Nothing tastes as good as logic feels.On the operating table, I was prepped for the procedure by a female nurse and a male doctor. When the nurse lifted the hospital gown above my abdomen, she exclaimed, “Look at that pretty flat stomach!”
I processed this statement for a moment. A medical professional had complimented me on my thinness, which was so extreme as to prevent me from having life-saving surgery, while prepping me for a procedure intended to help me gain weight.
To his credit, the doctor quickly snapped, “That’s the problem!” but her message couldn’t have been clearer.
We live in a culture that so values thinness, that values such extreme thinness, that I received a compliment about my body when I was on an operating table, when I was so ill and weighed so little that doctors feared I might not survive major surgery.
— Amber Leab, guest posting at ShakesvilleCheck out this terrific post about learning to accept a prominent scar. I have a (smaller) keloid scar in the exact same place on my chest. I now see it as a part of my skin, like my freckles and moles, but I used to feel very strange about it, especially when people got nosy.
Remember, if you look like you have any body fat, those unsightly curves will be digitally slimmed. But if you look like you don’t have body fat, those unsightly bones will be fixed for you.
Some things it might not be worth your time to argue about
1. Whether a woman whose breasts look different when she is
- over a decade younger
- wearing a string bikini
- thinner
- Photoshopped to hell
has had breast implants.
2. Whether draconian comment moderation is necessary even on ostensibly feminist blogs.
Ahem.
Seth Rogen says “Now that the movie’s over I hope to get fat again. Because I enjoy it.“
Fun party trick: pick a lady actor who would be caught dead saying that!
![thedailywhat:
Infographic of the Day: Matt Ellerbrock explains the impetus behind his “Many Bodies of Christian Bale” infographic (you know, besides Christian Bale’s many bodies):
With the recent release of David O. Russell’s “The Fighter,” starring Mark Walberg and Christian Bale, I’ve often found myself explaining to friends and family the incredible body transformations Christian Bale has gone through since filming “The Machinist” (2004). I typically resort to googling images of the actor to compare, and have done this enough to discover that there are some composite images from a few of Bale’s roles, but nothing comes close to showing us a more complete picture of just what he’s gone through over the last 8 years of his career. This image is my attempt to remedy that.
inb4 The Many Bodies of Kermit the Frog.
[/film.]
I am trying to imagine what the critical and popular reactions would be to a female actress who gained 70 pounds between one role and the next. Remember the hoopla around Renee Zellweger’s “fat” Bridget Jones body?
And more recently, Gwyneth Paltrow’s 20-pound “nightmare” weight gain for Country Strong:
Christian Bale effectively mimics eating disorders to go from one role to another, and his commitment to his craft is lauded the more for the changes to his body. Most Hollywood actresses do this their entire lives, and the “nightmare” is when they gain a tiny amount for a role. Seeing them with fleshier bodies makes it harder to ignore just how narrow (pun intended) the beauty standard they reify is.](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_leo96w912a1qzpwi0o1_500.jpg)
Infographic of the Day: Matt Ellerbrock explains the impetus behind his “Many Bodies of Christian Bale” infographic (you know, besides Christian Bale’s many bodies):
With the recent release of David O. Russell’s “The Fighter,” starring Mark Walberg and Christian Bale, I’ve often found myself explaining to friends and family the incredible body transformations Christian Bale has gone through since filming “The Machinist” (2004). I typically resort to googling images of the actor to compare, and have done this enough to discover that there are some composite images from a few of Bale’s roles, but nothing comes close to showing us a more complete picture of just what he’s gone through over the last 8 years of his career. This image is my attempt to remedy that.
inb4 The Many Bodies of Kermit the Frog.
[/film.]
I am trying to imagine what the critical and popular reactions would be to a female actress who gained 70 pounds between one role and the next. Remember the hoopla around Renee Zellweger’s “fat” Bridget Jones body?
And more recently, Gwyneth Paltrow’s 20-pound “nightmare” weight gain for Country Strong:
Christian Bale effectively mimics eating disorders to go from one role to another, and his commitment to his craft is lauded the more for the changes to his body. Most Hollywood actresses do this their entire lives, and the “nightmare” is when they gain a tiny amount for a role. Seeing them with fleshier bodies makes it harder to ignore just how narrow (pun intended) the beauty standard they reify is.
Said of Elle Fanning. She is not oversexed because she is ACTUALLY PREPUBESCENT.
H/t Jezebel.
One article, two quotes
- It’s not a secret that stars have to watch their weight […] and for “Big Love” actress Ginnifer Goodwin, the answer has been to stick to Weight Watchers…for the long haul. Goodwin reveals in the January/February 2011 issue of Health magazine that she’s been on Weight Watchers since she was 9, and in fact, she was back on it at the time of the interview.
- “And working with my amazing stylist, I’m really good at hiding things, so I’m always pretty confident. Except when I’m in a bathing suit. It doesn’t matter what my body looks like, I hate putting on bathing suits in front of other people.”
Ginnifer Goodwin, teensy tiny person, reveals her diet “secret”: she’s been on a diet since she was prepubescent.
A Christmas gift for everyone who is not a Hollywood actress, and also everyone who is:
