Monday Musings...

Last week, I caught wind of a blog post published on Marie Claire's website that caused a pretty massive uproar among readers all over the internet.  The title of the article?  "Should 'Fatties' Get a Room? (Even on TV?)"  Yes, seriously, that is the title.  A national women's magazine, one that claims to support women in all aspects of life, published an article containing the word fatties in the title.  What exactly is the purpose of a post like that, if not to embarrass and offend? 

The blogger admits she has never seen Mike and Molly, the show that sparked this discussion of fat people on tv, yet she claims that by watching this show, we must be "implicitly promoting obesity".  OK...obviously obesity is unhealthy and costs millions of dollars per year in healthcare expenses...but most people don't want to be overweight, and none of that, NOTHING, in fact, makes it okay to belittle someone like that author talks about overweight people in her post.  Did she take even a fraction of a second to think about how the actors on that show might feel while reading the cruel things she wrote about them?  Not likely.

This all took place on the website of a NATIONAL MAGAZINE, I feel it bears repeating...if it were on her personal blog, it would still be distasteful (to me), but we all have the right to express our opinions.  The part that I am absolutely outraged over is that the editors at Marie Claire allowed this writer to post this hateful, judgmental, offensive drivel on their site.  That, to me, is unforgivable, and I will ensure that I do not spend my money on their publication anytime soon.

The quote from this poorly-written article that raised my blood pressure the most?  That would be this one: 

So anyway, yes, I think I'd be grossed out if I had to watch two characters with rolls and rolls of fat kissing each other ... because I'd be grossed out if I had to watch them doing anything. To be brutally honest, even in real life, I find it aesthetically displeasing to watch a very, very fat person simply walk across a room — just like I'd find it distressing if I saw a very drunk person stumbling across a bar or a heroine addict slumping in a chair.

Also?  "Heroine"=feminine version of hero.  I am fairly certain she meant to say "heroin", as in the drug. 

Is Mike and Molly classy, intelligent, outstanding tv?  No.  Jeremy and I find it entertaining enough to fill the 8:30 timeslot on Monday nights, and I will forever be a fan of Melissa McCarthy (previously known as Sookie from Gilmore Girls ...where her weight was never made an issue, I might add).  Are we inspired to gain weight until we are obese and driven to join Overeaters Anonymous like the characters on the show?  Hardly.  I guess we didn't quite get the "glorifying obesity" message of the show.
I didn't really mean to write an entire post on this stupid article, but obviously, it got under my skin.  Almost as much as the homophobic Arkansas school board member who posted on his Facebook page that he enjoyed that homosexuals "often give each other AIDS and die."  I won't go into that one here...one post can only handle so much discussion of ignorance and hate.  Thankfully, he resigned, though I fear a LOT of damage was already done.

As for me, I'm heading out to find something to lower my blood pressure!  : )

What do you think about the 'Fatties' article?  Are you shocked and outraged like me, or do you see the other side of the issue?  (Don't be afraid to disagree!)  What has your blood boiling this week?  Let it out...it feels good!