In true slacker fashion, I've been MIA from this blog for nearly two months. This shouldn't come as a shock to anyone. A lot has happened in such a short amount of time, and naturally all of them have had funny fat kid stories tied into them - such as bathing suit shopping, eating way too much ice cream, jeans that stretch (love them!) and all that good stuff. With the month of May came rain, and the month of June we've gotten a good amount of sunshine. Finally we've reached good weather here in Massachusetts and I couldn't be happier about it! It's hard to not be happy when the sun is shining and the breeze is warm. Unless of course it reaches over 90 degrees like it did yesterday and it's hard to breathe. I love days like that, but only if I've got ice water and crankin' AC.
Anyway, back on track! I've had this draft sitting in this blog for a while, I kept trying to give myself a reason to keep posting and putting my opinions out there for the world to see and finally, (finally!) I found a reason to return here. And with a vengeance, too.
Did anyone watch the premiere of HUGE last night on ABC Family? Before I explain my feelings about the show, I want everyone to know that I'm generally not a fan of ABC Family shows but because I absolutely adore Nikki Blonsky (from Hairspray!) I figured I would give the show a chance. I should have known that watching a show about overweight teens/young adults at a Fat Camp was going to piss me off. I also should have expected the stereotypes and cliche's, but yet again I tried to keep an open mind about the entire show. Well, I can say in all honesty that by the time the first commercial hit, I was growing agitated. The opening credits alone gave me a reason to snarl in a bitter, fat kid kind of way. Why, you ask? In big bold letter there was a section that read "WHO AM I? FAT."
Now, take a second and look that over. "WHO AM I? FAT." You're kidding me, right? Since when does a statement like that offer positive feedback to anyone - even more so - when did what you are become who you are. I'm a brunette at the moment, and sure, I can say "Who am I? I'm a brunette." but by doing so I would only be commenting on my physical appearance because anyone who knows me (and ya'll can comment to back me up on this..) well enough knows that my mentality is blonde. Hm. Is that considered false advertising, then? No. Just because I look a certain way, that doesn't give anyone the right to assume that the look is who I am. Or all that I am. Sure, it's a part of me, but it's not entirely me. To prove my point even further, I'm fat and I'm a brunette. Will I always look this way? Most likely not. Tomorrow I could have purple hair - who would I be then? Am I not the same person I was as a brunette, or will you define me by what appears to be the most constant factor in my existance; my weight? Does weight hold such a significant part of who we are as fat kids that trying to define ourselves as anything more is simply a waste of time? Especially if it's said in such a derogatory way, will that lead to the belief that fat people aren't good people, or are worthless, pathetic slob?
Which leads me to my next subject. Stereotypes. We all deal with stereotypes, all the time. People jump to conclusions, assume things, define people through a snap judgement. It happens. I understand that, because sadly, I do the very same. As much as I am consciously aware of it and I continue to work on no longer doing so, it's a fact. I always do my best to not assume the worst about a person without them doing something to provoke such a response and I try to let the person mold my judgement for them. With that being said, I tend to look at individual cases, much like I am trying to suggest now. The stereotypes in the premiere of HUGE were so extreme, I found myself cringing. A lot.
Let's all focus for a moment. Why was I cringing, exactly? Well, because Nikki Blonsky's character was sent to fat camp, and was bitter about such, she snuck candy into camp. Okay, fine. I can accept that theory, as I'm sure it's bound to happen at one point or another. But I'm pretty sure not every fat kid in the camp is smuggling goods into the camp limits. Not to mention, as a fat kid, I've got plenty of fat friends. I network. It happens. Moving on. Out of all these fat friends of mine, I've never once seen anyone hide candy in shampoo bottles as a method of feeding and hiding an addiction to food/candy. Never, ever. Have I just lucked out and maybe I've never been given the chance yet? Wait, does that mean maybe I should check my friends shampoo bottles next time I go to their house, to make sure they aren't smuggling something. Is there so secret fat kid society I'm missing out on? Do all overweight people act this way and simply hide it from the world, and from me? Am I really so terrible at being a fat kid that I can't even share the same mentality? Not everyone who is overweight has a food addiction. Not all of us binge eat, not all of us sleep with Snickers' bars under our pillow cases. Some of us are fat simply because we are fat. Look, I'm not saying that I'm an exception to this 'rule', because I'm not. For example? It's 7:15am, and I'm currently drinking a coke with a hand full of cheezits. Sure, I could be drinking water while eating an apple. I could be, but I'm not. And I chose not to. My reasons are my reasons and it's all my choice. Does that make me a fat kid who deserves to be stereotyped with the others who are apparently into smuggling candy? I don't think so. Do you disagree? I'd like to know why you disagree, if you do.
Well, I've written up a list of about 11 more topics that spawned from the show last night and I plan on addressing them all very soon. However, seeing as it's been a while since I've blogged, I figure I should reintroduce you to my obnoxiousness in small, very small doses. So, keeping that fact in mind, I am ending this blog post.
I'll be back, don't you worry.
Anyway, back on track! I've had this draft sitting in this blog for a while, I kept trying to give myself a reason to keep posting and putting my opinions out there for the world to see and finally, (finally!) I found a reason to return here. And with a vengeance, too.
Did anyone watch the premiere of HUGE last night on ABC Family? Before I explain my feelings about the show, I want everyone to know that I'm generally not a fan of ABC Family shows but because I absolutely adore Nikki Blonsky (from Hairspray!) I figured I would give the show a chance. I should have known that watching a show about overweight teens/young adults at a Fat Camp was going to piss me off. I also should have expected the stereotypes and cliche's, but yet again I tried to keep an open mind about the entire show. Well, I can say in all honesty that by the time the first commercial hit, I was growing agitated. The opening credits alone gave me a reason to snarl in a bitter, fat kid kind of way. Why, you ask? In big bold letter there was a section that read "WHO AM I? FAT."
Now, take a second and look that over. "WHO AM I? FAT." You're kidding me, right? Since when does a statement like that offer positive feedback to anyone - even more so - when did what you are become who you are. I'm a brunette at the moment, and sure, I can say "Who am I? I'm a brunette." but by doing so I would only be commenting on my physical appearance because anyone who knows me (and ya'll can comment to back me up on this..) well enough knows that my mentality is blonde. Hm. Is that considered false advertising, then? No. Just because I look a certain way, that doesn't give anyone the right to assume that the look is who I am. Or all that I am. Sure, it's a part of me, but it's not entirely me. To prove my point even further, I'm fat and I'm a brunette. Will I always look this way? Most likely not. Tomorrow I could have purple hair - who would I be then? Am I not the same person I was as a brunette, or will you define me by what appears to be the most constant factor in my existance; my weight? Does weight hold such a significant part of who we are as fat kids that trying to define ourselves as anything more is simply a waste of time? Especially if it's said in such a derogatory way, will that lead to the belief that fat people aren't good people, or are worthless, pathetic slob?
Which leads me to my next subject. Stereotypes. We all deal with stereotypes, all the time. People jump to conclusions, assume things, define people through a snap judgement. It happens. I understand that, because sadly, I do the very same. As much as I am consciously aware of it and I continue to work on no longer doing so, it's a fact. I always do my best to not assume the worst about a person without them doing something to provoke such a response and I try to let the person mold my judgement for them. With that being said, I tend to look at individual cases, much like I am trying to suggest now. The stereotypes in the premiere of HUGE were so extreme, I found myself cringing. A lot.
Let's all focus for a moment. Why was I cringing, exactly? Well, because Nikki Blonsky's character was sent to fat camp, and was bitter about such, she snuck candy into camp. Okay, fine. I can accept that theory, as I'm sure it's bound to happen at one point or another. But I'm pretty sure not every fat kid in the camp is smuggling goods into the camp limits. Not to mention, as a fat kid, I've got plenty of fat friends. I network. It happens. Moving on. Out of all these fat friends of mine, I've never once seen anyone hide candy in shampoo bottles as a method of feeding and hiding an addiction to food/candy. Never, ever. Have I just lucked out and maybe I've never been given the chance yet? Wait, does that mean maybe I should check my friends shampoo bottles next time I go to their house, to make sure they aren't smuggling something. Is there so secret fat kid society I'm missing out on? Do all overweight people act this way and simply hide it from the world, and from me? Am I really so terrible at being a fat kid that I can't even share the same mentality? Not everyone who is overweight has a food addiction. Not all of us binge eat, not all of us sleep with Snickers' bars under our pillow cases. Some of us are fat simply because we are fat. Look, I'm not saying that I'm an exception to this 'rule', because I'm not. For example? It's 7:15am, and I'm currently drinking a coke with a hand full of cheezits. Sure, I could be drinking water while eating an apple. I could be, but I'm not. And I chose not to. My reasons are my reasons and it's all my choice. Does that make me a fat kid who deserves to be stereotyped with the others who are apparently into smuggling candy? I don't think so. Do you disagree? I'd like to know why you disagree, if you do.
Well, I've written up a list of about 11 more topics that spawned from the show last night and I plan on addressing them all very soon. However, seeing as it's been a while since I've blogged, I figure I should reintroduce you to my obnoxiousness in small, very small doses. So, keeping that fact in mind, I am ending this blog post.
I'll be back, don't you worry.
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