Good to promote self esteem, but it's also like, HEY, it's cool that you're unhealthy and out of shape and headed towards diabetes. I'm not saying everyone needs to be a size 2 but like... no one needs to be a size 22.

BUT STILL that guy was such a jerk! Who does that?!

I saw the video yesterday and I was not impressed. This video is huge on Facebook right now and I feel like it's sending the wrong message.

First of all she was calling out a "bully" but acting like a bully herself. She was encouraging the rude comments that were left on the page for her. Sure they were kind and supportive, but some were also very harsh towards the original email sender.

Second of all, she was sending the message that she is fat and she doesn't care. She never said she is trying to get healthy, or lose weight. She could have went about it a better way like "yes, I'm fat, I struggle with this, and I am working on it" sort of attitude. Rather than "how dare you call me fat, you don't know me, blah blah".

Another good point.

I'm not sure I agree. Why does she owe them an explanation? True, the best thing would be to just shrug it off and move on, but I think she was trying to make a point. I don't think every fat person owes every critical stranger an explanation for their obesity just because they call them out on it. I'm fat, and I'm working on it, but if someone stopped and told me I was a bad role model for my children because I'm fat, I would be pissed. And I wouldn't owe them an explanation, I would owe myself the self-respect and satisfaction of putting them in their place. And even if I wasn't working on it, I wouldn't owe him an explanation. I think the point she was trying to make was to stand up for yourself - not fumble around trying to explain why you don't appear to measure up to someone else's standards.

She owes fat/obese children who are going to see this video, that she took upon herself to make, an explanation.

Again, why? Her whole point was on bullying, (whether or not it's bullying, he WAS trying to shame her), not on "why I'm fat". And if she doesn't have an excuse? If her excuse is that she has some kind of disorder, does she have to reveal that to everyone? I don't get why he is excused because what he did was behind a computer monitor and she is the one at fault for taking it public.

Here's thread #3 on the same topic today!

Waiting for #4. I know it'll happen.

I also posted this on another thread related to this same topic! Here goes:

I feel like she was being bullied simply because of her weight! If her weight has no impact on how she does her job, who cares? If she dresses appropriately and is professional in providing information to viewers, who cares how much she weighs? If she knows how to do her job and is very effective and precise at what she does, who is anyone to send her a message stating that she is obese and shouldnt be on tv and that she is setting a bad example to young girls (especially when she has children of her own who are girls)?

We all dont fit the blond hair, blue eyed, super thin model that is constantly being portrayed on tv! We are not all cookie cutter and in no way should be defined by how we look...even though we are constantly being judged by how we look, how we dress and how we talk! So I guess Erin Andrews (sportscaster on ESPN I believe) is more effective at her job because she is pretty and skinny?

When I became a Certified Personal Trainer, I had gotten my weight where I wanted it to be but slowly my weight starting creeping back up! I worked full time for a local gym as a trainer....yes I knew that I was gaining some weight back! Was I embarrassed about it especially since I was a trainer?? Of course! Was I worried that people wouldnt hire me because I started gaining some weight back? Hell yeah I was worried! But you know what, I was working on getting myself back to where I needed to be! I was doing the necessary work and I was STILL very effective at my job! Clients still hired me and I was still able to help people! Why??? Because i knew their struggle! I knew what they were going through because I was going through the exact same thing! Just because I was becoming overweight again, didnt mean that I was setting a bad example for members of the gym...it didnt mean that I wasnt able to effectively do my job as a personal trainer....it didnt mean that I was a bad trainer because I couldnt get my eating under control....IT MEANT THAT I WAS HUMAN!!!

We all struggle...we all have things that we need to improve on....we all have our issues and we cant judge someone else without looking in the mirror and juding ourselves first! She was bullied and had a right be upset about it and had a right to address it on the news program because it sent a message to everyone about not having your weight define who you are as a person or who you want to be!

Can I just throw a solid "I don't care" out there? Somebody called her fat, boo-hoo.

Here's thread #3 on the same topic today!

Waiting for #4. I know it'll happen.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/758839-just-because-it-s-true-doesn-t-mean-it-needs-to-be-said?page=1#posts-11241236

I think that makes #6....

If you are going to choose a life in the public eye, then you are responsible to the public.

If you want the recognition, the fame or semi-fame, to be a face people know, to be a personality that everyone knows and no one has met- you give up certain kinds of privacy that the rest of people have. Like the right to be an overweight lazy comfy chick that no one is going to criticize. However, once you are int he public eye... say bye bye to that. You make sacrifices for fame and thats one of them.

Everyone who gets into the business knows what they are getting into. Her fat paycheck and regional fame are compensation. She should get in better in shape is she is going to be a public representative.

I disagree and find this appalling. According to what you've written, certain jobs are only allowed if you meet a certain physical description? Why don't we all just go back 50-60 years and remember that the "physical description" required of most jobs was "that you be white" or "that you be male." ANY belittlement of a person based on anything that differentiates them from someone else is bigotry. You saying only "attractive" or "healthy" people can be in the public eye IS BIGOTRY. And it doesn't even make much sense because it's impossible to define when EVERYONE has a different opinion on what is physically attractive, therefore, you can have no "agreed upon" look. There is not even one agreed upon definition of "health" so you can't use that instead of physical beauty. Who gets to decide the appropriate look or health level when no one can agree on what's "appropriate" to begin with? And having to "just accept" that to be in the public eye you give away your rights to look however you do (or want to look) is ridiculous.

HI FIVE !!!

Here is the link to the response to that email. http://www.buzzfeed.com/jtes/news-anchor-responds-to-viewer-who-called-her-obes

What the viewer said was disgusting. They were basically bullying her because she is over weight. Its disgusting that someone would go out of their way to tell someone who they know nothing about that they are fat and that they shouldn't be that way. The viewer even had the audacity to state that being obese was the WORST choice someone can make. Really?! Im pretty sure doing Black tar heroin is a worst choice than being obese.

The viewer is a F'N douche bag. Anyone that thinks that someone should be skinny to set a better example because they are in the public eye is also a douche bag. Look at all the people who do unspeakable unhealthy things to be "skinny for the public eye". How about we stop being Douche bags to other people because we are insecure with ourselves and have to belittle someone to make ourselves feel better. There's a good choice to make in life!!

comes with a job of being in the public eye.....how many times do you see celebs in news( or what people think is news...gah) for their weight, skinny or fat. dont like it? dont watch or get out of the industry. get rid of facebook too for that matter...i believe this all started because of facebook. sending a good message to youth was the only useful thing that came out of this ordeal.

.

I guess the thing that bothers me so much about that guys e-mail and with society in general, is that when a woman is overweight (or skinny, or tall or short or beautiful or not so much) people fee that they have the right to comment on their looks and even their behavior! Growing up, everyone, my friends, my parents friends, strangers, you name it, they all would comment on my looks. And my behavior. Many people would try to categorize me. I really hated it. And I hated that people would think of me in such limited terms. It was very hard to believe in myself.

Okay, but this is an adult, you say. And it was one e-mail. Everyone who is overweight, KNOWS that they are overweight. Geeze! And they are working through it. They usually don't like it and have tried over and over to get in shape. Everyone here has probably felt the sting of someones saying something to them about their looks that was unsolicited. We have all felt pretty crummy when our attempts to lose weight have failed. Do we really need to hear from someone that we are not being a good role model to young girls. She is in the news industry, not modeling, not a television show, not the movies. (Thankfully, entertainment requires ALL types to make it believable.) If she were a man, I'll bet that the man that sent her an e-mail would not have done so.

I think that being overweight is one of society's last taboos, along with aging.

Just my 2 cents.