author . . . in love with the world

Outdoors at Chihuly Garden and Glass, Seattle, WA.

Sat, 25 May 2013 10:27:57 -0700

Outdoors at Chihuly Garden and Glass, Seattle, WA.

Chihuly Garden and Glass, Seattle, WA

Sat, 25 May 2013 10:22:00 -0700

Chihuly Garden and Glass, Seattle, WA

Photo

Fri, 24 May 2013 10:32:33 -0700

Fat Body Politics: Thin Privilege vs. "Thin Shaming"

Thu, 23 May 2013 17:26:27 -0700

Fat Body Politics: Thin Privilege vs. "Thin Shaming":

thisisthinprivilege:

gradientlair:

Thin privilege exists in America and many Western nations. Even in places where this may seem questionable, Eurocentric beauty and Americanized notions of beauty are broadcasted into other places and presented as superior.

I got somewhat pissed off about thin people playing doctor earlier on Twitter and tweeted this:

Gotta love these thin ppl who aren’t physicians, eating shit, fucking raw, smoking, drinking then discussing health based on weight.

March 15, 2013

The assumption that a person is hardworking, healthy, and responsible accompanies thinness. People assume that a person that is considered “fat” is also lazy and not a good employee. Employers are discriminatory to people who aren’t thin in ways that can mimic employment discrimination for race, gender and sexuality (and it compounds with intersectionality). People do not go into “physician mode” around thin people just by looking at them. Imagine how ridiculous two thin people would look if one immediately started discussing the others’ health without knowing them? Now change one of those people to a larger person and most people would have no problem with the discussion. Often thin people act as if they have the right to discuss others’ weight and mask their bigotry as “concern.” This becomes especially ignorant in cases where the person they are speaking of has no relationship to them and they, as usual, are not physicians. (Not that even trained physicians are automatically “neutral” in how they view, react to and treat their patients who are not thin. They too live in this kyriarchal society that attaches stigma to heavier weight. Even science is not “neutral.” It’s a popular myth though.)

Thinness is immediately associated with beauty (and femininity). Even if a woman is devalued for another reason (i.e. race), the fact that she is thin or has a smallish frame and is curvy (as curviness seems to be required for women of colour—in relation to the hypersexualization that we face, though it differs by race) is often considered more beautiful than someone who is considered “fat” or “large” or “obese.” Thin men can be disrespected individually, and deemed less masculine (as patriarchy and sexism intersect) for not having muscles, but there is no oppression that thin men collectively face because of thinness alone. In fact, coupled with height, thinner and taller men tend to earn more than shorter and heavier men.

Among some Black people, I have heard the term “thin shaming.” This has a long history because most Black women exist outside the parameters of Eurocentric beauty myths to start with and our own notions of intraracial aesthetic exist—ones definitely impacted by Eurocentric beauty, with some divergence.

In my experience, being too thin and developing breasts/hips later than other Black girls made some Black girls pick on me in 5th-7th grade. And though it hurt my feelings, these same girls also picked on any Black girl deemed “fat.” These curvier girls who began to physically mature around age 9-12 became symbols of beauty for other Black girls (and unfortunately, the history of misogynoir plays a role here as these Black girls were already intraracially and interracially hypersexualized because their physical appearance [despite lack of adult cognitive ability yet] was interpreted as “sexual readiness,” so it wasn’t just other Black girls who wanted to look like them that created this attention; it was often much older Black men adding a different element of “attention”) especially if other factors were at play, i.e. light skin, less coarse/long hair etc.; all facets of Eurocentric beauty, though still not deemed “beautiful” when they are compared to White girls.

However, I remember that colorism’s manifestation on complexion and hair were what stressed me most, not being mocked for being thin. Then of course, there’s the teasing that some Black men and Black women endure when they are deemed too thin and are assumed to not be eating well. (Obviously the history of poverty and having enough food is a factor as well, not just aesthetics in this case.) Older people, primarily the women in Black families joke about feeding them more, or question if they are starving when away at college, and similar jokes. Thus, the idea that thinness is always praised is not completely true. However, the lack of individual praise in certain instances is not the same thing as the systematic oppression of thin people.

The notion that teasing for thinness is oppression is a false notion. There is no equal oppression of thin people as there is for people who are considered fat or obese, thus creating thin privilege in the first place. If critically thinking people understand that there is no “reverse racism,” “heterophobia,” “misandry” and other made up systems of oppression that are in fact oppressed people individually responding to oppression and those with privilege having a fit about this response, why is it so hard to understand that thin shaming is not the same as the oppression of people considered “fat” or “obese” that affords these thin people thin privilege in the first place? Ah but…privilege tends to obscure itself from its possessor.

The fact that I can write this with the knowledge that I won’t be reduced to being called a “hater” or “bitter” or “secretly ashamed of my weight” is evidence of my own thin privilege. It’s like a White person writing an essay about race. No one questions her/his motivations as solely personal (as if that is bad) and thereby suspect. I have people check me on my thin privilege all of the time, and I appreciate it. For example, I wrote about Michelle Obama’s book American Grown, and one of the rebloggers added even more nuance to the conversation that I couldn’t see because of thin privilege. Another person asked me about adding more photographs of thick and fat Black women to my blog since I share images of beautiful Black women here, to reinforce what a Google search and the media at large neglects. I was glad to be called out and I am working on making my blog more diverse as Black women as a group are incredibly diverse.

As a Black woman, no, I don’t have White privilege, male privilege, class privilege, light skin privilege, passing privilege, or theist privilege. However, I do have cis privilege, heterosexual privilege, educational privilege (which partially ties into class privilege, but I do not have that socioeconomically) and thin privilege. I am not going to start whining about 5th grade girls being mean to me for being thin when I know damn well that no one will consider me unhealthy, lazy, stupid, or ignorant solely because of my weight. I know that weight alone, without considering intersectional parameters, will not hold me back from anything. I know that more positive assumptions are made about me versus Black women who aren’t thin.

To be truly progressive, Black women who openly discuss the privileges that we do not have (and the severe oppression that we do face) must also be willing to discuss privileges that we do have. Thus, I hope the usual denial and silence on light skinned privilege, passing privilege, cis privilege, heterosexual privilege, thin privilege and theist privilege (as they apply) will become, well…less silent.

To learn more about thin privilege, visit the Tumblr blog This Is Thin Privilege.

2 good essays on this topic, by other writers: Think People Hate Fat? Lemme Show You How Much, The Politics of Curviness and White Womanhood

Great article at Gradient Lair, check it out. It deftly draws the comparison between talking about thin privilege, fat oppression, and ‘thin-shaming.’

fastcompany: fastcodesign: A Beautiful Cheat Sheet For Two...

Thu, 23 May 2013 08:47:06 -0700

fastcompany:

fastcodesign:

A Beautiful Cheat Sheet For Two Dozen Espresso-Based Drinks

Ugh. Just when you kinda sorta started to get a handle on the wide world of wine, along comes another new liquid metric for how cosmopolitan you really are (or aren’t): coffee.

Love this one! Here’s another.

Coffee, beautiful coffee.

omgthatdress: Stockings 1900 The Victoria & Albert...

Thu, 23 May 2013 08:46:03 -0700

omgthatdress:

Stockings

1900

The Victoria & Albert Museum

want

lbardugo: Book fiends ftw!

Wed, 22 May 2013 09:06:49 -0700

lbardugo:

Book fiends ftw!

dailyotter: Mother and Daughter Aniak and Sekiu Have a Cuddle...

Wed, 22 May 2013 09:05:13 -0700

dailyotter:

Mother and Daughter Aniak and Sekiu Have a Cuddle at Seattle Aquarium

Via canopic

"We [Fraction and his wife, Kelly Sue DeConnick] were pregnant at the time, and while I was out there..."

Wed, 22 May 2013 09:04:17 -0700

“

We [Fraction and his wife, Kelly Sue DeConnick] were pregnant at the time, and while I was out there I started to realize that if I had a daughter, there would come a day when I would have to apologize to her for my profession. I would have to apologize for the way it treats and speaks to women readers, and the way it treats its female characters.

I knew that if we had a daughter, because I know my wife and I know the kind of girl she wants to raise and I know the kind of girl I want to raise, she was going to look at what I did for a living and want to know how the fuck I could stomach it. How could I sell her out like that?” Fraction continued. “That conversation is still coming, and I’m bracing for it in the way that some dads brace for their daughter’s first date or boyfriend. I became acutely aware that I had sort of done that thing that lots of privileged hetero cisgendered white dudes do. ‘I’m cool with women, and that’s enough.’ It’s not enough. It’s embarrassing to say, because we somehow have attached shame to learning and evolving our opinions, culturally, but I became aware that there was a deficiency of and to women in my work, and all I could do at that moment was take care of my side of the street.

”

- Writer Matt Fraction on his role on expanding the profile of female characters in the Marvel Universe. (via goodmanw)

This quote is the #1 reason why I was willing to pick up Hawkeye over just about every other comic out there on the shelf today.

Other than everyone and their comic-reading mother telling me it was excellent. Other than already being familiar with Kelly Sue and her work (though it did help that she seemed really cool and not the type to marry a super problematic dude anyway).

But this quote right here tells me that the stuff that kept me out of comics for so long, all the misogynistic adolescent (straight) male fantasy shit that demeans characters and insults female fans, wasn’t going to be in Hawkeye. And so far so good.

Also that quote about how definitively never will Kate/Clint be a thing because that is super gross and I am glad we are on the same page.

(via le-claire-de-lune)

Aimed into my mouth.

Tue, 21 May 2013 14:51:49 -0700

Aimed into my mouth.

waitingonbliss: THESE ALL NEED TO STOP OR I WILL CRY.

Tue, 21 May 2013 12:32:39 -0700

waitingonbliss:

THESE ALL NEED TO STOP OR I WILL CRY.

"I myself have been idiotically told that I write “awful” books because the people in them are..."

Mon, 20 May 2013 12:36:09 -0700

“I myself have been idiotically told that I write “awful” books because the people in them are unpleasant. Intelligent readers do not confuse the quality of a book with the moral rectitude of the characters. For those who want goodigoodiness, there are some Victorian good-girl religious novels that would suit them fine.”

- Margaret Atwood on “likable” characters. Clearly this is a topic on which many authors have a lot of pent up rage. (via bennettmadison)

goatsonthings: Goats on the run. If you watch, it never ends -...

Fri, 17 May 2013 11:47:51 -0700

goatsonthings:

Goats on the run. If you watch, it never ends - goats will always be on things.

canisfamiliaris: In Another Universe. But it should be ours.

Thu, 16 May 2013 16:26:45 -0700

canisfamiliaris:

In Another Universe. But it should be ours.

There must have been moments even that afternoon when Daisy...

Wed, 15 May 2013 18:30:17 -0700

There must have been moments even that afternoon when Daisy tumbled short of his dreams—not through her own fault, but because of the colossal vitality of his illusion. It had gone beyond her, beyond everything. He had thrown himself into it with a creative passion, adding to it all the time, decking it out with every bright feather that drifted his way. No amount of fire or freshness can challenge what a man will store up in his ghostly heart.

theravendesk: idk there’s something deeply satisfying about writing a poc fantasy while listening...

Wed, 15 May 2013 17:09:46 -0700

theravendesk:

idk there’s something deeply satisfying about writing a poc fantasy while listening to the lotr soundtrack i feel like im flipping tolkien the bird

(◠‿◠✿)

fedaikin: { 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 } my...

Wed, 15 May 2013 17:05:22 -0700

fedaikin:

{ 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 }

my people.

pbs-food: Click here to find a delicious chocolate chip cookie...

Wed, 15 May 2013 13:54:45 -0700

pbs-food:

Click here to find a delicious chocolate chip cookie recipe perfect for your own noms.

mercurialme: I knew y’all would have a gif set of this by...

Wed, 15 May 2013 13:38:42 -0700

mercurialme:

I knew y’all would have a gif set of this by morning.

kateoplis: Angelina Jolie: My Medical Choice | NYT “MY MOTHER...

Tue, 14 May 2013 08:25:46 -0700

kateoplis:

Angelina Jolie: My Medical Choice | NYT

“MY MOTHER fought cancer for almost a decade and died at 56. She held out long enough to meet the first of her grandchildren and to hold them in her arms. But my other children will never have the chance to know her and experience how loving and gracious she was.

We often speak of “Mommy’s mommy,” and I find myself trying to explain the illness that took her away from us. They have asked if the same could happen to me. I have always told them not to worry, but the truth is I carry a “faulty” gene, BRCA1, which sharply increases my risk of developing breast cancer and ovarian cancer.

My doctors estimated that I had an 87 percent risk of breast cancer and a 50 percent risk of ovarian cancer, although the risk is different in the case of each woman.

Only a fraction of breast cancers result from an inherited gene mutation. Those with a defect in BRCA1 have a 65 percent risk of getting it, on average.

Once I knew that this was my reality, I decided to be proactive and to minimize the risk as much I could. I made a decision to have a preventive double mastectomy. I started with the breasts, as my risk of breast cancer is higher than my risk of ovarian cancer, and the surgery is more complex.

On April 27, I finished the three months of medical procedures that the mastectomies involved. During that time I have been able to keep this private and to carry on with my work.

But I am writing about it now because I hope that other women can benefit from my experience.”

Read on.