Nice.

In my opinion, this slogan would be a much more powerful and radical statement if it were painted across the belly of a person of size.

Whatever happened to the Flickr images on the side of the page? Did I miss a post about why those got taken down? I miss them.

Pretty kick-ass! Storm Jenny Craig headquarters!

ALLISON: "In my opinion, this slogan would be a much more powerful and radical statement if it were painted across the belly of a person of size"

I think it's a powerful statement when anyone rejects the quick-weightloss dieting industry. Men and women of all sizes and shapes are hooked on dieting, from thin to heavy.

I would love to see those types of pictures everywhere! Magazines, newspapers, billboards, trains, airplanes just about everywhere! I think people should be happy with who they are!

On the other hand, if a person's life is in jeopardy because they are morbidly obese, I think something should be done. But, a person who is a size 2 SHOULD NOT DIET!

I am happy as a 10. I like to be toned, but don't care about losing weight anymore. As long as I am healthy and happy, that's what matters.

i think that compared to what the media tells us is attractive, Allison, this woman would be considered a woman of size. but if you want to see this slogan on a woman of size's tummy, i'll do it and take a picture^.^ i'd be proud to put that slogan on my tummy!


i only wish i had been clever enough to have come up with it^.^

In my opinion, this slogan would be a much more powerful and radical statement if it were painted across the belly of a person of size.

In a sense, I actually think it's a stronger statement against the dieting industry to see this painted on the stomach of someone who doesn't "need" to diet. It reaffirms that you don't have to be heavy to be openminded about size issues, that people of any size can be against the weight-loss industry, not just those who are its ostensible targets.

if you all appreciate this photo (which i do!), check out the love yourself campaign at http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=165804553

it is so good!

I agree with you Literarycritic, but I also understand where Allison is coming from. We seem to receive such body-affirming messages much more warmly when a thin woman or a not-so-fat woman presents them. If a fat woman does the same, she’s seen as simply trying to scapegoat her fatness.

And even if a person is morbidly obese RoseColoredGlasses, dieting isn't the way to become healthier. It usually ends up leaving the person with disordered eating, health problems and just as fat if not fatter. And keep in mind: Many of the same dieting advice liberally disseminated to fat people are the same tips and tricks passed around on pro-ana boards.

I agree with Allison. I love the concept but I'm reminded of the cover of Full Frontal Feminism where a beautiful flat stomache is sassing it up. I love all sizes but sometimes it seems like there aren't enough average looking bellies sassing it up and being heard.

Any reason why my screened comment was rejected? I didn't think it was that offensive, just something I found amusing.

The woman in the picture is probably thinner than the "average" American woman, but she's certainly not the "ideal" portrayed by the media. In fact, when I saw her body I thought it was refreshing to see a tummy that looked more like mine (soft and fleshy) than the ones I'm accustomed to seeing (thin, hard and toned).

I agree with Allison...as a woman who is at the heavy end of "normal BMI", I look nothing like that (I have belly flab and a small spare tire), and even though I'm normal I'm ashamed of my belly. I feel pressure to lose weight and diet.

And let me say it is REAL EASY for someone with a flat stomach to say that I shouldn't be ashamed of my body, to be happy with what I have and frankly I'm sick of hearing it from skinny people (of which this picture is)...I'd recieve the message a lot better from someone with some belly flab like me. I'm guessing other people who are in the same category as me- other people who are told they need to lose weight, who don't have a flat abdomen- would also recieve the message better from someone who has a little more belly.

i love this message!
but what bothers me is that, while her stomach is soft and fleshy, she has. no. stretch marks.
i have stretch marks, the majority of my 15-17 year old friends have stretch marks (female, male, those who are a healthy weight, and those who are overweight)if not on their stomach at least on their hips, and areas that would be visible in a picture like this

Sonia - What's wrong with not having stretch marks? As far as I've seen, none of my friends (of all sizes) have stretch marks on their bellies. Is this actually the norm and I've never been aware of it?

I get what Allison is saying and agree that thay may be a more powerful message, but I think that it is very dismissive Leah to say that it is "REAL EASY" for thin people to love their bodies.

I am not saying that it is not easier, it may very well be. But in my experience, girls of all shapes and sizes think they are one change away from loving their bodies. "I would love my body if it was a two instead of a four, if I was a C-cup instead of a b-cup, if my butt were bigger relative to my waist." Yet the love never comes cause no matter what, we don't look like the airbrushed/surgically constructed people in catalogs. I think that this is the super clever ploy of the patriarchy, make it seem like you WILL love your body so long as your meet their standard, but no one ever feels like they have met that standard.

Anyway, again, not saying that life and body love aren't easier for thin girls. But I think to say that it is "real easy" is offensively dismissive of the stuggle many have gone through to be happy with their bodies.

On a lighter note, that girl is fairly pale, and I am guessing that she, like me, may have stretch marks that only show when she tans.

Honestly, I am well overweight (was 150lbs when very active, now 180) and my stomach would look similar lying down.

As for stretch marks... you what? I don't have stretch marks, I don't know anybody with stretch marks around their belly or hips (unless they've had kids), though a few with stretch marks on their breasts. There's nothing wrong with them but I wouldn't say it's the norm?

AP - I didn't say it was easy for them to love their bodies...I said it's easy for them to tell ME to love my body when I'm being down on my weight.

Let's put it this way: perhaps it's real easy for me, with my large breasts, to tell a small-breasted woman to love her breasts. But I don't have the same struggle, and it's pretty insulting for me to assume so. Likewise, when I am insecure about my belly fat, it's pretty easy for someone with NO belly fat to tell me not to be. That person doesn't have the same pressures as me to be thin; the suggestion is almost insulting because they really don't understand my situation. It's almost like someone without depression telling a depressed person to "just be happy."

I feel like the essence of this is being lost. No matter what your race, gender, ses, religion, sexual orientation, size, etc., this is a powerful mission to join. The movement is based on inclusiveness and dismantling the arbitrary numbers that are "weight standards." Break out of the diet mentality by saying fuck it to size in general. I am not even going to comment on my opinion of the woman's stomach because it does not matter. She is a part of the movement, and for that I am grateful. One more person taking on the true ugliness-weight discrimination and lack of fat acceptance.

When I was 325 pounds, I needed to lose weight. Period. It wasn't healthy, I was damaging my health--also damaging my mental health. I lost 125 pounds through changing my diet and exercising, not "dieting." No quick-change diets for me, I had learned they didn't work. I still made myself more ill while losing the weight by aggravating my gallstones. I probably had them already, but losing weight made them much, much worse. Since it took my stupid doctor four months to diagnose them, I ended up with chronic pancreatitis, a very serious life-long chronic disease. Even with all of that, I'm still glad I lost the weight. If some people want to accept their fat, then that's great for them. It didn't work for me. I was miserable, and it wasn't fat-shaming or anything like that. I felt constantly tired, I'm an athletic person and I hated being winded by walking up a flight of stairs. So many problems disappeared after I lost the weight. For example, while fat, I had problems sleeping (sleep apnea), I had carpal tunnel syndrome, I had terrible backaches, my feet and legs swelled, and when I lost the weight varicose veins on my legs that had been hidden by the fat showed up. There are a myriad of other things that fat people deal with every day that thinner people never realize, like not being able to wear skirts in warm weather because your thighs rub together too much. And when you're that big, it's impossible to be in good shape no matter how much you work out, and you're likely to injure yourself from the sheer weight burden on your joints. BTW, if you check my numbers, I was still wasn't skinny when I stopped, the lowest I got to was about 190 (I lost weight while ill) which made me a size 12 at six feet tall. I'll never be skinny, and I'm OK with that. My body likes to be about a size 14. At that size, I can run 35 miles a week and eat whatever I want. I feel great and I feel sexy. My husband definitely agrees with me. ;) (Right now I'm pregnant.)

The point I'm trying to make is that while accepting your body is the ideal, telling women (and men) that they're fine no matter what their weight isn't true for everyone. As Leah said, it's easy for skinny or normal people to say that. It's hard to understand what extremely obese people have to deal with if you haven't been there. And the truth is that being that large just isn't healthy. Yo-yo dieting isn't healthful either. There needs to be a better solution, such as greater education of nutrition and exercise, along with counseling and support for people trying to change their bodies. I'm not saying everyone should be skinny, but telling everyone that losing weight is a tool of the patriarchy isn't true either. For people of size, accepting and loving their bodies should mean realizing that fat is not their fault, it isn't a sign of weakness or laziness, but also realizing that if they want to be as healthy as possible, they need to lose weight in a safe and sensible manner by changing to a life-long healthful diet. Yes, there are undoubtedly people with medical conditions who can't lose weight, but I'm not talking about them. Besides, everyone would benefit from eating more healthfully. It's not easy, I have to eat a special diet because of my pancreatitis so I understand that. But when it means living longer with my husband and child, I'm happy to do it.