I’m going to hit y’all with another link instead of a big thinky post (and then I have an awesome guest post queued up!) because ZOMG, the end of the year is BUSY! *grin* And also because I wanted to link to this as soon as it was posted. I got to read it before it was posted and I wanted y’all to all read it even then. Intersectionality, y’all. Don’t forget about it.

Here is the thing about the Fantasy of Thin: it’s never held that much power over me. I grasp it intellectually, but it doesn’t really speak to my personal experience. I think because the images and stories I see of women whose lives become amazing after dieting, are about white women. I don’t dream about the thin me having men and women fall at my feet, because that thin me would still be black and thus not beautiful according to mainstream beauty standards. I’ve been rejected more for my race than my fatness. I don’t sit around thinking about how a slimmer version of myself would get promoted at work, since dieting wouldn’t open doors for me that wouldn’t get slammed shut again by racism and sexism. That’s not to say that I’m not unaffected by the fantasies of the wonderful things that would happen if I was thin. I get the message that I am a lazy ugly failure for being fat in surround sound every day. I just happen to get that announcement with a special chorus of “why can’t you be less black?”

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7 Comments

  1. kmd
    Posted December 4, 2008 at 4:46 pm | Permalink

    yup, amazing piece.

    especially considering recent … conversations in eljay fathletes.

    Reply
  2. Julia
    Posted December 5, 2008 at 9:40 am | Permalink

    HOLY FUCKING SHIT THAT CONVO IN FATHLETES MADE MY HEAD EXPLODE

    Reply
  3. TR
    Posted December 5, 2008 at 11:11 am | Permalink

    ZOMG, I missed this! Link, y’all? Please?

    Reply
  4. TR
    Posted December 5, 2008 at 11:23 am | Permalink

    Okay, holy crap, I went back and checked and GROSS. GROSS GROSS GROSS.

    I hate the whole “omg, I shouldn’t have to care what other people feel like when I use words” thing. Asking someone to consider their word use is not language policing. “Other communities” is totally code for Fats, where they couldn’t get away with that shit either. “Oh, don’t pick mods with AGENDAS!” Agendas like making the space friendly to a variety of people, perhaps?

    Reply
  5. TR
    Posted December 5, 2008 at 11:24 am | Permalink

    Also, kmd, you were AWESOME in that conversation.

    Reply
  6. JupiterPluvius
    Posted December 5, 2008 at 11:49 am | Permalink

    Fantastic piece, Julia!

    Reply
  7. Julia
    Posted December 5, 2008 at 3:14 pm | Permalink

    Thanks so much JupiterPluvius

    Reply

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