Thin may be in on the runways, but the blogosphere is providing heavy men and women with a place to inspire each other–not to try the latest fad diet or lose that last 5 pounds, but to accept themselves as they are.

The fat acceptance movement has been growing steadily in response to the dwindling sizes of models, celebrities, and the average man or women who feels pressured to live up to those unrealistic standards. The primary message behind fat acceptance is one of health, not excess or loss of control. Because tools like BMI calculators do not take into account frame size or muscle percentage, many athletes and other healthy people are categorized as fat or even obese. This has contributed to shock figures like “6 out of 10 Americans are overweight“. Read More »

I just found out about this website, and I can’t tell if it’s the worst thing ever or the best thing since sliced, carb-free bread.

The Skinny Website.

A site dedicated to our obsession with celebrities and their weight. All things “skinny” – what celebs are eating, how much of a cow they look like and many, many blogs that keep track of how much weight our favorite famous gals are putting off and taking on.

Yea, sure, it’s a COMPLETELY superficial website, COMPLETELY representative of everything wrong with our image-consumed society, but for some reason, I’m excited about this discovery. I mean, I can go anywhere to see Ashlee Simpson post-shopping, (boring) but now I can get the “skinny” on what she’s digesting! Read More »

Every girl knows that unless you’re some kind of anomaly and super okay with every inch of your body, the idea of being scrutinized in a bathing suit is a thought horrifying enough to keep most of us in sweats forever.

Why then, are so many people interested in breaking down celebrities who aren’t frighteningly thin?

Jennifer Love Hewitt is the most recent victim of badly angled paparazzi photos, and I have to say, I feel every inch of her pain. Sure, the girl isn’t skinny, but she’s not fat.

So there are a few instances of cellulite. So she has a waist thicker than a pencil. So she’s not wearing a ton of make-up at the beach. How many average women does this describe?

I’m happy that JLW isn’t thin. Even though I don’t watch her show (I mean, if we’re being honest here…it’s totally boring), I think she’s a good role model for girls all over the country who have boobs and an ass.

She’s on TV and she’s not a size 0. There’s hope for us all. Read More »

Every day, girls all over America are doing their best to be “cute and skinny”.

Dieting, working out, spending hours in the bathroom, squeezing ourselves into tight pants, strapping on a pair of Spanx, we’ll do whatever it takes to reach the pinnacle of girly beauty.

Over in Japan, guys are doing the exact same thing (minus the Spanx…I think).

Traditionally, it was the women of Japan who strived to be tiny, but after the country went through a “health and exercise boom” about 7 years ago, the “new Japanese woman” wasn’t afraid to show off her curves and muscles, and was “proud” of her sexuality.

Guys, on the other hand, started to shrink.

“Young males between the ages of 18 and 30 make up the slimmest segment of the [Japanese] population” explains the International Herald Tribune, “and the ideal fashion weight as decreed by the apparel industry is 57 kilograms, or about 125 pounds, for a height of 175 centimeters, or 5 feet 8 inches”.

No six-packs or bursting biceps here. At 125 pounds, most of these guys probably don’t have the arm strength to lift much of anything, let alone weights. Read More »

So, has anyone else noticed that dolls are getting really slutty?

First, the world had to deal with Bratz. Strange, big headed dolls with too much make-up and really skanky outfits. Dolls that—as far as I can tell—are totally aimed at creating 4th grade fashion disasters.

Besides making it seem cool to be so skinny your head looks like a watermelon, Bratz embody insipidness, sluttiness, and vapidness, limiting girls’ imaginations to taking their dolls to the “mall”, buying their dolls “stuff”, and seeing how many times their doll is mistaken for a hooker on the doll sidewalk.

Gone are the days when girls would be satisfied with a long, frilly pink dress for their dolls. Gone are the innocent one-piece bathing suits and “career” outfits. Now, thigh high stockings, tiny shirts, and skirts so short you can totally almost see plastic doll butt are all the rage.

Illustrating this disgusting theory even further is Barbie’s—or rather, Mattell’s—answer to the Bratz dynasty: My Scene Barbie. Read More »

Have you ever sat around in your sweats with some ice cream, happened to switch on America’s Next Top Model, and thought, you know, this show is the biggest fest of shit I’ve come across in a long time?

No? Maybe it’s just me.

It’s not that I want to hate on Tyra, my body just has this weird reaction whenever she stands up in front of the girls and acts like she’s Mother Teresa’s direct descendent.

And the show certainly doesn’t do anything to disperse the stereotype that models are bitchy, pretentious, and have a whole lotta issues with food. Season after season I’m amazed at how willing these girls are to throw each other under the train while stealing granola bars and lying about it.

Anyway, if you’ve ever wanted to know what the casting process is like for this skinny girl freak fest, just click here. Whoever she is, she’s tiny enough to get inside the inner sanctum and funny enough to report back on what they actually make you do at Camp Tyra (which sound seriously, seriously frightening).

…As for me, I’ll keep my ice cream and my size 6 jeans and skip over the umpteenth season in favor of a little televised wonder I like to call Wife Swap. I’ll take crazy, controlling families over fake drama any day.

Is Tyra a saint…or just totally crazy?

True to my procrastinating nature, I have yet to begin my summer diet-exercise regimen. And, like any adept procrastinator would, I’ve spent the past month coming up with excuses for why I’ll hit the gym and pick up a yogurt “starting tomorrow.”

In the spirit of making excuses, I’m going to pardon myself and the rest of the lazy gals who have, too, put off their summer 2007 workout plans. The excuse? Summer didn’t officially start until yesterday.

So while there’s no point in regretting our inactivity thus far, I do think it’s about time to step up our game and make up for lost time.

And I’ve got the perfect assistant to help you get back on track: “Tank Top Arms, Bikini Belly, Boy Shorts Bottom.” It’s not just a catchy title. This workout delivers a solid total body workout that’ll prep you for each of the three clothing items referenced.

Minna Lessig, who’s apparently an at-home exercise guru, leads the workout, which is broken down into six sections: warm up; tank top arms; bikini belly; boy shorts bottom; total-body workout; and cool down. Read More »

I’m a whore for pictures. I bring my camera with me everywhere, and have blinded people on nights out by taking pictures every 42 seconds. Seen those stop motion films ever? That’s a perfect example of how my nights out are documented. Love, love pictures.

And I’m still totally in awe of digital cameras. Not all the fancy-shmancy settings you can do, it’s all about the little things for me. I’m still amazed that you’re able to see the picture right away—and realize that was a really bad angle of you. You can simply erase any unflattering image that’s on there and ensure no one has blackmail material on you later. You will not be scarring my facebook image with that, thank you very much. And it’s gone. Read More »

Everyday there’s something new in the gossip columns about Nicole Richie’s skeletal frame. And there’s no doubt about it—girl needs to eat! She looks like she could be blown over by a gust of wind. All those pregnancy rumors? I honestly hope not cause that’s going to be one seriously unhealthy little baby.

Keira Knightley and Kate Bosworth also face a lot of scrutiny over their diminished frames. They can lie all they want about being healthy, but their rib cages poking out say otherwise. Actually Kate’s looking a little healthier, so that’s good. Mmmm food…isn’t it good, Kate?

OK, so all these girls are uber-skinny, and I’m obviously sort of a hater. You can call it jealousy, and it partially is. I eat a piece of lettuce and its girth is immediately added to the side of my thighs. And it makes me maaaaaaad. I really, really just want a cheeseburger, but my butt can’t handle the added pounds. But I would much rather look like the lovely Kate Winslet than any of these scary looking pre-pubescent shaped actresses.

What makes me even more mad, though, is image they portray to women. When my friend’s 13 year-old sister said she thought Nicole Ritchie had the perfect body I almost shoved a sheet of Oreos down her throat right then and there. I mean, really?

But instead of always commenting on Nicole (she’s obviously not enjoying the paps lately anyway) why the hell does no one ever say anything about Victoria Beckham?

She reportedly has a 23 inch waist—which, after doing some research, I learned is equivalent to the waist of a seven year old child! Some people are naturally really skinny—and Victoria is obviously one of them— but if you look at Posh over the years, she’s definitely been withering away. Read More »

Our country has an obvious obsession with skinny people, as evidenced by phenoms such as the new hot body part: the clavicle. I know that it is easy to equate thin with healthy. The less body fat you have, the healthier you are. Makes sense, right?

Well, this actually might not be true. According to a recent Associated Press article, thin people might actually have a lot of internal fat surrounding organs. This kind of fat could be just as dangerous as external fat. Yes, finally, sweet justice for all normal sized girls. You skinny minis could be have just as much fat on the inside. HA.

“According to the data, people who maintain their weight through diet rather than exercise are likely to have major deposits of internal fat, even if they are otherwise slim. ‘The whole concept of being fat needs to be redefined,’ said Bell, whose research is funded by Britain’s Medical Research Council.”

Holler. I agree with this Bell guy. If this research is true, then using the term “fat” could refer to a lot of things. This is definitely an interesting concept to ponder…Maybe someone should inform Nicole Ritchie or Mary Kate about the news!