When you lie down in your bikini at the beach, are the edges suspended between the two hip bones, causing a space between the bikini and the lower abdomen? If so, then you’ve got a bikini bridge! Which is a real thing. Sort of. See, last January, the social media site called 4Chan decided to… Continue Reading →
Names that shame: from muffin tops to thunder thighs
Recently, I bought a pair of edgy, tight-fitting jeans. I was feeling pretty confident in them until my hand happened to brush against the fattier part of my hip on the edge of my jeans. Immediately, my media-brain set off its sirens: “Muffin top alert! Ladies and gentlemen, we have a muffin top! Please evacuate… Continue Reading →
The revolution is now (and the warriors are naked)
Finally it seems like we’re at a tipping point regarding the unrelenting (and totally bogus) pressure placed upon new moms (make that all women, actually) by the incessant chronicling of just how fast celebrities manage to drop their baby weight and somehow look even better than they did before having kids. First, Ashlee Wells Jackson,… Continue Reading →
When thin is fat and fat is thin
Has anyone else noticed that when it comes to popular media, some celebrities are praised for their apparently unbelievably fantabulous bodies and amazing physiques, while others who look pretty much exactly the same in terms of size and weight are criticized for their curves? Or how sometimes “real” – as in, real bodies – is… Continue Reading →
Weight loss fairy tales
Unless it’s “too much,” magazines and TV shows always portray weight loss as an inherent good. Weight loss makes you healthier, happier, and more attractive, able to do so much you couldn’t do before. We’ve all seen the beaming smiles on People Magazine’s cover, with text reading “Half Their Size!” or articles about “How I… Continue Reading →
Fit Mom’s publicity undermines her message
If you haven’t heard about the body-shaming sensation that is “Fit Mom,” here’s a primer: Maria Kang, from Sacramento, California, is a self-employed mother of three boys. She owns two residential care homes for the elderly, and she founded a nonprofit called Fitness Without Borders. In September 2013, Kang posted a photo on her Facebook… Continue Reading →
Fictional food is more real than you think
What does Winnie the Pooh have in common with Lorelai and Rory Gilmore? They all love food. In fact, they don’t just love food—food is their ticket to winning the hearts of their audiences. From Popeye, to Garfield, to Kevin Malone from The Office, food is a means for fictional characters to express themselves and… Continue Reading →
Think only white women get eating disorders? Think again.
In popular culture, stories of eating disorders are dominated by white women. But what about the other sufferers? Women of color have been sidelined in eating disorder funding and research, and have therefore been underestimated in our perception of the affected demographic. In the new Slate article “Eating disorders do not discriminate“, Michelle Konstantinovsky explores… Continue Reading →
Stop and smell the roses, don’t instagram them
It’s been made pretty clear that social media can have a negative impact on the self-esteem of its users; yet we continue to use it. We’re all guilty of it. How many times a day do you find yourself aimlessly scrolling through your Facebook/Twitter/Instagram feed? Probably more than you would like to admit. Kesha (yes,… Continue Reading →