Blisstree » National-Action-Against-Obesity

Fat Rant: America Speaks Out Against Weight Discrimination

Kristen King — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 13:06:07 +0000

Big Boned Blog turned me on to Joy Nash’s Fat Rant, which is my new favorite. You have to watch it (feed readers click here):

There are dozense of responses, but I particularly enjoyed this one from the Shadow Box (feed readers click here):

And this one from Krystle (feed readers click here):

I also appreciated this one, which talks about the struggle for people who are underweight (feed readers click here):

I love this celebration of healthy bodies of all sizes, especially on the heels of National Action Against Obesity’s comments about American Idol Jordin Sparks being obese and a poor role model for American kids.

What’s your rant?

Post from: Blisstree

Fat Rant: America Speaks Out Against Weight Discrimination

Speaking of Female Role Models… Carrie Underwood As Vengeful Girlfriend

Kristen King — Tue, 29 May 2007 19:12:57 +0000

All this hullabaloo about Jordin Sparks and the National Action Against Obesity has got me thinking about the kind of example other American Idols are setting for American kids. Carrie Underwood, for instance, is a total cutie who’s probably NAAO’s ideal dress size, and a vegetarian to boot. And she’s got major crossover appeal, hitting both the country and mainstream music charts. But what kind of message is she sending?

Most of the time, it’s a good one:

Young girl leaves home and tries to keep a close relationship with her family while struggling with her nascent adulthood. (”Don’t Forget to Remember Me”)
Woman flees abusive relationship with her baby and counts on God to get her through. (”Jesus, Take the Wheel”)
Woman flees vaguely unpleasant relationship, man quits drinking, both find new purpose in life. (”Wasted”)

I’m on board with these. Go, Carrie. Nice job. So what’s up with “Before He Cheats”?

Chorus:

So I dug my key into the side
Of his pretty little souped up four wheel drive
Carved my name into his leather seats
Took a Louisville slugger to both headlights
Slashed a hole in all four tires
Maybe next time he’ll think before he cheats

Uh, crazy much?

And check out the video (feed readers click here):

First of all, the whole cheating thing sounds like total speculation if you listen to the rest of the lyrics (which I won’t post here because that’s copyright infringement). Lots of “probably,” not much “definitely.” Secondly, I know this is supposed to be like a girl power anthem for everyone with a two-timing beau, but who’s Carrie’s big demographic here? Teenage girls who love American Idol. And what are we teaching them? That when you think your boyfriend is cheating on you, rather than confronting him like a mature adult, you should destroy his property to teach him a lesson. Nice.Some comments from fans who left their opinions on AOL Music:I love this song, it is soooo good. If I ever get a boyfriend I am going to show him this song!!

This song would be great to sing at a karoke bar and sing it to ur ex!

Love this song!!!! It’s sooooooooooooooooooooo coooooooooolllll!!!!!!!!!

omg i luv dis song it is so cute!!! I would so do that if my boyfriend cheeted on me so boys watch out cuz girls can get nasty exspecially if another girl is involved!!!!!

OMG!! i so totally love this song!!
way to go carrie!! you rock!!
xoxo <3
Me!

Is Winner Jordin Sparks Too Fat to Be the American Idol? NAAO Says Yes!

Kristen King — Tue, 29 May 2007 03:01:19 +0000

More on the debate concerning American Idol winner Jordin Sparks. MeMe Roth, president and founder of National Action Against Obesity, appeared on the Fox News Channel last week, shortly before the American Idol Season Six finale.

This wouldn’t be particularly exciting, since she seems to be on Fox News constantly, except that this time, she said that Jordin Sparks should not be named the American Idol because she’s overweight and, thus, a poor role model for children in America.

Yeah, I know.

Here’s the video clip (feed readers click here):

I don’t think this woman is trying to be a total jerk, but I’m really having a hard time with her going on national television and announcing to the world that a seventeen-year-old girl in the global spotlight is “the vision of unhealth.” Regardless of Jordin’s public reaction to these comments, she’s going to be scarred for life, and I doubt she’ll ever have a healthy body image now.

Jordin’s already taller than your average teenage girl (she’s 6 feet and wears a size 11 shoe, according to Yahoo Answers), which I’m sure has made her self-conscious in the past if it doesn’t now (despite the fact that she’s stunning, and it’s no surprise that she’s done some modeling), and now there’s a skinny blonde chick from a national anti-obesity calling her a big fatty on TV on the same day that she’s about to have all of her dreams come true. Uh, thanks for the buzzkill, MeMe.

Yes, it’s true that previous American Idol winners have slimmed down after snagging the title. Kelly Clarkson did it, Carrie Underwood did it, Katherine McPhee did it (even though she didn’t win), we get it. But I suspect that they would have lost weight anyway, because they all came into the spotlight at the same time that teenage girls lose the baby fat or the awkward angles and start to look like real women. They also had to handle grueling tour schedules and endless travel for months afterward, which would take it out of anyone. Do you think maybe there’s a connection between those factors and their weight loss?

It’s not right to paint Jordin as an eating disorder waiting to happen (my words, not MeMe’s) just because previous female idols lost weight after winning. And despite the fact that people are also calling Kelly Clarkson fat these days (Is bashing American Idol winners fashionable all of a sudden? Why did no one tell me?) now that she’s back to looking like a woman (you know, with boobs and, heaven forbid, a butt), this is just not cool, even if it’s apparently quite trendy.

Saying that Jordin needs to lose 40 lbs. to have a lasting career is unfair, unkind, and flatly inaccurate. I think Diet Blog hit the nail on the head: “It appears Roth has confused a singing show with America’s Next Top Model.”

Thoughts?

Post from: Blisstree

Is Winner Jordin Sparks Too Fat to Be the American Idol? NAAO Says Yes!