The things I do for those who love me... *wink*
Yesterday's newspaper had a front-page headline about Internet sites that are supportive of those suffering from anorexia. When I say supportive of, I mean that they support a girl's decision to become an anorexic -- the sites glorify the skeletal bodies of these anorexic girls and give tips on how to become a better anorexic. Apparently, it's the control that these girls have that is considered the greatest achievement -- the control to ignore the hunger pangs and stop eating. Of course, the medical community is very concerned because there are girls every day who die from anorexia, certainly not a disease to dismiss lightly.
Then to make matters worse, the section of the newspaper devoted to comics and news about your favorite celebrities had a front-page article about a lady who lost a great deal of weight the old-fashioned way: dieting, exercise, and a whole lot of willpower. I admit, that lady looks fantastic, especially considering that she's well over forty, maybe even fifty.
But what made that article disturbing was in the midst of exclaiming over how trim this woman now is, the reporter casually mentions that she had dropped enough weight to go from a size 22 to a size 2.
A size 2.
See, what's wrong with the image that women have of themselves nowadays (even I do, seeing as I am rather overweight myself) is that thin is never thin enough. My mother when she was young wore a size 6 -- and damn, was she gorgeous. Even after bearing my sister and me, she was able to still be thin without any seeming effort on her part. But a size 6 is nice and trim, but still allows a woman to look like a woman.
A size 2 leads to jutting ribs and prominent hip bones. This is sexy??
My sister Michele is all about health and nutrition, which all of you who read her page would know. She has battled weight ever since puberty and was, at one time, almost as overweight as I am. But now, she has exercised and eaten a healthy diet so that she is now a lot thinner.
But I wouldn't guess her size as anything smaller than a size 7 -- which on her trim figure looks good. Michele still looks like a woman, with an hourglass figure and curves for her husband to enjoy. And besides, I doubt if she could ever reach a size 2 without starving herself since our genetic body type is to be voluptuous rather than stick-thin.
So to have an article about the concerns of anorexia in our world today backed up by an article entitled "Thinderella" where a woman manages to get into a size 2, well, to me that's just trouble waiting to happen. What's wrong with a size 6? Or even a size 10?? But it's the fashion now to be a size 2 or a size 4 -- and in some cases a size 0. The woman who lost so much weight is now a mentor to other women who want to lose weight, and she'll just sell dreams that can't be achieved to some women. Not all women can reach a size 2 without starving themselves, without becoming anorexic.
And when I look at girls who wear a size 2, with their hipbones jutting forward and their rib bones more prominent than their breasts, I wonder why they want to be so thin. They've gone beyond thin and into skinny. And skinny is definitely not something I'd want to be.
Thin does not necessarily equal beautiful. And I have my friend, the extremely gorgeous Liad to prove it!!
I just wish women would exercise and eat right in order to be healthy, and accept the particular body type that's been assigned to them. There's not much I can do with my body type, and I'm not about to starve myself to mold my body into something it's not. If you don't like me or think I'm attractive because I'm larger than a size 2, then you're not worth my time anyhow. And more women need to think like that and stop worrying about what others think of them.
Everyone's beautiful! :o)