Views on appearances aka Photoshop ready

[zenphor667x]

It seems like people have this overall view of "slim, fit and stylish" as the overall "pretty" these days. It's a lot easier for others to be harassed if you're not as I would call it "Photoshop ready" I definitely see people get picked on a lot just because they're a little overweight, fat, or obesed, which is a bit ridiculous.

I'm not one that gets picked on, I'm actually slim and fit, but it doesn't mean what I'm witnessing is something to be ignored, it's actually bothersome, and i've had to stand up for a few people because they got picked on for their looks.

Another thing with celebrities, they just seem to be getting smaller and smaller these days. Looking halfdead seems to be the norm for the celebrity theme these days, a bit annoying to watch because a lot of people look down on themselves if they already have low self-esteem and such, thinking THAT'S the way to look, when it's really not the case. A bit disgusting if you ask me. Some chicks think they have to plaster on makeup to seem pretty, dudes think you have to have rock hard abs to look attractive etc etc lol

I didn't think this would fit in as a seriouss discussion, I'd just like to know what you guys think about the whole appearance thing lately ;]

[neomattlac]

I'm a very big advocate of knowing who or what you really are and for eating, and find it ridiculous for people to starve themselves for an image that isn't healthy. I've been a chef before, and it is really insulting when I send a plate out and it comes back barely touched, and people say that it was delicious. If it was delicious then indulge, although I have the problem of overindulging. Anyways, people should eat, people shouldn't starve, and people should appreciate how beautiful they are naturally. And on those points, starving yourself actually makes you look worse, because your skin and hair aren't as healthy, and stars use a crudload of stuff to make them look "real," and then still demand to be Photoshopped.
And, while skinny people are attractive, biologically we should be attracted to larger people because they eat and provide more, so, in that reasoning, we are going against our own biological urgings to long after these... toothpicks... Well, that's my two sense anyways.

[ecco]

While i understand what you're saying and almost completely agree, there's one thing about the "weight" issue that really drives me crazy.

people that claim things like "real women have curves!" or say "stick-thin girls are disgusting!"

for many of them, its not their fault. and it really bothers me that while it would be considered awfully rude to say to someone "wow, you're so FAT!" it seems like its perfectly acceptable to say to someone "wow, you're so SKINNY!" - as far as i'm concerned, it's insulting.

When i was younger I wasn't particularly confident about my looks, but not really worried either. i guess i just considered myself a "plain jane" - until, that is, people at school kept pointing out how "skinny" i was. And yes, I was, but not by choice. I then became really self-conscious about my weight.

So... it works both ways. I'm sick of it being treated like a one-way street. Because it's not. If you ask me, decent people do not obsess over dress sizes or calories - they'll only bring up weight as an issue if it's to do with health.

sorry for ranting, and please don't feel that its directed at you, because it's not meant to be.. this is just my general 2 cents on the subject

[Dr. Tick Tock]

I have a serious problem, not with my weight particularly, but just how I look. I really want to be skinnier, mostly just my stomach, and I often go a day or two without eating anything. It actually helps a lot, I'm noticeably thinner afterwards. I always thought it was funny that people would go months on diets and only lose a couple pounds, when you just have to starve yourself for three days and lose ten pounds all at once. At the same time, I'm a small person. I only weigh 110 - 114 lbs, so maybe smaller people lose weight faster.

I went a little overboard with this last summer and ended up passing out at the stable I ride at- three times in two hours. After the third time they finally went inside and got me water, and then my friend got some food for me. After that I made sure to actually eat every once in a while, but I'll still go a day without eating and won't be bothered by it. I much prefer the feeling of hunger to that gross over-stuffed feeling.

It isn't about appealing other people. I mean- I never see other people. I sit in my room all day with my cat and my fish and ignore texts asking if I want to hang out. I don't like the walking skeleton look, and I don't look like that. I just want to feel comfortable in my own skin, and I'll achieve that goal in any way I want. I'll always stand up for heavier weight people, a lot of people in my family struggled with their weight and eating habits. And I would never encourage someone to starve themselves to look "good" for a boy or to fit their friend's ideals of beauty or whatever. But why is it so bad to want to look good for YOURSELF? I know what I can and can't do- and I would never be able to uphold a diet for years on end just to lose a few measly pounds. As much as I don't like the anorexic epidemics in this country, I wish people would trust their friends, children, etc, to be doing what they think is best for themselves. If you're concerned, talk to them about it, but don't immediately call Dr. Phil or whatever it is people do.

-shrug- I guess I've ranted enough. Just another side to the debate that I'm sure people don't hear often.

[Icewing]

I hate it when people obsess over their weight. The females in my school are constantly talking about how they need to loose weight, how they were starving themselves, how fat they are, ect. First of all, they're so skinny I could wrap my hands around their waist and have my fingers touch. Secondly, one doesn't need to starve themselves to be skinny.

For example, my best friend/semi-girlfriend weighs 60 pound, is 5'6", and has the slimmest figure ever. She also eats more than anyone I've ever seen. In an average meal, she could eat a giant steak, a few platefuls of fries, a couple bajed potatoes, and still be hungry for dessert.
You'd think she's fat as a blimp by now.

But, no, she's still skinny. Why? Because there is this lovely thin called 'excercise'. Yes, you heard me right. Excercise. Maybe if all you people who obsess over your weight actually turned the tv off and ran around outside a bit, you wouldn't have to starve yourselves. Like, seriously, excercise is healthy for you, did you know.

My rant is over now, sorry if I've offended anyone.

[zenphor667x]

I agree with most of you about this. I didn't really put my FULL say into that first post of mine, but I do get what everyone is saying. I don't think anyone should get offended by any of this, it's just a lot of personal opinions going on here. I'm one of those people that eat a ton of food but don't gain a pound. I dunno if it's because I exercise or what, that's probably it. But I don't think someone has to starve themselves to you know...feel comfortable. Just eat whatever you can to not feel bloated and such, passing out is NOT fun...at all.
I remember I got the "you're skinny" thing a lot in high school, but I really didn't mind it too much. It can get annoying though, just continuously pointing out someone's size. I believe people should be healthier, yea, but I think it's still mean to point out their fat also. I've never been fat before, so it's kinda hard to judge someone like that harshly. Basically not knowing why they are the way they are, but then again, that also goes for someone smaller.
My friend weighs 104 and she complains about not feeling healthy and in shape....it sometimes annoys me because she is lol.

[Dr. Tick Tock]

Actually exercise doesn't always work for people. I have a good friend who's in a cross country team, she runs six days out of seven, and is still pretty chubby. She absolute hates her physical appearance, but she does recognize that she has a wonderful personality, which I've always really liked and appreciated about her. She isn't too shallow to think she has to make herself a stick just so her peers can be happy.

Also for people like my sister- she gets up at five in the morning, sits at a desk all day, and comes home at six pm. She doesn't have time nor energy to exercise other than on the weekends, and during then she's usually doing extra work or trying to see friends she never gets to see during the week, etc.

Not targeted toward you, Icewing, I promise D: but I really dislike it when people say, "Well just exercise." Yes, I could very well exercise, but I'm not an exercising person. I'm a writer and a computer geek. I find it a waste of time to spend half an hour exercising, when I could use that half an hour to finish another chapter in the book I'm reading, or to write another page. I am lazy, but I don't sit and stare mindlessly at a TV screen all day. I do a lot of mind-work, even if it's just solitaire on the computer. And I prefer that to the television or exercise.

Also, someone can't possibly be 5'6 and 60 lbs and still be healthy. Or even alive. o__O

And no fainting is not fun in the least. It's crazy weird to be standing there happily and then all of a sudden you're waking up and the world is all tilted weird and you're staring at the ceiling and you don't know how you got on the floor... ahaha. It's a very confusing and frightening experience.

[Icewing]

Yeah, hence why I put the 'sorry I offended anyone' at the end of my post. I know exercise doesn't work for everyone, and not everyone has the time to exercise. I can rarely exercise due to the various injuries I almost always have.

No insults, but I don't see how you can prefer writing over exercising. I mean, I love writing as well, and one would think my fingertips are melded with my computer keyboard, but I cannot manage to write for half an hour rather than exercise. I always have to be doing something active, hence why I've cleared the center of my room so I can practice karate if I get too jittery. I'm just not a non-exercising person, and I have difficulties seeing how someone couldn't exercise. Not to mention the fact that I have way too much energy even after I do sports for eight hours a day, so I'm kinda forced to exercise if people don't want me to be running around like a fly with a sugar rush.

And my friend is exactly 5'5.87", and weights 61.5 lbs, and is still alive. Of course, she's rather unhealthy, although, somehow, she tends to have more energy than I do(Maybe that's because most of the food she eats have a lot, lot of sugar, while I only eat salad for the most part...). But, I like the fact that she's so lightweight, because then she doesn't do too much damage if she hits me out of annoyance.

[Dr. Tick Tock]

http://www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi/

She's 9.7. The lowest I've ever seen anyone was 18.1. She might have some kind of disease o__o;;

That's strange. I can imagine how it must be like to always want to exercise. It's really just a different lifestyle. It's the same as wanting to wear a hijab constantly, or knowing how to walk with a basket full of food balanced on your head. I suppose I'm kind of obligated to understand these things, being a writer, but it's always come very easily to me. I absorb people's cultures within hours xD Maybe that's just because I'm a wimp with no backbone and no culture of her own .__. hmmm...

My hits never do much damage also, which is why I learned how to effectively punch the solar plexus and knock the wind out of people xD You should tell her to do that so she can have a chance if she's getting kidnapped >__>;; it takes little to no effort, even on people with hard abs.

ANYWAY. Back on topic. It's just as bad to exercise yourself to exhaustion as it is to not eat for a day, isn't it? A lot of people do that as well, and yet it isn't as big a deal. Everyone gets all upset when they see a really skinny person not eating, but no one says anything when an overweight person eats a meal big enough for five people. When actually witnessing the cause of obesity, they don't drag the person off to the doctor or a therapist, they just tell them to eat less. And while anorexia can be fatal short term, obesity causes much more health problems in the long term, and can also lead to death- a much more tortuous and painful one.

That's where society is all wrong. They reprimand people for being overweight, but then freak out when someone tries to lose weight "the wrong way." Why don't we start off reprimanding underweight people, and freak out when they start gaining weight "the wrong way"?

The only way to do anything- lose OR gain weight- is to eat and exercise. But it's just not plausible in today's world. A hundred years ago, people LIVED in constant exercise, working out on the fields ten hours a day. Even the woman were always standing or moving around. You could "exercise" for ten hours and still making a living. Nowadays, people need to sit at desks for ten hours to make their living. They're too busy commuting to work, working some crappy job, picking up their kids, making their children dinner, etc. It's just cruel to shove it in their face that they don't exercise enough.

It also doesn't help that school systems have "gym"- a.k.a torture for the less active children. One of the main things that turned me off from exercise was growing up thinking that THAT was exercise. That whenever I wanted to be active and fit, I would have some jerks teasing me about not being as good as them, or some b*tchy coach who failed me because I couldn't do ten push ups.

Basically.

This society fails xD.

Sweet Jesus this post is enormous .___.

[Icewing]

I hope she doesn't have a disease... That would be bad. I try to make her eat as much as possible, now that it's summer and she isn't in so many extracurricular sports, she'll probably get back to a healthier weight, especially if she comes over to my house a lot(which she probably will, since we're pretty much joined at the hip most of the time XD(Figuratively, of course))

XD I also absorb people's cultures within hours. Actually, I had most of the Aztec gods and religious rituals memorized in about 1.5 hours Because that isn't creepy at all. Of course it's the violent, bloodthirsty, slightly cruel people whose cultures I know the most about...Although, it's slightly difficult for me to absorb people's cultures, because I was raised by a very traditional German family, and it's a bit difficult to get German ideas out of my head at times.

I feel very bad for anyone who tries to kidnap my friend. She is so incredibly annoying, I don't see why someone would want to kidnap her in the first place(Then again, her annoying-ness and insanity is what makes me like her). And, I also feel bad for any kidnappers who try to steal her, because then they have the 5'7", incredibly muscular and very lethal me coming after them. Yeah, it's dangerous to mess with me.

Yeah, our society is truly messed up. Even at my school, they're telling us to eat healthier. And of course, to be truly hypocritical, they only serve fries, really disgusting burgers, and potato chips at the cafeteria. There's not a salad in sight.

Don't even get me started on 'gym'. Our 'gym' class is actually called 'Physical Education', because that's really what it is. We sit around, reading textbooks on how to be healthy and fit, and rarely ever do anything else. On the days we actually do do something active, it's usually kickball, in which my gym teacher lets all of the lazy kids sit out so that the kids like myself who actually want to stay fit can play by themselves. 'Gym' is exactly why I do karate, so that I can at least get some exercise.

And yes, this society absolutely does fail.

[Chu]

I'm very thin, made worse by the fact that this previous winter, I got very sick and depressed and lost about 30 pounds. Although I've gained weight since then, I've been exercising too as an outlet for my emotions. I do it to make myself happy - not to alter my appearance. There are things that I dislike, of course, but I don't really agree with rashly changing your appearance if this is how you naturally look.

Anyway, even though I'm not fat in the slightest, I get my own set of harassment. Most of it is because people think I'm anorexic, or they think my chest is too small. When I'm out running or bike riding, people call me boy. I also have short hair and an "athletic" frame (lean muscles, nice legs and arms, broad back, etc.) which doesn't make matters any better.

I think that everyone gets harassed by something or another because there truly is no ideal "beauty" despite what it may seem. More and more people today are supporting heavier girls, touting "Big is Beautiful" and so forth. Some people get so involved in that that they begin harassing small girls because they are not this new group's ideal. Even a counter-culture is a culture in of itself, which creates new standards and biases that indeed hurt anyone who opposes them.

In short, every body type will find opposition and criticism somewhere along the line. That's just how it is.

[neomattlac]

Chu - That's where I'm different than most people. I don't necessarily support being overweight, I just really support enjoying good food. Many people just confuse it, but its actually quite different.

Icewing - I'd kidnap your friend and make her eat. I'm a good listener. I support eating, and thus oppose not eating. If she lived in my house, she'd gain 10lbs in a week. I'm not kidding when I say that most people who have stayed with us(usually relatives w/out a place for a bit) they gain weight. XD
We do a lot of rich eating; cream, butter, salt, dessert, etc. It's not a s bad now that I've suddenly become the main cook since my mom's back has gone out, and I've become lactose intolerant(T_T xInfinity).

Dr. Tick Tock - I can't find a job, sitting or exercising. >> Also, I'd add that the lower the job is, the more exercise, and the higher it is, the more sitting is involved.

[Icewing]

Neo-Don't you dare kidnap her! XD Yeah, same ting happens at my house. We have very heavy meals that almost always include meat(My family is stereo-typical German, everyone but myself is obsessed with meat), and we also use a lot of butter and cream, so, yeah, people tend to complain that meals at our house make them fat. Whenever my friend comes over to my house(AKA every other day), my sister and I literally stuff her full of foods. It still amazes me that she hasn't grown fat as a blimp yet, even with the meals my family eats.

[Catghost]

That type of attitude is very prevalent around here. It's especially noticeable when you start losing weight, with all the "compliments" people give you. I remember a couple years back, I had lost about 15lbs. A family member of mine said "If you keep losing weight, you'll be as pretty as your sister."
And then one time my dad said I wouldn't get a husband if I didn't loose weight. (yeah, that's totally not going to crush your teen daughter's self esteem... but he's pretty ignorant about these sorts of things, so all it did was make me LOL)
I could go on, but this already get's my point across so I'll leave it at that.

Honestly, there's no point getting mad at people when they say things like this, as it's a socially constructed idea they've been spoon fed since childhood. But still... This type of attitude makes me not want to loose weight, just to spite them.

Also, since winter I've lost 25lbs. I'd like to lose twenty more, but I'd be just as happy with fifteen.
I don't care to change my body to fit another person's standards, nor do I care for compliments. (I'm already pretty healthy, so it's not for that either) I'm working towards a toned, strong body which is what I find beautiful. The weight loss is just an added bonus.

I'll leave it at that then. *skips away*

[neomattlac]

I did some research and will have to retract what I say yesterday or early today. When I said that we actually go against our natural instinct or whatever when it comes to attraction. I found out that people are naturally attracted to people with small waists, but also attracted to large... assets. XD Because it means she is healthy and will, potentially, provide a guy with strong, healthy offspring.
And I really need to lose weight too. I mean 5-15 lbs(my weight changes a lot) shy of 300lbs is obviously not good. Oddly, recently, I learned that my mom wears the same size as me and she had that bypass surgery done about 6 or 7 years ago.