Misogyny

[poliphilo]

OK- so it's wrong for women to be overweight.

And it's also wrong for them to be underweight. So wrong that Milan has banned skinny models from the catwalk and there are calls for them to be banned universally.

I don't know whether our society hates women or fears them or a bit of both but, whatever dark things are stirring in the collective psyche, what's happening out in the light is that women are getting bossed about- as usual.  Ooh, they don't know how to look after themselves, the sluts; let's teach 'em.

Sit up girls and take notice; daddy has something to say;  You've got to eat up everything on your plate or you don't get to go out to play.  Yes, even the broccoli. Especially the broccoli. I know it's tough, Samantha, but it's for your own good!

Comments

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Where do I stand? I think we should stop bullying people about how they look. There are extremes of fatness and thinness which are unhealthy, but everything else, in between, is cool.

I hate it how our society teaches women to hate their bodies.

I'm married to a large woman, by the way...:)

[red-girl-42.livejournal.com]

There are extremes of fatness and thinness which are unhealthy, but everything else, in between, is cool.

There are definitely extremes that are unhealthy, but what intrigues me is why this one issue in particular seems to have become a moral issue disguised as "concern about women's health."

Lots of behaviors are very unhealthy and yet there doesn't seem to be as much vitriol spewed at, say, avid suntanners or the sleep-deprived as there is at people who are very fat or very skinny. Of course it's not healthy to be obese, but it's probably not very healthy for me to drink as much beer as I do, too. That doesn't give anyone the right to yell insults at me on the street.

It's a catch-22. On one hand, I think it's important to inform people about all of the factors that might affect their health. On the other hand, I think that all this attention to the health effects of weight are providing too handy a front for people who really just, deep down, want to punish fat or skinny people.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I think the obese and bulimic are being attacked because they're easy targets, because they're not going to hit back, because they're powerless.

It's just schoolyard bullying on a larger scale. Ooh look, that kid is kinda weird-looking; let's make her cry!

And because there's a genuine medical issue involved the bullies can call names and point fingers and still feel righteous about themselves.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I'm watching series #3 of America's Top Model. There's a plus size girl who's made the cut this time round and she's amazing and fearless and proud.