DISABLED BODY POSITIVE ART?!
Fuck yeah!!!
A bad day for body positivity…
I’m so sad about this.
Christina Hendricks Offended by “Full-Figure” Comment
You can read the above article for more details and to watch the clip, but the gist of the incident is that an interviewer asked Christina Hendricks about her “full-figured” body and how she has served as an inspiration to other women. Hendricks cut that portion of the interview, they started again, and the interviewer asked the same exact question. Hendricks once again protested, responding with “I think calling me full-figured is just rude.”
Now, please don’t get me wrong, I completely agree with the sentiment that society’s preoccupation with her body is absurd and appalling, and I cannot even begin to imagine how it feels to be in her shoes. She has every right to not want to be asked that question.
However, as a feminist and as a larger woman, I can’t even articulate how hurt I am by Hendricks’ comment. The reporter has minimal tact and seems kind of oblivious, yes. But to be offended by the word “full-figured,” to me, says “excuse me, how dare you associate me with one of those people. I am not fat, how dare you call me that to my face.”
With that simple expression, Hendricks is making it known that she sees being full-figured, fat, curvy, whatever you call it, as bad and wrong and shameful. She has automatically assigned a pejorative context to the word. She does not want to be associated with that group. It is as if the reporter had said “as a woman, you have inspired a lot of people” and Hendricks replied with “I think calling me a woman to my face is kind of rude.”
Our society has taught us to think this way, and I can appreciate that. But there are only so many hundred times a day that I can stomach hearing people of all types equating “fat” or “heavy” with “ugly,” “lazy,” “worthless.” The next time you say to yourself “does this make me look fat?”, I want you to imagine saying the same thing about other oppressed and shamed populations. “Gross, does this shirt make me look Latino?” “I was going to eat that bagel but I don’t want to be a Jew.”
(Also, please know that I am in no way trying to compare or equate fat shaming with racism and anti-semitism. I merely want to draw attention to the ways in which we instinctively use theoretically neutral descriptors to convey that something is bad, wrong, or unpleasant.)
I really respect and admire Christina Hendricks, but learning about this made me feel completely dejected and deflated. A woman I look up to as a strong symbol of body acceptance just said my body offends her, and that really, really stings.
#1 Junior Tennis Player in the World Benched for Being Too Fat:
16-year-old Taylor Townsend is currently the number one junior tennis player in the world, bringing hope to the increasingly troubled state of American tennis. Considered a prodigy, Townsend is one of 25 junior players currently being trained at the brand-new full-time academy in Boca Raton, FL, which is funded by the United States Tennis Association (USTA).
Logically, this would seem to make her a major asset for the sport. However, Townsend has been benched by the USTA until further notice. The reason? Evidently, Townsend is just too darn fat.
Thursday, she won two matches at the U.S. Open’s junior tournament, the last a dominating two-set victory over Mexico’s Marcela Zacarias in which she pumped her fist after winners and jogged to her chair for every changeover.But unbeknownst to everyone outside her inner circle, the USTA wasn’t happy to see Townsend in New York. Her coaches declined to pay her travel expenses to attend the Open and told her this summer that they wouldn’t finance any tournament appearances until she makes sufficient progress in one area: slimming down and getting into better shape.
Women, we’re actually all in this together, it’s no joke
Emily’s back! Discussing ableism within feminism, body positivity and a need for greater representation for disabled women.
More Feminism and Ableism Videos! http://bit.ly/OMtKuj
This Dame:
Tumblr: http://siouxsieismygrandma.tumblr.com
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/icaruskissmygun
“…I took a picture to show the difference between a men’s XL and a woman’s. Here lies a problem I see so frequently it’s upsetting. How are both of these shirts an XL? What message are clothing companies saying to our women? Sometimes it feels like they are saying, “It’s ok for men to be a certain size but, not you.” Women are often forced to be in a certain size bracket or it’s too bad so sad.”
- Sarah Robles, USA weightlifting OlympianI talk about this all the fucking time, how come the sizing between men and womens clothes is SO DIFFERENT? My boyfriend is a tall and chunky dude and generally wears an xl, and even though I’m built smaller than him I sometimes have to wear a womens 3xl. WHAT?
Food for thought, ya’ll.
