So, this is a person with a blog. Judging from her many sponsors — the main one is BlogHer — and commenters, her blog is fairly popular.
She would like a “bikini body” in time for summer here in the Northern Hemisphere. If the magazines that assault me when I’m at Duane Reade stocking up on jelly beans and popcorn are any indication, this desire is shared by many.
For this blogger, that means:
…I need to be skinny, like, yesterday.
I know, I know…it’s “politically correct” to say I “want to be healthy.”
Eff that. I want to be effing skinny.
She will accomplish this via:
One protein shake, three times a day.
Period.
Solid food will not touch my lips for at least an entire month, if not more.
RIght? I damn near choked on my cold egg roll.
I have maybe a few things to say about this.
- There is a much quicker way to get a bikini body: obtain a bikini, and put in on your body. The end.
- I’m really excited to see that BlogHer, champion for women, gives their imprimatur to this kind of incredibly helpful web content.
I guess I’m suppose to clap my hands and thank her for admitting what all women are really thinking… except, we’re not all really thinking that, and writing about your need to conform to a damaging set of beauty stereotypes without offering a whit of critical analysis is not so much helpful.
Unless the photos accompanying the post are aspirational photos of someone else, this person is already thin and conventionally attractive. Is it easier for her to starve her way into a smaller bikini and use the ensuing male approval to boost her self-esteem, skirting the need to dig into why she feels inadequate in the first place? Sure. Can she write about whatever the hell she wants on her blog? But of course.
But I don’t have to cheer for the “honesty.”
King of States! 
Lol. Hey, I can have a bikini body too! Thanks for that!
LikeLike
Everyone should feel empowered to expose more of their flesh to the sun’s damaging rays.
LikeLike
Michelle,
I’m just hoping for a grey and rainy summer.
Le Clown
LikeLike
I want sun, lots of sun. And I will don a bikini in hopes that the high albedo off my pale, ample torso will blind the judgmental patriarchs.
LikeLike
Ok, so I can wear a bikini, but I have to remove all my body hair, cellulite, dry skin, uneven tone, varicose veins, spider veins, and freckles first, right? Oh, and wear something “flattering” so I can at least be “acceptably” and “inoffensively” fat.
I’M SO READY.
LikeLike
Correct. The Summer 2013 burqas are also an option. I mean, think of the children that would otherwise have to look at you.
LikeLike
You had me at cold egg roll.
LikeLike
I always think about John Pinette in the buffet line when I read about skinny people. “GET OUT OF THE WAY!! GRAB AND GO, GRAB AND GO.”
LikeLike
So sad. She will struggle to find her beauty for a long time with this attitude. And these pod-people are everywhere.
LikeLike
I understand that we all make our deals with the patriarchy, but that doesn’t mean I have to like it.
LikeLike
Reblogged this on FEMBORG.
LikeLike
I found this just sad! This attitude is going to bring this blogger nothing but grief in the end. It seems irresponsible of BlogHer, too.
LikeLike
I’d like to expect more, but in the end, the ad network is about making money and that means pageloads, not principle.
LikeLike
Sadly, this kind of mentality appeals to so many women. A lot of the comments on that post started out as “Hahaha you so funny, girl!” But the kind of fat shaming this blogger is promoting hits her readers in the gut (no pun intended.) No one is laughing. Just loathing.
LikeLike
^^ THAT.
LikeLike
She’s starting to get well deserved backlash comments. I find this obsession with appearance so shallow. I’m not saying we should strive to look like crap, but how about striking a balance? Beauty fades, but I think it lasts forever if someone has a winning personality … and I like the way they accessorize.
LikeLike
Ranty posts and backlash comments aside, in the end, I just hope she sits down and thinks about the reality of those words. See how the hurt people. See how sadly conventional and not at all “edgy” they are.
LikeLike
Even though I personally agree with you, it seems like what she wrote resonates positively with most of her commenters. I know I’ll never cross the line to her way of thinking and odds are good that she won’t cross the line to ours. It’s like politics or religion. People believe what they believe and they’re not going to budge.
LikeLike
I want to lose weight to have a healthy body which is why I make healthy food choices in a balanced diet and have an active lifestyle (if you count that 20 minute walk to and from work every day active). And never in a million years would I go on a liquid diet just so I can wear a bathing suit. Strike that. Never in a million years would I go on a liquid diet. Period.
I applied for BlogHer sponsorship and was turned down. I think I’m okay with that.
LikeLike
^^ And also THAT.
I ran BlogHer ads on my last blog for a while, until I couldn’t deal with the Ragu ads on a blog about home cooking. And I get that this is a tough call for them — I mean, you don’t want them to silence women, and they want to encourage women to write and publish. But at the end of the day, it still sticks in my craw.
LikeLike
If I stop waking up every day, period, will I get younger AND skinnier AND be drop dead gorgeous in my bikini in my coffin. Win Win Win. Need to start new blog now, like YESTERDAY.
LikeLike
I’d recommend a multicolored bikini so the vomit stains don’t show up as well.
LikeLike
I’m amazed so many of her followers are applauding her efforts. It shows that this type of thinking is status quo – it should be shocking. Or eye-roll-inducing, at the very least.
Also, thank you for teaching me a new word – imprimatur. Excellent usage.
LikeLike
I wish I were more amazed; I find it depressingly expected.
Hooray for vocabulary, though.
LikeLike
Had two children, stopped wearing bikinis. Learned the meaning of Newton’s law of gravity as it regards to post breast feeding breasts. There’s so much out there in the fitness / exercise world a lot of it is under my bed.
LikeLike
I see a lot of people talking about weight-loss plans on blogs or elsewhere, but usually I don’t feel compelled to do more than roll my eyes and mutter to myself that they were just fine the way they were – but then again, I don’t read creepy eating-disorder-promoting blogs. If I did, they would be saying things like this, with the no solid food. Not that “ordinary” dieting of the “slow down on the Ding-Dongs” variety is so psychologically healthy, but this is diving into a whole other level of yikes.
LikeLike