Enough with the body hatred!

Hey! The men need to change. When are they going to realize that all women do not look like models? Isn't this why most women think they need to be thin? I'm not thin and never will be, but I'm healthy, smart and cute BUT alone and have been for 11 years. Men don't want large, smart women..let's face it!

It's hard to be over a certain size and be a woman at the same time. So many women are pressured to be just a little thinner and after reaching that or not, they are pressured to be even thinner. It really is a blow to your self esteem when you're told that you gained a lot of weight by a significant other when you're not over a size 11/12 after the last guy told everyone he broke up with you because you were getting too fat.

I am reading "You Can Heal Your Life" by Louise L. Hay. She gives practical advise on loving yourself. Which is where body appreciate starts.

THE CULPRIT IS MADISON AVENUE! THAT SUPER SKINNY FASHION MODEL NEEDS TO CONVINCE WOMEN TO GET SKINNY SO THE MANUFACTURER'S WHO ARE MARKETING THE FASHIONS CAN INCREASE THEIR BOTTOM LINE!!! THEY CAN MAKE MORE MONEY ON SMALLER SIZES, BECAUSE THEY USE LESS FABRIC, ETC, THAN THEY CAN ON THE LARGER SIZES. THEY KNOW THEY CAN'T CHARGE EXPONENTIALLY FOR THE LARGER SIZES. IF THEY CAN SELL A SIZE 3 FOR $100, THEY KNOW THEY CAN'T CHARGE $600 FOR A SIZE 18. MADISON AVENUE IS KILLING WOMEN AND WE'RE GOBBLING THAT UP!!!!!!!

Another culprit is the people that make up the BMI charts. My daughter was 5'4"and weighed 125 lbs. in 10th grade and the school said according to the BMI charts she was obese!! Give me a break! Now, my god-daughter is 5'6" and weighs 135 lbs. after having a baby 2yrs ago, and they are telling her that she is overweight. But they want young women to have a better self-image? How? With all of the stuff out there telling them they are over-weight, no matter what they think about themselves, there is always going to be one standard or another that tells them they are FAT!!!

The article and the video were both interesting...
I agreed with some of it, but I'm on the fence about some of it, too. Unfortunately, no matter how an article like this one is written, regardless of the good intentions, there will be people with inflammatory comments who don't know how to read between the lines. Such a shame.
Anyway, it is sad that women have such warped body images. I don't want to cause a problem, but I do believe that it's best to try to take care of yourself...however, there are plenty of circumstances make it difficult. There are women who are naturally a bit bigger, or naturally really thin--it's just genes and such.
Also, I agree that obesity statistics are alarming, but that's no reason to abuse the caps lock button and comment in as hateful a manner as possible (surprisingly enough, I've only seen that once so far for this particular article).

i am guilty... i agree with this..i will stop the fat talk. i can't help but hate my big gut and thin arms and legs..

Joy, that's exactly the WRONG approach to take, even for people who are dangerously overwieght. People who are ashamed of their bodies, who hate themselves because of their weight, are less likely to lose wieght or get healthy. You need to love yourself first (which means recognizing and accepting your flaws and your strengths) before you can make positive change. Besides, neither this article nor that video were aimes specifically at overwieght or obese women. Many women who are healthy weight or even thin feel fat and disatisfied with their bodies.

ever dreamer, the BMI chart is just one tool to give a hypothetically ideal weight range--but it is imperfect. It's applicable for many people, but not all, because it fails to recognize the difference between muscle weight and fat weight, and it's not unusual for muscular, athletic people to fall in the "overwieght" range per the BMI, despite having a relatively small amount of body fat. This is why the BMI shouldn't be used alone to determine if a person is overweight or obese. If you are worried about your weight, a doctor or health professional should be able to help you figure out if you are at a healthy weight.

I think it's rather hilarious that there's such an argument over this. It really is simple, be what you want to be. If you want to be thin be thin, if you want to be fat then be fat... as long as it's for you. If you want us men to be attracted to you then you're going to be what we want, not convince us that we need to love fat instead of thin or thin instead of fat. We are going to like what we like. Chances are if you are gooey you will get a man/woman who's body type and views match your own. Don't expect that if we take great time and care to mould our body into the picture of fitness that we're going to accept your goo because you love yourself. You get what you give. Granted some thin guys/girls love the opposite but the media isn't going to cause that to change, it is the way it is and the media represents general ideals not the other way around.

This is downright disturbing.
God, I'm so sick of hearing all this crap. It SHOULD be put to a stop. it's hyprocritical of me to say it, because I take part in my fair share of it, but at this moment I don't really care. I HATE hearing my friends put themselves down. I know that no matter how many times I tell them 'youre not fat' 'oh you look great in that!' 'no youre gorgeous' 'shut up i'd kill to look like you' (figuratively- no, i'l choose fat over hit by a truck. a truck would be for a different reason.) i KNOW they still won't see it. And that just rips my heart out. these girls are my best friends and I don't like them going through this. No, they aren't fat, not even close, but instead have kick ass figures and great attitudes and personalities to match. so what the hell is up with this ignorance of all that?!

Now, will someone please do an equivalent article about women and aging? Ever notice older women in romantic ads on the TV or in magazines? Me neither. To advertising, women over 40/50/60+ are useful for selling only products that hint at her infirmity: Incontinence underpants, denture paste, handicap access bathtubs, medical alert gizmos, need I go on? Looks to me like we're either invisible past a certain age or may as well all be dead. Catalogues, even ones that market to both genders, show older men living it up with very young women. The older women are shown on any given page by themselves looking happy modeling the product in a vacuum.

I cried after watching that video!!! The part that really got to me was that 81% of 10-year-olds are afraid of becoming fat. They're too young to be burdened by the fears of women like me. It's so sad.

I think this video was stupid. WHO WANTS TO BE FAT? Seriously. I am fat, size 20/22, although I don't hate myself, I know that I don't to be fat, because I looked far better slim or thick even, than obese fat.

I think fat acceptance is stupid. Fat is just as unhealthy as being too skinny.

And one can't blame media, Hollywood or fashion for making women hate their bodies, because truth be told, women hate on women. Yes, men use this fact to their advantage to control women, however, if you be honest and truthful, women hating and criticizing other women is the main downfall of it all. Women gossip and sh*t talk about other women more than anything. It is like peer pressure gone awfully bad. Or more than that, it is bullying of one female to another and this constant competition to be more beautiful, more acceptable, more popular, more liked by other groups of women.

It has been said over and over again by men that they like a little meat on our bones, but we as women don't listen to that. Why? Because if we are not skinny and pretty by OTHER WOMEN, then we are not attractive at all.

The Feminist Movement has failed to address this problem why women hate other women more than men hate women.

I'm far from thin (but not unhealthily large, by any means), and I feel beautiful! Granted, I have a wonderful husband who helps me feel really really beautiful everyday, and vice versa. I think it can be really hard for women to feel beautiful when they don't have any reinforcement assuring them that they are. Real self-loving is hard to come by, but once you're there, its great. Good luck on your journey away from fat talk and towards self-love, ladies.

The trick is girls, to dress accordingly to your bod. I am 33, weight 180, and am only 5'5. Everyone around me tells I look good. Even people I don't know. So find the right clothes, they really do work wonders to accentuate your curves. God gave em' to us so I say show them off!!!! Skinny is overratted!!!!

I agree that I'd like to see more article emphasizing health over size. Additionally, a huge step in the right direction would be to throw out the body mass index. I've been trying to make healthier choices starting about eight months ago, and one of those positive choices is working out 4-5 times a week. I've only lost ten pounds, but I've put on a ton of muscle and feel so much better (i.e. I can now climb several flights of stairs without getting winded). The BMI, however, still classifies me as obese. I don't think we can get healthier until we have a better idea of what the many sizes, shapes, and types of healthy look like.

Posted by dley00: "When a size 10 isn't considered plus size, maybe women will stop thinking they are fat."

Thank you, my thoughts exactly!! I saw an article about plus-size models and they were all MAYBE a size 12 if that. Craziness!

No wonder insurance companies are making billions because of depressed women and sadly young girls.

So...where in the article does it clearly state "Fat is good" or "We're trying to justify fat"? I just read through it again, and certainly didn't see either statement. Maybe I need glasses?

My body parts jiggle when I walk and I like it. Once upon a time, an all male friend of mine said he didn't want to hold a woman who was a "bone orchard". Personal preference, I guess. Also, I saw a poll in a man's magazine once (note: so it wasn't marketing to women, per se, and there were no fashion pages) and the majority of men said they preferred a women who had softness and some fat to hold on to. True story. They evolved to love it, we evolved to have it. Ain't Nature grand?

I like the idea of focusing on being healthy rather than skinny! We shouldn't praise womeon for being fat (because that could create just as bad of a situation as women thinking they have to be a size 2) but more emphasis needs to be placed on exersise and healthy eating, and the fact that not every woman is made to be a size 2!!!