“Fat people in America are reduced to nothing but fatness. A fat person has a health problem of any kind? It's because they're fat. A fat person is single? Well, duh. Fat. They deserve it. A fat person is poor? That's not surprising-obviously they have bad judgment and no impulse control! Because why would a smart person choose to be fat? If a fat person goes to a restaurant and sits on a broken chair and the chair collapses under them, it's because they're fat. But if a thin person sits on the same broken chair and the chair collapses under them, it's because they sat on a broken chair.”
—Lindy West, Being Mean To Fat People is Pointless: A Good Old Fashioned Plea for Civility
“Curvy women are real women. Skinny women are real women. Women who have had boob jobs or lip enhancements or liposuction are still real women. Size 0 may make no sense mathematically, but a woman who wears that size is as real as the one who wears a size 16. What makes us “real” people is not the shape of our flesh but our basic humanity. And we lose our humanity when we judge.”
—Hugo Schwyzer
Let's talk about body image
I received this in my inbox last week:
“I just wanted to say that aside from how much I loved today’s episode, I thought your outfit was so adorable and I wish I had a better body to wear that. I weigh 280 and have been this large my entire life. I’m also really interested in sewing and watching you be so awesome on the LBD and elsewhere has inspired me to further lose weight so that I might be able to one day make the clothes I’ve seen from you (and the other lovely LBD ladies). I hope to be beautiful both inside and out like you.”
And it broke my heart.
I am so tired of the standards of beauty imposed on women in our culture. I am so tired of women thinking and feeling that they are less than other women because of how they look. If anyone is going to look at me as some kind of body role model, I want the message to be one that celebrates confidence, health, and beauty in all shapes and sizes.
I have been on a long journey toward loving and accepting my body with all its flaws and quirks, and it’s not over. It’s something I work on every day. If I could spare women the obsession with appearance, the agony of scrutinizing imperfections, and the fear of being seen as unattractive, I would. Nothing has been added to my life by feeling unhappy with my body; a lot has been added to my life by appreciating and accepting it for what it is.
To the person who wrote that message: If you have been inspired to be healthier, then I applaud and cheer you on, but it’s important that you know you are beautiful now. Until you believe that, you’ll never feel beautiful at any weight. You are not defined by a number on a scale, nor does a certain number equal beauty. There is room in this world for many kinds of beauty, and the most attractive things are confidence and self acceptance. I wish for you, and every girl, the ability to see yourself as the gorgeous, powerful, radiant being that you are. The world doesn’t have another you. Celebrate your uniqueness, and shine on.
Hollywood (Live)
Lady GagaListen, I’ve got the sickest ambition..
In 2005, virtually unknown, but making a name for herself, Stefani Germanotta, now known worldwide as superstar Lady Gaga, wrote and performed the song Hollywood a total of three times from 2005-2006. A rather curious song, Hollywood is an incredibly prophetic piece that showcases Gaga’s determination to get where she wanted to be, Hollywood. But to get there, Gaga took a road less traveled by and stirred up some trouble in the process.
In the song, she talks about plastic surgery and how as a society today, we are pressured into looking like the people we see modeling on TV or in magazines. Gaga is known, praised and criticized for her weird, outrageous styles and usually never appeals to today’s standards of beauty. She sings “Sure, Hollywood’s commercially glamorous but naturally’s the way to be, and you can’t tell me I’m not sexy!”
By being the way she is and known all over the globe for it, Gaga is slowly, but surely fitting together a puzzle that when completed, will reveal that weirdness and ugliness fit into Hollywood just as well, if not better, than plastic surgery and beauty standards. That being Born This Way, is just as acceptable. That you are perfect just the way you are and not to let anyone tell you otherwise.
