"Real Women Have Curves:" Invalidating AND Stupid

[holly_evolving]

(this is aimed at me as much as anyone else)

There is an adult obesity epidemic in the United States. Here are obesity rates by state:
http://health.msn.com/health-topics/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100261061>1=31036

Here are some facts about women and heart disease, including this one: HEART DISEASE IS THE #1 CAUSE OF DEATH AMONG AMERICAN WOMEN.
http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4786

The "Real Women Have Curves" mentality went from combatting anorexia to promoting self-neglect in the blink of an eye, and it happened years ago. Personally, I think it was abhorrent to begin with. Real self-esteem doesn't come from putting down another group of people. If you're curvy and you love it, great. If you say that not being curvy means you're not a real woman, that's just as bad as promoting unhealthy thinness.

Now, why do you think the FDA bases its caloric intakes on 2000 calories a day? Because if you are ALREADY AT A HEALTHY WEIGHT, it's a reasonable amount of food to meet your caloric needs WITHOUT EXCEEDING them.
http://www.netrition.com/rdi_page.html

"Real women have curves" is not an excuse to eat a pint of ice cream a for dessert when you sit on your ass all day. Also, if you are convex, that does not count as being curvy.

I know, I know, some people have a thyroid condition. Do you want to know how many? About 3 per cent of the human population has hypothyroidism. And that's a common one. http://www.auburn.edu/~deruija/endp_thyroidpathol.pdf

Get up. Move. Watch your intake. Your excuses are killing you.

Comments

[jadedsquirrel.livejournal.com]

"The "Real Women Have Curves" mentality went from combatting anorexia to promoting self-neglect in the blink of an eye, and it happened years ago"

Can you back this up? I'm curious, it sounds like an observed cultural phenomena on your part and I'd like to see the evidence behind that correlation. Or just know where you drew that conclusion from.

[holly-evolving.livejournal.com]

My statement was based on my own observations of daily life. The people I've heard say "real women have curves" were all obese. I'm not referring specifically to the movie, either, but to the sorts of statements I've seen and heard since the backlash began while I was in college. I'll do some digging and see what I find.

I'm not saying that being so thin your bones show is good. But there's a level of physical fitness that, barring hypothyroidism or lost limbs, most people should be able to meet. If I allowed my cat to be in the same shape as I am, my vet would chew me out.

Beyond that, I don't think insulting women for being thin could ever work as a means to build up a culture of self-esteem.

[jadedsquirrel.livejournal.com]

Okay. I'm not arguing with your opinion, nor am I against your points. But putting the ability to combat anorexia or promote self-neglect on a stock phrase strikes me as hyperbolic, and you're presenting it as fact when it's based on your experience.

I know this is your personal journal, and this is the sort of thing I usually call public bloggers/writers out on, but the way you wrote this made it seem like you're intending it for wider consumption rather than just chronicling your thoughts for yourself.

[holly-evolving.livejournal.com]

It's a fair point.

I'm not trying to say that the campaign ever worked; frankly, I find the idea that telling an anorexic woman that she's not real both offensive and completely unhelpful. But every time someone says RWHC, that's the message they are sending.