Loved this piece. I'm also fat, totally benefit from this "millennial success" you mention, and appreciate the plain old utilitarian-ness of seeing clothes on similar bodies to mine before buying them. I would love to check out this show, which my American self had never heard of before.
I find some of it overdone and cloying at times, though. Why all the gosh darn constant obsession with our bodies (positive or not) in every possible venue at all times? Call me an idealist, but I was taught it's what's inside that counts, I truly believe it, and I'm trying to teach my kids that a person's appearance is often the least interesting thing about them, once you really dig in.
Oh absolutely, and I find it really interesting that my sons (20 and 18) pretty much *never* describe their friends' physical appearance when they're talking about them - I'm sure I used to say to my parents 'so and so is blonde/slim/plump/tall' etc without even thinking about it but my sons absolutely never do, it's always a total surprise when I meet the person and put a face and body to the name. Which I think is kind of lovely (and I don't take credit for, I don't think I ever spoke to them about this when they were little).
But yes I think while the body positivity thing has been a brilliant and useful success in many ways, as you say we still haven't moved beyond just *not* associating personality virtues/defects with bodies in a structural way. (Slim people of my acquaintance get really sick of people assuming that they must be obsessed with keeping their calorie intake down or that they're always super-pleased with themselves.)
If you do watch She-Devil let me just warn you that it is VERY '80s! And the production values look ridiculous now, obviously. Would be very interesting to see an updated version.
I feel very uncomfortable with the Snag ads. I'm fat, but ordinary fat, small-time fat. The images for Snag (I have lots of their tights) feels fetishistic. Lots of truly enormous women wearing not just tights but border-line porno. Exploitative.
Oh, that’s interesting. I know what you mean - there is something about the choice of images on there, taken as a whole, that is very *insistent*. Uncomfortable is a good word. But I find Wolford’s images really uncomfortable too, just in a more humdrum old-style porno way
Loved this piece. I'm also fat, totally benefit from this "millennial success" you mention, and appreciate the plain old utilitarian-ness of seeing clothes on similar bodies to mine before buying them. I would love to check out this show, which my American self had never heard of before.
I find some of it overdone and cloying at times, though. Why all the gosh darn constant obsession with our bodies (positive or not) in every possible venue at all times? Call me an idealist, but I was taught it's what's inside that counts, I truly believe it, and I'm trying to teach my kids that a person's appearance is often the least interesting thing about them, once you really dig in.
Oh absolutely, and I find it really interesting that my sons (20 and 18) pretty much *never* describe their friends' physical appearance when they're talking about them - I'm sure I used to say to my parents 'so and so is blonde/slim/plump/tall' etc without even thinking about it but my sons absolutely never do, it's always a total surprise when I meet the person and put a face and body to the name. Which I think is kind of lovely (and I don't take credit for, I don't think I ever spoke to them about this when they were little).
But yes I think while the body positivity thing has been a brilliant and useful success in many ways, as you say we still haven't moved beyond just *not* associating personality virtues/defects with bodies in a structural way. (Slim people of my acquaintance get really sick of people assuming that they must be obsessed with keeping their calorie intake down or that they're always super-pleased with themselves.)
If you do watch She-Devil let me just warn you that it is VERY '80s! And the production values look ridiculous now, obviously. Would be very interesting to see an updated version.
Yes to all of this. That is a great point about how boys describe (or rather, don't) their friends. And bad 80s production! Come at me! I love it!
I feel very uncomfortable with the Snag ads. I'm fat, but ordinary fat, small-time fat. The images for Snag (I have lots of their tights) feels fetishistic. Lots of truly enormous women wearing not just tights but border-line porno. Exploitative.
Oh, that’s interesting. I know what you mean - there is something about the choice of images on there, taken as a whole, that is very *insistent*. Uncomfortable is a good word. But I find Wolford’s images really uncomfortable too, just in a more humdrum old-style porno way
I love your writing. It is simply excellent.
Thank you very much!