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Photographing "fat" celebrities in a "flattering" way

Hi every one!  Thanks so much for following.  24 new followers in a single day!  Keep telling your friends to join.  In the meantime, I'm lining up some seriously sweet prizes for upcoming contests, exclusive to Phat Ally followers.  How awesome are these prizes, you might ask?  THIS AWESOME.

This post is adapted from the Huffington Post article entitled "Celebrities & Weight: 16 Stars Who Have Taken a Stand Against Hollywood's Standard of Beauty". 

Jennifer Lawrence:
“I eat like a caveman, I’ll be the only actress who doesn’t have anorexia rumors," Jennifer Lawrence told Elle. “In Hollywood, I’m obese. I’m considered a fat actress, I’m Val Kilmer in that one picture on the beach.”

Corresponding picture:

courtesy Huffington Post

Rosario Dawson:
Rosario Dawson has often been told she needs to lose weight, but the actress attributes her weight to her "big boobs." “I would get told by my manager, ‘Rosario, you went into your audition with sweats today. If you want to wear a sweater, just make sure it’s tight.’ Because the casting directors would call her and say, ‘She’s great but the casting director needs to know if she’s slim.  I’m like, ‘Dude, have you seen the photos I’ve done? You know what I look like.’”

Corresponding picture:

courtesy Huffington Post

 Tyra Banks:

"To all of you who have something nasty to say to me or to women built like me," Tyra Banks said on her talk show, "I have one thing to say to you: Kiss my fat a**!"

Corresponding picture:

courtesy Huffington Post

 Tyra, what a fatty.

I'm not saying that I don't commend celebrities for speaking out about how unfair Hollywood's beauty standard is.  I am also pleased with the article for including diverse bodies, including several fat women of color (Gabourey Sidibe, Queen Latiyfah, Mo'Nique, and others). 

But even as they're talking about what weight rebels they are, they are being photographed in a way that highlights all of their skinny features.

You might ask, what's the point?  Isn't Hollywood just a weird alternate reality full of vain actors and bad messages about image?  Well, duh.  But that doesn't mean it has no bearing on our lives, even liberated, indie, modern, snobby feminist womyn who have no interest in garbage media.  If these and all other celeb photos have a sick obsession with hiding certain body parts that are not "flattering" (ie, not really skinny or optimally beautiful), that is certainly the way my friends and I talk/obsess about our clothing choices and pictures.

This is the first hit for "unflattering photo" on google images. Uh, what?

I thought that this Buzzfeed article did a great job of rounding up GIFs of before and after pictures of airbrushed celebrities, demonstrating that, no matter how thin you are, you will always have your "problem areas". 

You see, even this super-thin model has her armpit bulge eliminated, her skinny arm made even skinnier, her thigh pulled in.

The fabric on this model's outfit made her look too fat.  She is pretty thin, but they uniformly slimmed down on every part of her.

And don't even think about having just a teensy bit of non-toned upper arm that flattens out when you press it against something else.

I want to explore this idea of what is "flattering" in future posts.  These pictures may seem superficial, but "flattering" dictates our motivation in choosing almost our entire wardrobe.  "Flattering" drives the entire fashion and clothing industry.  It is the basis for our external sense of self-worth.  And it emerged from a long tradition of thin-centric (and white-centric) beauty.

Mama Cass was Different

It has been way too long since my last RTFO.  I miss it!

(Previous RTFOs: Jill Scott, Beth Ditto, of Gossip.)

And I haven't yet taken the time yet to tell you what RTFO stands for.  How rude!  If you're curious, you can take a look at this helpful link to decide for yourself on the best fit.

So for those of you sitting at your desk, wishing you had some delightfully strange, inspiring children's music from the 60s, I am pleased to present Mama Cass on the kid's show, Puff n Stuff.

In fact, I'm going to devote a little more space than usual for an RTFO to one of my all-time favorite singers, since the above song-while not out of character-is not representative of the majority of her work.

All I can say is, what a voice.  Here's "Dream a Little Dream".

I'm a little wary of writing this entry, as excited as I am to share old videos of Mama Cass.  Because I think it's totally condescending to write blog posts about specific fat people and write that they are awesome, therefore lending credence to the idea that fatness and awesomeness are generally mutually exclusive.

So bear with me.  I know of a study, or survey - I wish I could find it - where the subjects said that race and fatness are the first thing they notice about some one when they walk into a room, and the last thing they would want to include in a description about them.  But I truly think that as any of us befriend some one who is outside the norm - either fat, a different race, funky-haired and/or croc-wearing - we eventually become blind to their differences.  Or, at least, we see an entire person.

In that vein, every once in awhile I like to highlight people who were defined by their differences in the public eye, and made every one realize that their differences are not a big deal.  (Every one except, I guess, Internet people.)

credit casselliot.com

Mama Cass was definitely different.  And as a result, she faced discrimination, a drug problem, an unlucky love life, and crash diets that made her very ill.  The ultimate insult to her legacy is the persistent myth that her cause of death was choking on a ham sandwich - it was actually heart failure caused by excessive dieting.  I remember hearing an allusion to this story in Austin Powers.  (Sound clip can be found here.)

But she was upbeat, funny, and charismatic.  In the spirit of the era, she celebrated herself and the wonderful aspects of her physical size and personality that made her unique.  And she inspires me to this day.

BONUS: Cass singing with Joni Mitchell and Mary Travers.  Enjoy!

"Good job, you're right!" Happy Fat Tuesday, allies.

Just saw this short article in HuffPo about a woman's response to her little girl pointing out her fat legs.  She did a great job teaching her daughter a lesson about self-acceptance and the natural variation of bodies.  If you want to check it out, you can read it here.

As one commenter said, "Any adult who feels insulted by a child who is not trying to be malicious is dumb."  Even though I feel for the author's mother, I support this statement.

So HAPPY FAT TUESDAY to you . . . .

This picture is making me sweat.

 . . . and keep loving yourself and others!

The tragedy of Karen Carpenter and the trauma of weight loss

Monday, February 4th, 2013 marked the 30 year anniversary of the death of Karen Carpenter to anorexia nervosa.

Karen Carpenter had one of the most beautiful contralto voices that I have ever heard.  Hers was a heavy loss for music.  In addition to her stunning vocals, she was a rare female drummer who was awarded Best Rock Drummer in Playboy's 1975 annual magazine poll. (How prestigious was this poll?  Apparently, enough to piss off John Bonham of Led Zeppelin, landing in second.)

Her death sparked a national conversation about anorexia and bulimia and inspired several celebrities to go public with their eating disorders, including Jane Fonda and Princess Diana, helping millions of people realize that they are not alone.

(Karen Carpenter wiki.)

There are so many talented women artists out there, and they are some of my biggest inspirations.  And yet many female celebrities, held to a very thin standard, continue to perpetuate a harmful discourse about their size being more important than their careers.

(And here's the part where I dive into the dreaded garbage media.  And lose my mind.)

Jennifer Hudson, weight watchers spokesman, said: "Before Weight Watchers, my world was can't", even though she was already a major star with an Academy Award, Golden Globe, BAFTA Award, NAACP Image Award, Screen Actor's Guild Award, Grammy, and platinum album.  (In a similar vein: Janet Jackson reveals that Nutrisystem brought her success.)

On the Oz Show (I didn't realize that quack had his own show!), Dr. Oz reveals "America's most famous yo-yo dieter" (how about actress with a very long and distinguished career?!) Kirstie Alley, who reveals her dark secret for gaining weight: being in her 50s and wanting to spend time with her kids.  Her awful addiction to baking treats cause the women sitting in the audience to flash politely incredulous looks.  (Do you think the "look judgemental" sign is flashing right next to the one for "applause"?)

And a quick interjection - if you wonder how Oz makes his millions, I watched a 10 minute video on that website and saw no less than five commercials.

Rihanna in a recent interview with Complex magazine: she wants to steal another actress' identity who "just a had a baby and looks even better than I do".  Does better mean thinner?  Why would RiRi want to be thinner??  Hasn't she reached the celebrity gold standard of a perfect, media-sanctioned body?

I'm starting to notice a trend.  Could it be that there's a very strong correlation between weight loss and obsessive body dysmorphia?

credit Toothpaste for Dinner

Readers, I need your help.  Do these celebrity attitudes towards their weight at all resemble yours?  Do you feel that the process of losing weight is inherently traumatic, since your size is such an integral part of their identity?  Or is it important to feel like you have some degree of control over your body, in a way that symbolizes you have control over your life?  Was losing weight empowering for you or was it an impossible endeavor that made you crazy?

Please, tell me about your experiences with weight loss!  You can send me an e-mail or a facebook message, and of course you can leave your story in the comments if you're comfortable with that.

Thanks, guys, and stay phat.

Honey, it may just be the Chrome talking. . . .

. . . but doesn't it feel good to be validated every now and then?

Now, let's just nip this thing in the bud.

Allies, I have some great posts coming soon.  Thanks for your patience!

GOOD news!

Amid the fiscal cliff and upcoming debt ceiling talks, Violence Against Women Act (RIP), continuing violence in Syria, human rights abuses in Russia, etc, etc, etc,

At least the little world of size acceptance has had some good news lately.

NYT: "Our Absurd Fear of Fat" by Paul Campos

"The study, by Katherine M. Flegal and her associates at the C.D.C. and the National Institutes of Health, found that all adults categorized as overweight and most of those categorized as obese have a lower mortality risk than so-called normal-weight individuals."

And based on the same study:

NPR: "Research: A Little Extra Fat Might Help You Live Longer" by Allison Aubrey

A large aspect of this story is the (surprise!) vehement, angry backlash to the CDC/NIH's findings.

Also, Israel has passed a law banning models with a BMI lower than 18.5 from the runway, and requiring magazines to indicate when they have airbrushed a model to look like she has less than a BMI of 18.5.

I find it problematic that the word this article uses to describe these models is "anorexic".  (I chucked at the ABC headline that uses the phrase "BMI-Challenged".)  Still, I'm glad that they are diversifying women's bodies used in the fashion industry.  The article points to this statistic: "73% of teenage girls who abuse diet pills and 79% of teenage girls who self-purge frequently read women's fitness and health magazines." (Statistic via Rader Programs, an eating disorder clinical treatment program.)

Story: Plus Model Mag: "Israel Law Against Anorexic Models Goes Into Effect" (Picture at top mildly NSFW)

Finally, there's this Huffington Post article from today, pointing out the HAES - related fail in the UK Royal College of Physicians report on obesity, including their dubious suggestions to help people lose weight, their misleading spin on how obesity impacts medical costs, pictures of headless fatties, and Meadow's assessment of why the report's entire concern is misguided.  The worst part is the first few comments I read (I know!  I know!  I gotta stop) - defensive people who are concerned with the "why" of obesity - who clearly didn't take in anything from the article.  It's definitely worth a read!

Huffington Post: "Same Year, Same Old Nonsense About Obesity" by Angela Meadows

Now, back to all the important, depressing news in the entire world.

To view other studies that I have published, check out this post.