Saturday, May 31, 2014

REFERENCES TO SIZE IN FICTION

My reading "likes" cover a whole range of genres.   Some of my friends think the list is somewhat weird, but tell me, what or who is weird?

I digress.   Wanting just a bit of light reading the other evening, I picked up "The Walled Flower" by Lorraine Bartlett.   I wasn't expecting to see anything about size, but came across this interesting little paragraph:

It starts:  Bastion nodded toward the hostess standing before them.  "Let's go sit down."

A waiflike being -  with no womanly attributes like breasts or a derriere - led them to a linen-clad table set with sparkling crystal, silver and candlelight.  Upon opening the menu, Katie realised the hostess probably couldn't afford to eat here.  Maybe that's what accounted for her lack of body weight.  Katie put the thought out of her mind as the older, more ample waitress appeared to recite the restaurant's specials and take their drink order.




Copyright:  Beryl Cook from her "Girls Night Out".

Just a few little words, but I couldn't help myself saying YES .......... and punching the air.   Someone has had the audacity to write about how things are, not as fiction writers usually beat around the bush.  They say nothing or else they say something disparagingly.   I like the thought of being served by an "older, more ample waitress".  I feel much more comfortable and at home in a restaurant where the staff are different ages, sizes and shapes.

Monday, May 26, 2014

GETTING REAL!

Someone sent me this fun cartoon.   It certainly made me smile, but it also reminded me that we are living in a society where "perfection" as it applies to the female form, has taken a turning where normal or typical is no longer seen as being totally acceptable.



Today to be "seen" as acceptable a woman has to be:  young - slim (if not skinny); svelte (with no bumps or curves); sexy (what exactly is sexy?) and most importantly young.

How has this come about?   What has changed from the 1950s ,,,,,,?  

A lot happened.  Firstly the 1960s brought about a swing in attitudes - of life as well as behaviours.   The fact that Jean Shrimpton wore a knee length shift (dress) at the Melbourne Cup, WITHOUT a hat or gloves (oh, dear! what was the world coming to?) caused loud headlines in the press.  But that's too easy to say that her decision to wear an outrageous dress - for the era that is - caused the change in attitudes to women's shapes and sizes.  But it certainly was one of the factors that started the ball rolling.

We all shortened our hemlines.  We lowered our necklines.   Everything was free and easy.   But for the plump and curvaceous woman, that was also the start of an inherent and growing animosity towards the way SHE looked.   Size discrimination rose to greater heights and it became apparent in film, television, the media per se.  Women's magazines took on the role of telling their readers to diet, to undergo cosmetic surgery, to attend the latest and very expensive gyms in order to attain the lean, sleak bodies of more naturally slim women.  They didn't tell their readers that it was OK to be a different size or shape and that all sizes could be considered normal or typical.   Manufacturers began to treat the curvaceous woman with scorn and retailers hid clothes for her size in a tiny section at the back of the department store.   It took many years for "plus-size" suppliers to come out of the woodwork.

So that's where the whole thing went haywire.   For all women are NOT fundamentally the same shape or are meant to be the same size.   Women were told they HAD to diet;  they did and many did far more damage to their bodies and minds through yo-yo dieting over decades than they could have imagined.   Somebody forgot to tell them that genes play a bit part in their body makeup (in fact it was only recently that the medical people have acknowledged this to be true - it was argued about heatedly in previous decades.)

What happened next?  Suddenly eating disorders became prominent.   A whole new industry was born whereby people were counselled about disorders in their eating behaviours.  The human body, and mind,  suffered serious consequences.  Not only women but men and children are affected.   In all age groups.

What am I trying to say?   I'm saying it's about time we realised that the world is made up of people who look different, who have differnent shapes and sizes, and we should recognise and respect each other unconditionally.

(I'm not talking here of those who are addicted to non-stop eating, or eating inappropriate foods until they really do become medically and dangerously obese.   Nor am I talking about those people whose bodies react violently to the medications they may be taking.)

Let's join in the protest (albeit quietly but determinedly) 
that ALL women's bodies and shapes should be 
celebrated, no matter what age, size or shape ©.  

Monday, May 5, 2014

It's about time!

Sketch © RoseMary's NoteBook 1991-2014

This is a small post on the subject of "discrimination".    It is imperative that the media (especially women's magazines be it hard-copy or online) come to grips with the fact that their readership is not made up entirely of  20 year olds with slim figures.  Women of all sizes and ages read their publications and it's about time that more portrayals of older people dressing as "they" see and feel like it, are included in each and every edition.

When these magazines, which they claim for all women, deign to present special little supplements for the older or the plus size woman, they treat it as though they're doing us a service and we should be eternally grateful for it.  Unfortunately they're carrying on the form of disctrimination that defies reason.

When will the media see women in all their differing shapes, sizes and ages as women per se.   There's no need to imply that anything other than a young, extremely thin woman is not acceptable as being typical and representative of women you see in any home or shopping mall.

Let's get real.   As an advocate for size acceptance for more than 40 years, I can't believe it's taking so long for "society" to demand total acceptance of all our differences, which after all, make us the same.

We need to celebrate womanhood for what it is and what it stands for.   As far as the media is concerned we've made no real inroads for decades.   Celebrate our natural shapes and sizes, and that includes thin and curvaceous.