Call for body-positive plus-size anecdotes

5th November 2008

Call for body-positive plus-size anecdotes

A writer is issuing a call for positive anecdotes from plus-size women to be published in an upcoming book. The list I am a part of prohibits the posting of contact information, so post your email address in the comments below or email me at Rachel (at) the-f-word (dot) org if interested in participating.

We are seeking anecdotes (or short stories) from women who are a size 14 (or more) and proud of it! If you are happy with your weight and feel confident about your attractiveness, particularly in this thin-obsessed culture, we’d love to hear from you. We’re compiling an upbeat book about realistic expectations, focusing on the fact that the average American woman IS a size 14 (rather than a lettuce-eating, always hungry, exercise obsessed size 2). It’s designed to be a celebration of the fact that size 14 women are curvy, feminine, sexy, and fabulous–and don’t need to diet, thank you very much.

Please send me an anecdote expressing your feelings or your experiences as a size 14 woman, and provide an e-mail address that I can use to contact you for an expanded discussion. Upbeat anecdotes and humor is very welcome. If you want to write 500-750 words on the subject, please feel free to do so, as it will increase the likelihood that we’ll use your profile in the book.

Celebrity responses are welcome, but so are responses from everyone and anyone! If men would like to comment on the attractiveness of voluptuous women, that is welcome too.

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 5th, 2008 at 3:57 pm and is filed under Arts and Music, Body Image. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

1 On November 5th, 2008, Twistie said:

I can think of one or two great anecdotes to submit. I can be contacted at: gileswench at yahoo dot com.

posted on November 5th, 2008 at 5:30 pm

2 On November 5th, 2008, Nicole said:

I’ve got something written up that I’d love to run by them. rosenleaf -a- aya.yale.edu

posted on November 5th, 2008 at 5:38 pm

3 On November 5th, 2008, Karen said:

Does the story need to pertain to a size 14 woman in particular, or would an experience as a larger size (22, in my case) also be of use?

posted on November 5th, 2008 at 6:18 pm

4 On November 5th, 2008, B13 said:

I might be interested in writing. Send me the info. bree13 at gmail dot com.
Thanks

posted on November 5th, 2008 at 9:51 pm

5 On November 5th, 2008, Joie said:

There’s something about this call that makes me really uncomfortable.

First there’s the thin woman bashing, where let’s face it, those behaviours are caused by the same oppressors that fat women experience. Not to mention trying to set up a hierarchy of body size (which I understand already exists, but this is trying to maintain value judgements, which hurt everyone).

Then there’s the whole “men who want to comment…” bit. We’re already taught to value ourselves by how much we can court the male gaze – does this really need to be emphasized/encouraged?!

Not happy Jan…

posted on November 5th, 2008 at 9:55 pm

6 On November 5th, 2008, Janny said:

I’d love to write for this… janny8675309 at gmail.com

posted on November 5th, 2008 at 10:27 pm

7 On November 6th, 2008, karie said:

Realistic expectations? I don’t think it’s realistic to group every size 2 woman into the category of “lettuce-eating” and “exercise obsessed”… and I don’t think it’s a celebration of plus-size women when what you’re really doing is excluding and insulting people who don’t fit into the social group.

posted on November 6th, 2008 at 1:21 am

8 On November 6th, 2008, polly said:

i agree with jan that there’s something that does not feel right the stereotyping of the ‘lettuce-eating’ size 2 was not okay with me.

posted on November 6th, 2008 at 1:34 am

9 On November 6th, 2008, Jill said:

I also object to the nasty and unfair picture of the size 2 woman. I am size positive, not “fat-positive and thin-sneering”.

posted on November 6th, 2008 at 4:59 am

10 On November 6th, 2008, Rachel said:

Karen: The author writes that they’re seeking stories from women who are a “size 14 (and more!),” so size-22s are in.

The size-2 comment also rubbed me the wrong way, but I don’t think the writer is necessarily making judgments about thin women, but rather using this to emphasize the “realistic expectations” aspect of her book. Although some women are a natural size-2, it’s far from the national average and judging by the dwindling frames of now size-0 models, even a size-2 is increasingly becoming an outdated standard. For many women, it would take over-exercise and an extreme and obsessive restriction of food to maintain a size-2 weight when that is not their body’s natural weight and size. In any case, I find that when you usually point out the reverse discrimination in otherwise body-positive materials, that its usually a regrettable oversight on the author’s behalf and not done deliberately or maliciously, so I’m inclined to first cut the writer a break.

posted on November 6th, 2008 at 10:53 am

11 On November 6th, 2008, devil said:

“The size-2 comment also rubbed me the wrong way, but I don’t think the writer is necessarily making judgments about thin women…”

Hmmmm, she comes off so badly in this statement I’d hesitate to read anything else she writes. That comment is as blindly judgmental as “Well, if she’d just get off the couch and eat something besides junk food.”

How do any of us know what someone else does or does not eat unless we follow them around 24/7?

This writer sounds like she’s looking for nasty anecdotes aimed to put down thin women. Perhaps I’m just sensitive, and that isn’t the case, but this statement doesn’t make a very good first impression at all.

posted on November 6th, 2008 at 11:27 am

12 On November 6th, 2008, JM said:

Personally, I’m beginning to rethink the whole idea of being “proud” of one’s size, whatever it is. To me, there’s a difference with being confident about your body and uninterested in changing its shape or size and being “proud” to be a size 0 or a size 30 or a size whatever.

Isn’t the whole idea of size acceptance that bodies come in different sizes, often with factors that are beyond our control playing a role in that size? If that’s the case, why should we take pride in the size of our bodies anymore than we take pride in our eye color or skin color or height?

posted on November 6th, 2008 at 11:41 am

13 On November 6th, 2008, Rachel said:

I understand what you’re saying, JM, and for the most part, I agree, although I think we can all be proud of the ways in which we treat our bodies and the steps we take to ensure that they are healthy at any size.

posted on November 6th, 2008 at 12:28 pm

14 On November 6th, 2008, Kristen said:

““The size-2 comment also rubbed me the wrong way, but I don’t think the writer is necessarily making judgments about thin women…”

Hmmmm, she comes off so badly in this statement I’d hesitate to read anything else she writes. That comment is as blindly judgmental as “Well, if she’d just get off the couch and eat something besides junk food.” ”

This was exactly my thought. I hate the idea that it’s somehow body positive to mock thin women. Only larger woman enjoy food, and are not exercised obsessed? I didn’t realize that.

posted on November 6th, 2008 at 4:37 pm

15 On November 9th, 2008, Something to Talk About » Manolo for the Big Girl! said:

[...] The F-Word gives an opportunity for us to share our body-positive stories for an upcoming book. If you have a good story, drop Rachel a line and find out how to submit it. Our stories can help other girls and women come to love and appreciate their bodies instead of fighting them. Let’s all do what we can for them. [...]

posted on November 9th, 2008 at 12:32 pm

16 On November 10th, 2008, mara said:

yes please! mara.glatzel@gmail.com

posted on November 10th, 2008 at 10:44 pm

17 On November 13th, 2008, Shannon said:

The whole tone kind of put me off, to be honest. If we are to truly believe that size 14 is average, despite what the media would have us believe, then why is she asking for “plus-sized” anecdotes? I mean, I know what she’s getting at, but this is still categorizing, and still claiming that the average woman is somehow too much. Not so body-positive after all.

posted on November 13th, 2008 at 12:25 pm

18 On November 13th, 2008, Rachel said:

Shannon — While size 14 denotes the average American woman, many women of this size really aren’t aware that they’re average-sized. So, it makes sense that she would issue the call using the same language that size-14 and higher women use to characterize themselves.

posted on November 13th, 2008 at 12:56 pm