(no subject)

[merchimerch]

I'm catching up on my body acceptance blog readings and found some gems:

Joy Nash has a new 1 minute video short that, to me, really epitomizes the pervasive notion in our society that well being is attainable with the proper set of unrealistic physical traits. I think most people fall into this line of thinking at one point or another. It's so tempting to believe that we can attain eternal and everlasting bliss by just being the right shape. Unfortunately that seems to have resulted in the fact that many people are now busy working on their weight rather than working on themselves. They're spending so much time, money, and energy on weight loss programs and not actually chasing the bliss by living life, or doing the inner work that needs to be done. I grew up with a yo-yo dieting mother, and have eschewed weight loss programs because I've seen the violence they've done to her life, her body, and most importantly her psyche and soul. Still, there is a part of me that really believes that if my belly stopped existing, I would attain eternal bliss and life would be "totally awesome with no problems whatsoever." Humans are so funny.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFmVj5BXCxM

Any, while I'm posting links, here's a good entry from "the rotund" on how the health care system is promulgating this mentality that fit=skinny. Yes, I realize that my weight has an impact on my joints and cardiovascular system, and that's why I exercise to keep my joints lubed and my heart healthy. I'm never going to fit on the height/weight charts or have a BMI anywhere near normal, and that's fine by me--when has anything about me ever resembled normal? Luckily my new doctor is willing to look at the tests and listen to my account of my health and activity levels, rather than look at me and assume 'fat unhealthy slob.'
http://www.therotund.com/?p=303

Oh, and then there's this winner from the shapely prose blog, on evangelical dieting and how it links to some of the conflicts in feminism, like those around make-up and high heels:
http://kateharding.net/2008/01/07/no-a-for-effort/

And lastly, a scary development on the surgical path to the socially valued body. Apparently the FDA is allowing lipodissolve, a process where patients are injected with a chemical that dissolves their fat away. It isn't legal in Europe, and the practicioners don't actually know where the fat goes once it dissolves. Does anyone else find this frightening? I wouldn't want a bunch of fat and chemicals possibly over loading my liver and kidneys; why is this allowed before the longitudinal studies are completed?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/7171672.stm

Comments

[mama-hogswatch.livejournal.com]

I was a weight loss counselor from '88-90. (I used to say four years and now I realize it was THREE years).

It was a source of amazement and some sadness to me how people thought their lives would be after they "got skinny".

Some really did have realistic views, but most didn't.

[merchimerch.livejournal.com]

It is frightening, and it is an image that mass culture seems to promote. I hate all those commercials that say "now that I lost wait I can go dancing and enjoy sex.'

I don't have TV, but I was shocked at all the diet commercials I saw at my parents' house in the lead up to NYE.

And for the record, I have no problem with weight loss in itself, so long as it isn't touted as something else. Though, in our culture, I'm having a hard time picturing the idea of weight loss disconnected from notions of self worth.

[mama-hogswatch.livejournal.com]

Heh.

Try disconnecting physical fitness from weight loss while you're at it.

[merchimerch.livejournal.com]

well, I find it much easier to disconnect fitness and weightloss personally - All I need to do is say to myself "see I can lift all this heavy stuff and run and jump and scale tall buildings in a single bound"

Making weightloss not about self worth is a slipperier process, and one that is harder illustrate in concrete terms.

[aelfscine.livejournal.com]

The problem at this point is that it's just basically a marketing tool at the moment. "Yer teeth aren't white! You need teeth whitening! Yer fat! You need Anti-Fat Pills!" It's just telling people they should have something and making them insecure enough that they buy.

[shavenwarthog.livejournal.com]

Last time I saw TV I was rather horrified that commercials, and to some extent the news, reminded me strongly of email spam. The TV video reeks of snake oil, shameless hucksterism, and porn-like self-delusion.

I immediately fell in love with Joy Nash for her "Fat Rant" -- great material, well researched, and well presented. No wonder it's been viewed > 1.1M times!

My buddy was worried that net-types would just recreate TV, but in miniature. I've found the opposite, "new media" is sprouting in all directions at once, not just following the traditions. Yay!

[aelfscine.livejournal.com]

The thing that concerns me about the fat dissolver is that fat often stores toxins, and if it rapidly was releasing them, yicky stuff could happen. (like the woman with the tennis ball-sized infection)