Strollerderby

Have you even read "Skinny Bitch"?

I have, and it absolutely does NOT berate the reader. It speaks in plain language about the health and weight ramifications of eating animal products, the dangers of artificial sweetners on your metabolism, and all the nasty stuff that's in soda. So it doesn't coddle you or use sickly-sweet Oprah-isms, so what? Like most other books today, it uses an eye-catching title to grab people's attention. Both Leora Tannenbaum and Elizabeth Wuertzel weren't thrilled with the titles "Slut!" and "Bitch", but they knew that marketing-wise it's a way to sell books.

Frankly, I think the most important thing for kids is to see that their own parents are not obsessed with weight and thiness. LIttle biases towards thiness and stress related to the parent's own lack of a healthy body image really do rub off on kids. So maybe you can try not looking at the sort of media that focuses on the Beckmans and instead live a healthy life style, and appreciate what is beautiful and unique about yourself, rather than comparing yourself to movie stars. I know its hard to change engrained behaviors, but that is honestly the best thing you can do to help your own kids. I do think the media is shitty and many of its role models set up people (young and old) with unrealistic expectations. But you just have to get yourself to a point where you're strong enough not to internalize the unhealthy messages.

I've posted something like this before, but I don't recall the name that I posted under. My mom still doesn't realize that her own anxiety about not looking "skinney enough" or "pretty enough" really fucked up me and my sisters. Its hard when your mom, who you think is wonderful and beautiful, is always calling herself fat, as if that were a moral failing. Its esp. hard when your mom is actually thin and bulemic. I remember my mom telling me that I was beautiful, but I never believed her because she was toned, thin, and hot (repeatedly mistaken for Meg Ryan) but she thought that she was a hideous. I always thought that even if I was a good kid, my mom was secretly disappointed in having such an ugly, chubby daughter.

Anyway, sorry for the sob story. But I really wish that people could be happier with themselves and not compare themselves to celebrities. If nothing else, people should try to do this in order to be better role models for their own kids. Its fucking hard - but it can be done!  

Good Luck to all!