Mermaid or whale ?

PercivalHackworth
PercivalHackworth Posts: 1,437 Member
in Motivation and Support
http://res.mindbodygreen.com/img/ftr/tara_lynn_skinny-curvy-gym.jpg
A while back, at the entrance of a gym, there was a picture of a very thin and beautiful woman. The caption was "This summer, do you want to be a mermaid or a whale?"

The story goes, a woman (of clothing size unknown) answered the following way:

"Dear people, whales are always surrounded by friends (dolphins, seals, curious humans), they are sexually active and raise their children with great tenderness.
They entertain like crazy with dolphins and eat lots of prawns. They swim all day and travel to fantastic places like Patagonia, the Barents Sea or the coral reefs of Polynesia.
They sing incredibly well and sometimes even are on cds. They are impressive and dearly loved animals, which everyone defend and admires.

Mermaids do not exist.

But if they existed, they would line up to see a psychologist because of a problem of split personality: woman or fish?
They would have no sex life and could not bear children.
Yes, they would be lovely, but lonely and sad.
And, who wants a girl that smells like fish by his side?

Without a doubt, I'd rather be a whale.

At a time when the media tells us that only thin is beautiful, I prefer to eat ice cream with my kids, to have dinner with my husband, to eat and drink and have fun with my friends.

We women, we gain weight because we accumulate so much wisdom and knowledge that there isn't enough space in our heads, and it spreads all over our bodies.
We are not fat, we are greatly cultivated.
Every time I see my curves in the mirror, I tell myself: "How amazing am I ?! "

Source : http://goo.gl/wF6CN
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Replies

  • KarinFit4Life
    KarinFit4Life Posts: 424 Member
    :drinker: LIKE!
  • eeebee
    eeebee Posts: 471 Member
    :love: Nice one Raz.
  • briebear77
    briebear77 Posts: 253 Member
    Merwhale perhaps?:laugh:
  • mfpseven
    mfpseven Posts: 421 Member
    I hate that you have to choose between Media pushed anorexic thin and over weight curvy beautiful. There is a happy medium people. It's called healthy. Thin and curvy(not fat) can both fall into the healthy range. Negative body image is just as harmful to skinny girls as it is to over weight girls. If you are tired of being berated for being overweight then get to work and get healthy, (not necessarily skinny) rather than try to bully the other end of the spectrum while justifying a lifestyle that leads to diabetes, heart disease, joint fatigue and a hole slew of other ailments that come along with eating poorly and not exercising.

    Mermaid or whale ? How about happy, healthy human being.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    Majorly DISLIKE!
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    I hate that you have to choose between Media pushed anorexic thin and over weight curvy beautiful. There is a happy medium people. It's called healthy. Thin and curvy(not fat) can both fall into the healthy range. Negative body image is just as harmful to skinny girls as it is to over weight girls. If you are tired of being berated for being overweight then get to work and get healthy, (not necessarily skinny) rather than try to bully the other end of the spectrum while justifying a lifestyle that leads to diabetes, heart disease, joint fatigue and a hole slew of other ailments that come along with eating poorly and not exercising.

    Mermaid or whale ? How about happy, healthy human being.

    WELL SAID!!!!
  • PercivalHackworth
    PercivalHackworth Posts: 1,437 Member
    I hate that you have to choose between Media pushed anorexic thin and over weight curvy beautiful. There is a happy medium people. It's called healthy. Thin and curvy(not fat) can both fall into the healthy range. Negative body image is just as harmful to skinny girls as it is to over weight girls. If you are tired of being berated for being overweight then get to work and get healthy, (not necessarily skinny) rather than try to bully the other end of the spectrum while justifying a lifestyle that leads to diabetes, heart disease, joint fatigue and a hole slew of other ailments that come along with eating poorly and not exercising.

    Mermaid or whale ? How about happy, healthy human being.

    Great insight I agree with
  • ShreddedTweet
    ShreddedTweet Posts: 1,326 Member
    This is another horsesh!t 'it's okay to be fat' message that fat women like to perpetuate... Oh being fat is so much fun! What about being healthy? Throw away the potted philosophies and embrace your health, yes it might be hard work - certainly harder than sitting around eating ice cream with your kids but it's worth it.
  • johloz
    johloz Posts: 176 Member
    I hate that you have to choose between Media pushed anorexic thin and over weight curvy beautiful. There is a happy medium people. It's called healthy. Thin and curvy(not fat) can both fall into the healthy range. Negative body image is just as harmful to skinny girls as it is to over weight girls. If you are tired of being berated for being overweight then get to work and get healthy, (not necessarily skinny) rather than try to bully the other end of the spectrum while justifying a lifestyle that leads to diabetes, heart disease, joint fatigue and a hole slew of other ailments that come along with eating poorly and not exercising.

    Mermaid or whale ? How about happy, healthy human being.

    I agree! I am sick and tired of the whole "fat and happy" idea, as if fit people are miserable because they never eat anything and have no friends. This is pushed by overweight people who want to justify their weight to the world. Be who you are, be proud of who you are -- but become the best version of yourself. Yes, overweight can still be sexy, but a healthy body weight (neither anorexic nor overweight) is always sexy.
  • Natashaa1991
    Natashaa1991 Posts: 866 Member
    f* whale
  • VeganZombie13
    VeganZombie13 Posts: 297
    I hate that you have to choose between Media pushed anorexic thin and over weight curvy beautiful. There is a happy medium people. It's called healthy. Thin and curvy(not fat) can both fall into the healthy range. Negative body image is just as harmful to skinny girls as it is to over weight girls. If you are tired of being berated for being overweight then get to work and get healthy, (not necessarily skinny) rather than try to bully the other end of the spectrum while justifying a lifestyle that leads to diabetes, heart disease, joint fatigue and a hole slew of other ailments that come along with eating poorly and not exercising.

    Mermaid or whale ? How about happy, healthy human being.

    I agree! I am sick and tired of the whole "fat and happy" idea, as if fit people are miserable because they never eat anything and have no friends. This is pushed by overweight people who want to justify their weight to the world. Be who you are, be proud of who you are -- but become the best version of yourself. Yes, overweight can still be sexy, but a healthy body weight (neither anorexic nor overweight) is always sexy.
    ^^ LIKE!!
  • PercivalHackworth
    PercivalHackworth Posts: 1,437 Member
    How can we cut down the cord of extremes that our society maintains? The girl wrote that because of the ad she saw on a gym.
    That's the underlying problem, maintaining false associations on changes to adopt. What being healthy means ?
  • ShreddedTweet
    ShreddedTweet Posts: 1,326 Member
    How can we cut down the cord of extremes that our society maintains? The girl wrote that because of the ad she saw on a gym.
    That's the underlying problem, maintaining false associations on changes to adopt. What being healthy means ?

    This doesn't make a lot of sense.
  • rml_16
    rml_16 Posts: 16,414 Member
    I hate that you have to choose between Media pushed anorexic thin and over weight curvy beautiful. There is a happy medium people. It's called healthy. Thin and curvy(not fat) can both fall into the healthy range. Negative body image is just as harmful to skinny girls as it is to over weight girls. If you are tired of being berated for being overweight then get to work and get healthy, (not necessarily skinny) rather than try to bully the other end of the spectrum while justifying a lifestyle that leads to diabetes, heart disease, joint fatigue and a hole slew of other ailments that come along with eating poorly and not exercising.

    Mermaid or whale ? How about happy, healthy human being.

    This.

    And, really, given the choice in BODY TYPE, I'd rather be a mermaid. Sorry.
  • toomuchbootyindapants
    toomuchbootyindapants Posts: 811 Member
    I hate that you have to choose between Media pushed anorexic thin and over weight curvy beautiful. There is a happy medium people. It's called healthy. Thin and curvy(not fat) can both fall into the healthy range. Negative body image is just as harmful to skinny girls as it is to over weight girls. If you are tired of being berated for being overweight then get to work and get healthy, (not necessarily skinny) rather than try to bully the other end of the spectrum while justifying a lifestyle that leads to diabetes, heart disease, joint fatigue and a hole slew of other ailments that come along with eating poorly and not exercising.

    Mermaid or whale ? How about happy, healthy human being.

    I agree! I am sick and tired of the whole "fat and happy" idea, as if fit people are miserable because they never eat anything and have no friends. This is pushed by overweight people who want to justify their weight to the world. Be who you are, be proud of who you are -- but become the best version of yourself. Yes, overweight can still be sexy, but a healthy body weight (neither anorexic nor overweight) is always sexy.

    :drinker: Yes, yes, yes!
    And everyone's perception of fit, healthy, overweight, etc is different. My family looks at me and says I'm too skinny now. UHM WHAT?! I'm 155 lbs. That's not skinny. But I sure am healthy and strong! (I know they are just being nice, afterall I was 220 lbs not too long ago...but one of my relatives is insisting that I stop losing weight before I wither away...which is nonsense, I have 24% bodyfat...nothing withering here yet!)

    I was beautiful at 220 lbs but I didn't feel beautiful and didn't carry myself as such. And as always, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. But I was NOT healthy.
  • Roxiehart9
    Roxiehart9 Posts: 32
    Beautifully Stated!!!
  • lovingmethin
    lovingmethin Posts: 47 Member
    I love that!!
  • jetscreaminagain
    jetscreaminagain Posts: 1,130 Member
    I will applaud a woman who bucks unhealthy dichotomous thinking any day. And the mermaid or whale wasn't about health either. It was about body hate and fck that ****.
  • KarinFit4Life
    KarinFit4Life Posts: 424 Member
    I hate that you have to choose between Media pushed anorexic thin and over weight curvy beautiful. There is a happy medium people. It's called healthy. Thin and curvy(not fat) can both fall into the healthy range. Negative body image is just as harmful to skinny girls as it is to over weight girls. If you are tired of being berated for being overweight then get to work and get healthy, (not necessarily skinny) rather than try to bully the other end of the spectrum while justifying a lifestyle that leads to diabetes, heart disease, joint fatigue and a hole slew of other ailments that come along with eating poorly and not exercising.

    Mermaid or whale ? How about happy, healthy human being.

    WELL SAID!!!!

    I agree, well said.

    But I don't think the woman who wrote it wanted to justify a poor lifestyle or being overweight...rather stand up for the normal human beings that are looked down upon for not looking like "mermaids" the media so love pushing under our noses. All very innocent I think, with no ulterior motives to offend.
    I would have loved to see the look on the faces of management at the gym! :laugh:
  • Dauntlessness
    Dauntlessness Posts: 1,489 Member
    :)
  • PercivalHackworth
    PercivalHackworth Posts: 1,437 Member
    What I liked about that post is not so much the way it criticizes clichés (the post in itself seems a bit of a cliché sometimes hehe), rather the question it arises : what Does “Being Healthy” truly means ?

    The best thing in your life that would ever happen to you is the day you become aware of the importance of having a healthy body; however, in many cases, there seems to be an ambiguity between looking healthy and actually being healthy.
    Thoughts ?
  • DebbieLyn63
    DebbieLyn63 Posts: 2,654 Member
    How can we cut down the cord of extremes that our society maintains? The girl wrote that because of the ad she saw on a gym.
    That's the underlying problem, maintaining false associations on changes to adopt. What being healthy means ?

    They could start by getting rid of the term "plus-size model". It is an Oxymoron, created by morons! They take a healthy size 8/10 and call her plus size. What does that say to the 'below average' weight, healthy, fit woman who is a size 8? It tells her that she is STILL not good enough.

    We as a society could also support more women's sports. No one rushes home from church on Sunday afternoon to watch women's basketball. I never see women's sports advertised on network TV, except during the Olympics, or perhaps Wimbledon finals. But never prime time like the men's sports are.
  • jetscreaminagain
    jetscreaminagain Posts: 1,130 Member
    When are they going to apply bull**** dichotomies and judgement based on appearance not health or function to men? Can you imagine the men's response if the picture of the whale was Jared Allen or some pro-bowl lineman versus a punter as the ideal? That's essentially what the bull**** beauty ideal does to women. And fck that gym for perpetuating it rather than health as an ideal goal.
  • ShreddedTweet
    ShreddedTweet Posts: 1,326 Member
    When are they going to apply bull**** dichotomies and judgement based on appearance not health or function to men? Can you imagine the men's response if the picture of the whale was Jared Allen or some pro-bowl lineman versus a punter as the ideal? That's essentially what the bull**** beauty ideal does to women. And fck that gym for perpetuating it rather than health as an ideal goal.

    Women do it to themselves and this culture of 'The average woman is a UK16 so it's okay to be fat' is just as damaging. I'm quite sure that obesity is MUCH more prevalent than anorexia or any other eating disorder.
  • trophywife24
    trophywife24 Posts: 1,472 Member
    I hate that you have to choose between Media pushed anorexic thin and over weight curvy beautiful. There is a happy medium people. It's called healthy. Thin and curvy(not fat) can both fall into the healthy range. Negative body image is just as harmful to skinny girls as it is to over weight girls. If you are tired of being berated for being overweight then get to work and get healthy, (not necessarily skinny) rather than try to bully the other end of the spectrum while justifying a lifestyle that leads to diabetes, heart disease, joint fatigue and a hole slew of other ailments that come along with eating poorly and not exercising.

    Mermaid or whale ? How about happy, healthy human being.

    Absolutely, I 150% agree. I loathe the "real women have curves" b*ll****. Real women have vaginas. The end.
  • ShreddedTweet
    ShreddedTweet Posts: 1,326 Member
    I hate that you have to choose between Media pushed anorexic thin and over weight curvy beautiful. There is a happy medium people. It's called healthy. Thin and curvy(not fat) can both fall into the healthy range. Negative body image is just as harmful to skinny girls as it is to over weight girls. If you are tired of being berated for being overweight then get to work and get healthy, (not necessarily skinny) rather than try to bully the other end of the spectrum while justifying a lifestyle that leads to diabetes, heart disease, joint fatigue and a hole slew of other ailments that come along with eating poorly and not exercising.

    Mermaid or whale ? How about happy, healthy human being.

    Absolutely, I 150% agree. I loathe the "real women have curves" b*ll****. Real women have vaginas. The end.

    THIS!
  • rml_16
    rml_16 Posts: 16,414 Member

    Women do it to themselves and this culture of 'The average woman is a UK16 so it's okay to be fat' is just as damaging. I'm quite sure that obesity is MUCH more prevalent than anorexia or any other eating disorder.

    No kidding! Everyone in the US says size 14 is average, so if you're average, no problem. Well, I would have to be in the obese category to be a size 14. I don't want to be "average" if "average" is unhealthy.
  • ShreddedTweet
    ShreddedTweet Posts: 1,326 Member

    Women do it to themselves and this culture of 'The average woman is a UK16 so it's okay to be fat' is just as damaging. I'm quite sure that obesity is MUCH more prevalent than anorexia or any other eating disorder.

    No kidding! Everyone in the US says size 14 is average, so if you're average, no problem. Well, I would have to be in the obese category to be a size 14. I don't want to be "average" if "average" is unhealthy.

    Same here, I'd rather be healthy! All this 'vanity sizing', 'real women have curves', 'God loved me so much he decided to supersize me' BS is just designed to make it okay to be lazy and obese. I'm all for people accepting themselves but I'm not for anyone settling for less or being encouraged to settle!
  • trophywife24
    trophywife24 Posts: 1,472 Member

    Women do it to themselves and this culture of 'The average woman is a UK16 so it's okay to be fat' is just as damaging. I'm quite sure that obesity is MUCH more prevalent than anorexia or any other eating disorder.

    No kidding! Everyone in the US says size 14 is average, so if you're average, no problem. Well, I would have to be in the obese category to be a size 14. I don't want to be "average" if "average" is unhealthy.

    I was obese at a 14. Blerg. This stuff makes me a little stabby, seriously.
  • rml_16
    rml_16 Posts: 16,414 Member

    Women do it to themselves and this culture of 'The average woman is a UK16 so it's okay to be fat' is just as damaging. I'm quite sure that obesity is MUCH more prevalent than anorexia or any other eating disorder.

    No kidding! Everyone in the US says size 14 is average, so if you're average, no problem. Well, I would have to be in the obese category to be a size 14. I don't want to be "average" if "average" is unhealthy.

    Same here, I'd rather be healthy! All this 'vanity sizing', 'real women have curves', 'God loved me so much he decided to supersize me' BS is just designed to make it okay to be lazy and obese. I'm all for people accepting themselves but I'm not for anyone settling for less or being encouraged to settle!

    It's also a personal pet peeve that "curvy" now means "overweight."

    I could weigh 80 pounds and because of my body type, I would be curvy.
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