Fat and happy

See that picture there? The one just to the left? It's not me. I know, shocking. I'm not a cartoon character with jaunty boobs and a wicked grin. It doesn't look a thing like me, except for the brown hair. If you're out there picturing me as some svelte and toned kitten-with-a-whip glamourpuss, you're wrong.

I'm chubby. Sexy, but round. My clavicle doesn't jut through my skin, I haven't seen my hipbones since God was a boy, and my waist is not the kind you can span with your hands. I have curves, lots of them, and a juicy booty with dimples.

It is what it is. I'm ok with how I look, for the most part. It helps that as a child and teen I was petted and preened and told how lovely I was. Now, as a plump adult, I sometimes forget that I'm not that skinny looker I was in my youth. I'd like to be healthier, and I'd be happy to lose some weight, but I'm not and never have been obsessive about it. I love to eat. Food is glorious. I'm a sensualist, and taste is a sensation I like to indulge. I'm marrying a chef, for heaven's sake.

But even though I feel relatively well-adjusted to my appearance, and I don't strive for cover model thinness, I'm aware of the issues surrounding fat acceptance and eating disorders and America's unhealthy relationship with pleasure and excess. I've felt the sting of judgment about my appearance. I'm interested in the literature, and I can relate as a fat girl in a thin-obsessed world.

Which brings me to my review: Feed Me!

Let's get the design stuff out of the way. It's bland but ok; her website is better -- maybe coordinate the colors of the blog with the colors of the website. It's well-organized and uncluttered, but I'd roll up the archives and increase the width of the sidebar to fit the OpenCongress thingy. But, overall, it's fine.

Harriett is an honest-to-goodness writer about important things: issues related to women and children, eating disorders, mental health, health care policy, activism, etc. This is serious stuff, and often powerful. Sure, it can be a bit of a downer, but it's heartfelt and well-written and I can tell that this is near and dear to Harriet's heart. I'm inspired by her dedication and focus, and frankly I'm a bit ashamed that I don't participate more in issues that move me.

Bloggers, I think, are often self-obsessed and engrossed in the minutia of their own spheres. We're all a bit enthralled with ourselves, don't you think? And we focus our attention on self-congratulatory essays to ourselves full of introspection and navel gazing and attempts to cultivate an audience for our inanities. Yes, some of us are funny and insightful and entertaining, and from time-to-time we glance outward and provide commentary on the latest news or scandal or roadside attraction along the superhighway, but largely bloggers are inward-looking, focusing on the "me." Myself included. It's human nature, and the nature of blogging.

It's nice, though, to read the eloquence of someone who is working for change, who is shining a light on inequalities, and who is reaching out to affect the lives of others in a positive way.

Is this a blog that I'll get into, that I'll add to my blogroll, that I'll rush back to every day to check in and find out what happens next? Likely not. I am, quite frankly, a bit too shallow and vulgar. But I'm glad it's there for those who need it, it provides a valuable resource for discussion and dissemination of information, and I'll champion Harriet's efforts.





Side note: This dance could be called the Calamity, y'all. I'm not kidding.