Tag Archives: body image

The “Great Put Down”….?

Easy Living, harrassment, Kind Thoughts, Life Stressors, Media, Our World, positive thinking, Special People, , , , , , , , ,

Yes, I have laughed along with the best of them when a smart comment seems to take the ground from under a politician or other such publicity hungry individual who has apparently grown too big for their boots. The individual that deals the blow seems to grow in stature, to be feared and revered at once. Who has not admired the skilled comedian that leaves the heckler speechless and regretting he bought his concert ticket.

While we laugh along with the giant-slayer we are part of the crowd, anonymous and comfortable, relieved that, for now, we are not the victim of the barbs. But it can come to us all.

I have been told that no-one can put you down without your co-operation; a sentiment I understand and appreciate, until you remember that we all have weak spots. Those more subtle slights that compound our self-doubt can be more deadly than an outright assault, one we see coming and can fend off with a smart repost.

Who among us is bullet-proof when in the line of fire?  Not I. I have way too many faults and weaknesses to want anyone to “take me down”, humiliate or destroy me as part of some great sport. I would also take no pleasure in inflicting that on anyone else.

So leave it to the wannabe politicians and their inquisitors.

A “Great Put Down”. No Thanks

Is “Fat a Feminist Issue?”

Diets, Easy Living, harrassment, Life Stressors, Our World, women, work-life balance, , , , , , , ,

Hell no!

Walk down any street, any public place ( any private place come to that) and you clearly see that FAT is an everyone issue!

What is similar though is the contradictory and cynical way which both the issues of “Fat” and “Feminism” are treated by the government and the media. They are such hypocrites. Magazines and TV programmes selling the next great way to lose weight are also laden with calorific-bomb recipes from the newest chefs, just as the government show “concern” at the ever-increasing girth of our children while allowing/supporting both food manufacturers and retailers to continue pumping menus aimed at children full of toxic and health damaging ingredients. I feel desperately sorry for the children of to-day. I believe the weight issues they will have as they get older will make mine look like a walk in the park.

Similarly women are still experiencing discrimination in the workplace (and others) whilst all the time being distracted with non-sensical demands which do nothing but help keep fellow women back from actual equality.

Fat, food and weight are a big problem for me; they have been for what seems like all my adult life.( me and a few squillion others). Oh yes, it’s dead simple, – eat less and move more. But just like our crappy food, we want all of this yesterday and with bells on! We want to lose weight ( and years) and snap back to what we looked like as teenagers ( you know, like the movie stars).

And what of equality? What is it each of us wants for the next generation?

I want a fair crack of the whip, regardless of whether you have tits or a dick. It’s just about who is best for the job. It’s that simple.

We all look for an “edge” at an interview, but seriously guys, if that edge comes down to your “six inches”( in your dreams! -….or maybe ours!!) then the world is still tits up! (pun intended)

Oscar, The Good, The Bad and The Beautiful.

50 Shades, Diets, Media, Our World, Porn, positive thinking, Special People, , , , ,

Congratulations to Eddie Redmayne on his recent success at the Oscars, even more so when you look at the competition he was up against.

The amazing potential an award like this can bring to highlighting the plight of people suffering with not only Motor Neuron Disease, but other physically and emotionally crippling ailments, is huge. I wonder how many people had never even considered the life Prof. Stephen Hawking had before this illness wreaked its havoc on him. Do they look at him differently now?

Will they stop and think on the next time they talk over someone in a wheelchair like they are not there, or  s p e a k  v e r y  s l o w l y  in the company of an elderly person. Don’t think so.

One film cannot turn the tide all on its own, but it can shine a light on how much we all need to look beyond the outer packaging of our souls, at what actually counts in a person, and the movie industry shows us the flip side of that right now. In ” 50 Shades,” we have women, all over the world, ready to surrender all common sense and dignity, and why? Because Christian Grey is “gorgeous”, of course!

And this is all celebrated on an evening where every aspect of the actors/actresses appearance is scrutinised to the tiniest detail; where not a smidgen of fat or less-than-perfect skin is on show. Regardless of their acting abilities,if any of these lads or lasses couldn’t cut it on the red carpet they might be waiting a while on the next script dropping through the letter box.

I don’t believe Hollywood is about to change its beauty obsessed culture any time soon, but the rest of us need to wise up about it all. Real folk don’t come with air-brushing!

Shame On You “Daily Mail”

Life Stressors, Media, Our World, women, , , ,

Front page of to-days “Daily Mail” is a close up of the back of a womans head, showing…….dah, dah, dah, dah… GREY HAIRS!

But, that isn’t news enough so, on page 7 they show Kate, the pregnant Duchess of Cambridge, in a full length picture and then re-print the shocking photograph of ( yes, it was HER head on the front page) her seemingly grey roots. Imagine. How dare she. For God’s sake leave the poor woman alone.

WHY? Really, why is this news? Especially as you have to go to the right hand column of page 10 to find a half-assed coverage of a child who died as a result of abuse, and how 18 opportunities to save this boy were missed.

Why don’t you go the whole hog of hypocrisy and misogyny “Daily Mail and David Wilkes” ( the author of this article), and have a centre spread discussing modern womans lack of self-esteem and the increase in plastic surgery?

I have continued to buy this paper long after friends and family fell out of love with its ethics. Well, I’m done!

Here’s To Fresh Starts

Diets, Life Stressors, positive thinking, , , , , ,

Sunday is the start of a new week. We miss that a bit nowadays with shops open as it seems like just another day. But it’s not; it’s a chance to let go of last weeks frustrations and start a new one with a new and different outlook.

Someone very close to me has just broken up with her boyfriend and he is moving out to-day. It had been bad for a long time but that doesn’t take all the pain out of the finality of this move. But I asked her to think of it as a new and fresh start to not only her week, but her life. All credit to her, she has tried hard and is happy to say she has some hope and a little excitement about the opportunities now open to her.

I have neglected my health and well-being for a long time now and looks like that neglect has lead to an ulcer, causing a lot of pain, nausea and fatigue. I had been feeling really low about it all. But I’m looking out the window now at a crisp and bright Sunday morning and this is a fresh start for me too. It’s time to practice what I preach and value my health and body more than I have to date.

It’s all about perspective, about what you can do, not what you can’t have.

Way To Go Cindy..

Diets, women, , , ,

So, first of all let me congratulate Cindy on having the nerve to let this image go to press. That has taken a lot of courage.
But I am going to be really awful here; why, when we now see she actually IS a beautiful, but normal, woman do we need to see her in this kind of pose?
It’s odd but I am at once grateful to her and yet still irritated by it.
Jamie Leigh Curtis did a similar, but I feel more honest, version of this some years ago, posing in very ordinary underwear and without the rest of the pizzazz of Cindy’s picture. She also did the shoot without make-up. Her beauty was not compromised in any way.
This image has done a lot to dispel the myth that some “special” people do not suffer the same issues as the rest of us mere mortals; but this is a highly intelligent and successful businesswoman, so why is there is still so much emphasis being placed on her sexuality?

We Say No To Revenge Porn…….,

harrassment, Life Stressors, Porn, women, , , , , , ,

though I just wish a lot more people would say “No” when  this idea is put to them or they come up with it all of their own accord!

I fully understand that some people feel they have no choice for whatever reason and were forced into it, but that still leaves an awful lot of people who seem to think getting naked, taking photographs and then giving access to these pics to their latest nearest and dearest is a good idea. Eh, get the hell over that one please!!

Even if you could trust this person with your life, just how many “celebrities” do you have to witness having their bits and bobs flashed all over the various media platforms to get the message that this is NEVER a safe thing to do. EVER!

It reminds me of the stories of some of the tribes in far-flung continents who were afraid of having their pictures taken, fearing the camera would take their soul and with that their power. Guess what, they were right.

Let anyone have pictures like this of you and they have taken your soul and with it your power. It’s not just a digital image anymore; that’s your future you are giving them.

Think about it.

Yet Another Own Goal You Tits!

Our World, women,

I am actually loathe to comment on this for fear of giving the oxygen of publicity to these women but I’m so mad I have to sound off.

So “Femen” have demonstrated as Dominique Strauss-Kahn goes into court on charges of “aggravated pimping.” And how did they do this? By putting forward a well thought out press release? Highlighting other examples of this kind of behaviour or similar abuses of women?

No!! They got their tits out!!! Oh, sorry, I nearly forgot; with flowers in their hair!

I went on to their website in a useless attempt to find ANY kind of reasoning behind this but as far as I can see this is a bloody ego trip for a bunch of stupid……TITS!

They claim as their goal ” Complete victory over patriarchy.” Really?

Well put your kit on again, look at what is really going on out there and stop taking the easy option!

Just Smile and Tiny Tweaks….

Diets, Life Stressors, Management styles, positive thinking,

I am the first to say I don’t go for this type of thing, but honestly, this is so worth watching. Actually it gets off to a shaky start and Amy seems to be suffering from dry mouth( stress perhaps), which I found odd as the message was about confidence and how we communicate that to others. But stay with it.

Amy goes on to share a very personal experience, something I found very moving and I judged her to be completely sincere in everything she said. The audience believed her too and responded very positively to her generosity of spirit.

I have heard parts of this discussion before and agree that the act of smiling is one of the most simple and effective things we can do to relieve stress and lift our mood. And completely free! That’s the kind of therapy I like.

Be careful when you practice this though. I was in a real stinker of a mood one morning on my  way into work, getting worse by the minute as I sat, stuck in traffic. I remembered about the ” Just Smile” idea and wanted to shift my mood before affecting anyone else so, with a great deal of effort, I put on my favourite “happy” music and pulled my mouth up from my boots, into my biggest, bestest smile….. And scared seven shades of daylight out of the guy in the car beside me! I think he reckoned I had lost the plot and was about to carry out some kind of mayhem. Oh well, you can’t win them all.

Anyway, like I say, I really think this is worth your time and I would love to know if you agree.

And Do It Now..

Diets, positive thinking,

Don’t wait until you are the perfect weight, the perfect age, in fact, the perfect anything, to be happy with who you are. The who you are now is good enough.
Enjoy the journey to a better you by all means, taking in all that happens on the way, but try not to place limitations such as time or even where that journey will take you.
I recommend everyone find their own version of my “Red Lipstick” moment. Last week I decided I am NOT too old, NOT too fat and certainly NOT too unworthy to wear red lipstick and every time I smooth the glorious colour across my lips I feel an affirmation of the who I am right now; I’m good enough.