Saturday, November 6, 2010

Food For Thought

      "I find it aesthetically displeasing to watch a very, very fat person simply walk across a room," "Now, don't go getting the wrong impression: I have a few friends who could be called plump. I'm not some size-ist jerk."



Actually, Maura Kelly, you are.
 
       I know all of you have heard about Maura Kelly, the blogger for Marie Claire, bashing the show Mike and Molly. The post about the show, which is about an overweight couple who attends Overeaters Anonymous meetings, caused tons of attention...I actually found it on my Yahoo homepage. In case you haven't...here's the link.You have to read what she wrote.
Here are just some of my favorites-

"So anyway, yes, I think I'd be grossed out if I had to watch two characters with rolls and rolls of fat kissing each other ... because I'd be grossed out if I had to watch them doing anything."
"Then again, I guess these characters are in Overeaters Anonymous. So ... points for trying"
(Yes! Absolutely points for trying! If you want these hideous beasts to shrink down to an acceptable size then it's going to take time. You freak.)

    Can you see where my frustration is coming from? As of right now 3588 people have commented. And for every comment that I have seen, the poster has been enraged.  So, of course, Miss Kelly had to write an apology, which only made me even more livid.
"I feel for those people and I'm truly sorry I added to the unhappiness and pain they feel with my post." Adding to the unhappiness that I feel? Yes, I was unhappy after reading your article , but it wasn't adding to anything! As i've said before, i'm not this person who feels lost in their own skin. I don't spend every waking moment wondering what life would be like if I was skinny, you know why? Because that means i'm missing out on my fat life. (That's right....no euphemisms here! FAT!)

"I assume people suffering from eating disorders on either end of the spectrum are doing damage to their bodies, and that they are unhappy." You are absolutely one thousand percent right, Maura Kelly, you assume. So the next time you see an obese monster not walking- but charging towards you- from across a room, I wouldn't be disgusted...I would run.

Phew. Okay. Venting over. Now to the actual message of this post. The Food For Thought.

      If one person feels this way about the way I look, then there has to be others. And to be honest, that does sting a little. But the thing is- the fact that they think i'm gross doesn't sting, it's the fact that they would be missing out on all of the wonderful things I have to offer, just because of my weight. And that's just some Food For Thought.



*And for the record, it just so happens that I think Melissa McCarthy, who plays Molly, is gorgeous! She had a role in one of my all time favorite shows, Gilmore Girls. One of my favorite things about her character was that her weight was never mentioned in the show, not once. Her character wasn't about her weight, it focused on her career, her family and her friends. So here's my question...If this show wasn't based on weight related topics, would two fat people in a relationship be such a big issue?

xoxo
Tanya

3 comments:

  1. Great post. Your response was a lot less angry and profane than mine was (and probably better-written, too).

    I watched an episode online and thought the show was cute. not something I'd really set time aside for, but I laughed. I liked Melissa McCarthy a lot, and I already knew Billy Gardell from his stand-up and that one episode of CSI he was on years ago.

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  2. Thanks! I haven't even seen the show, but I doubt the two characters kissing is as repulsive as Maura Kelly says it was. Gah. Infuriated.

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  3. Ive been stuck on this article all day. Ok, not all day, but at least for half an hour now. I'm glad it lead me to your blog.
    Maura Kellys article totally blew me away. I'm just so disappointed that people like that are out there looking at me in disgust without taking the time to get to know me at all. If they even took one minute to talk to me they would know my weight does not define who I am. I am funny, trustworthy, beautiful and charming, despite my weight. And for their information I am trying. It takes no time at all to gain a bunch of weight but it takes forever to get it off and people like her, making comments like she made, make it harder. If it were really as easy as eat right and exercise 3 times a week then don't you think we would all be the picture of health? It's not that easy. And even when it is, it can take YEARS to take that weight off.
    I want to say that her (and other people like her) words don't hurt me and I can just brush it off. But that's not true. Because it's not just her. Hearing that you're disgusting over and over again will kill a person inside.
    Why can't people just assume that we're trying instead of assuming that we're slobs?

    Anyway...that was a lot longer than I planning on posting...Basically I wanted to say you rock! And I'm glad I found your blog even if it was through an article that makes us so....aggravated.

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