Thursday, October 28, 2010

Adios, Marie Claire.

Marie Claire has been one of my favorite reads for years. The mix of fashion, makeup, articles on women from around the globe, and celeb style caught my attention right away. I used to look forward to my magazine arriving each month.

As of today, my subscription has been canceled. I no longer wish to read anything from a magazine that would publish (online or in print) the utter hatred and trash put out by their blogger Maura Kelly. I am not alone. Thousands of people have been using the hash tags #unfollowmarieclaire on Twitter to show their disgust, from women like me to celebrities like Sharon Osbourne. By the way, Sharon Osbourne, The Embrace Your Curves Project salutes you for what you said on Twitter about Marie Claire.

What's the big deal? Here is what happened. Marie Claire blogger Maura Kelly wrote a piece about the CBS television series, Mike and Molly. For those who are unfamiliar with the show, it is about two overweight people who meet at an Overeaters Anonyomous meeting. It's actually a very good show and the characters are interesting. I watch it every Monday night. 

Kelly's blog title starts the ridiculous post. It's called Should "Fatties" Get a Room? (Even on TV). Kelly goes on a long diatribe about how these people are unhealthy and disgusting to look at because they are so fat. Here is part of what she says: "...I'd be grossed out if I had to watch two characters with rolls and rolls of fat kissing each other ... because I'd be grossed out if I had to watch them doing anything. To be brutally honest, even in real life, I find it aesthetically displeasing to watch a very, very fat person simply walk across a room...

She also goes on to say that the show is "...implicitly promoting obesity! Yes, anorexia is sick, but at least some slim models are simply naturally skinny. No one who is as fat as Mike and Molly can be healthy."

Blah, blah, blah. I know what it is like to be heavy. At my heaviest, I weighed over 200 pounds. I was hovering between a 18 and a 20. Did I want to be that way? No. Did I lose weight and get down to a healthy weight? Yes. I do not pretend to know how someone who is very obese feels. I do know that no one--regardless of whether they are a size 2 or 22--deserves to have such garbage printed about them. 

You know I advocate a healthy lifestyle--eating healthy foods, getting daily exercise, etc...but what I advocate for the most is respecting others and ourselves....loving ourselves for who we are, and realizing that there is more to life than trying to be a size 2 with a Barbie doll figure.

The writer's ignorance is as clear as day, though, as she suggests her thoughts on how to lose weight. All of a suddent this beauty writer is a nutrition expert. Does she not realize that not all people are the same? If it were always a simple case for every single person of eating less and working out more, that'd be great. That's not the case for everyone, though.

Some people take steroids for medical conditions that can add weight on. Others are on anti-depressants or have hormonal issues (such as Polycystic Ovary Syndrome) or a thyroid condition.

You just never know. I take Prozac. I have for 5 years. I should've started taking it years back, in reality. I have a medical condition (depression) that started when I was about 20. The medication makes it even harder to keep weight off and makes it so I need to work even harder at maintaining my weight loss.

I know someone with asthma on steroids. She is a vegan and otherwise healthy. Once on steroids, she gained 20 pounds.  Another needs steroids for ulcerative colitis. Ms. Kelly, before you're quick to judge, perhaps you should walk a mile in someone else's shoes.

What is worse is that the blogger admits that she has an obsession with being thin and has battled anorexia. As someone who battled that demon years ago in college, I simply do not understand how she could be so cruel towards someone because of their size.

Bully Maura Kelly and "free speech supporter" Marie Claire should be ashamed of themselves.


8 comments:

  1. The worst part of this is she makes the claim that anorexia is a better disease (as if there was such a thing) than obesity. Both diseases are dangerous and help should be sought by anyone battling either. If the author has experienced battling anorexia and body image, she should be the most sensitive about the difficulties of weight issues. But because society praises one and derides another, she has the audacity to write such a disgusting and vitriolic blog.

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  2. Samuel,

    I agree. In 1997, I began counseling to overcome my eating disorder. As someone who has seen both sides of the weight spectrum, I see myself as more sensitive and understanding when it comes to body image issues.

    To know that this writer went through as eating disorder yet wrote this hateful piece makes me wonder how she could be this way...

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  3. Oh my gosh. See, I'm glad this Marie Claire debacle happened. It's leading me to more and more strong, sensitive women who are standing up to sizism and embracing themselves for WHO they are!

    This is SUCH a perfect example.

    Please, please stop by and read what I wrote the other day (before this Ms. Kelly Atrocity came to my attention. I think it'll be right up your alley: http://crunchybetty.com/?p=2417

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  4. Leslie,

    I do agree that there could be a positive in Maura Kelly's rant--it is causing people to engage in a dialogue about a touchy subject. Hopefully it'll continue in a constructive way.

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  5. PS:

    Leslie, your piece is wonderful and thought-provoking. Thank you for sharing it.

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  6. Amazing to me how it is ok to bully people who are overweight.I mean with all the talk about bullying kids we never talk about what "chubby" kids go through.This needs to change.

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  7. I don't see it that way, not at all. Maura Kelly wrote about her own feelings and made it bloody clear that was her perspective as a former anorexic. She did not say anything mean-spirited or mock these people. Her aesthetic and explained.

    It's incredible to read through blogs and twitter the vitriol that she did not dispense.

    Bullying? Not even.

    I feel even more strongly about tongue piercings. They make me feel sick.

    Opinions.

    My own kid had a tongue piercing briefly.

    Morbidly obese is a bad thing - medically speaking. Things like diabetes, heart disease, poor circulation.

    Weight is not always a personal choice: medications and medical conditions may impact it.

    Bullying has been completely one-sided in my opinion.

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  8. In Paris Tomorrow,

    I will respectfully disagree with you on this. I do not think anyone ever said morbidly obese is a good thing. Quite the contrary. What the thousands of people with who take issue with this have a problem with is Kelly's mean, hateful attitude and Marie Claire's lack of action.

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