Monthly Archives: March 2006

AskMen Is Really Asking for It

Laurie and Debbie say:

You know you’re in trouble when the site is called askmen.com and claims to have 5 million readers per month. The home page is bad enough, starting with a quotation (today’s is about how getting money is more important than being honest) and a fact (today’s is about Sheryl Crow’s false teeth). Are you impressed yet?

If not, go to their relationship columnist advising men on the six best ways to get their girlfriends (oh, no, excuse us, their “girls”) to lose weight. There’s a link at the bottom called “Suggest an article,” and believe us, it’s tempting.

Chris Lumsden, relationship expert extraordinaire gives away his strategy at the bottom of this repulsive article. He makes suggestions such as lying about your own body image so your girlfriend will be sympathetic, or prompting jealousy by hinting that you have a really hot trainer at the gym. Honestly, we were surprised that the end of the article could be more offensive than the list. But here it is:

Remember men, to influence her decision to lose weight while avoiding any sore feelings is to make everything about you. How you feel, what you think, what your opinion is; these are the things that will separate you just enough from the battle that is ultimately hers.

Okay, for those of you playing along at home, here’s what he’s really saying.

1) Being self-centered and controlling isn’t just fun, it’s a strategy for managing your relationships.
2) You get to decide which “battle is ultimately hers,” and you have the right, if not the obligation, to push her into fighting that battle your way. How she wants to look is not in the picture.
3) It’s really important to make your girlfriend feel bad about herself, rather than feeling that she has any agency or choice in what happens to her.

We know men we’d rather ask.

Thanks to meloukhia at this ain’t livin’ for the link.

<br /> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/body+image" rel="tag nofollow">body image</a><br /> feminism<br /> fat<br /> masculinity<br /> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/diet" rel="tag nofollow">diet</a><br /> girlfriends<br /> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Body+Impolitic" rel="tag nofollow">Body Impolitic</a><br />

More Links for Your Enjoyment

It’s being a very fertile month for great links.

Rachel’s Tavern points out a superb essay, On the Fourth World: Black Power, Black Panthers, and White Allies. Laurie says, “I really liked this because it leads back to the conversations we’ve had here about wholesale and retail, and why working in coalition is so important.” Read the whole long piece; it’s worth it.

keryx, posting in LiveJournal’s Body Positive community points to a fascinating new blog, simply named A Blog for Fat Athletes.

Once again, Rachel (posting on Alas A Blog as well as on her own blog, this time pointing to a
sexual assault story
“mixing racism, sexism, and classism” that needs to be heard.

And the amazing Pattie Thomas weighs in with the top ten things that she’s tired of discussing as a fat activist. We can relate.

And, Laurie says, don’t miss the 19th-century “blog”, Diaries of a Lady of Quality, a sidebar blog from Natalie Bennett’s history blog Philobiblion. Bennett updates this historical diary thrice weekly, and the gossip and news are seriously addictive.

<br /> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/body+image" rel="tag nofollow">body image</a><br /> fat activism<br /> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/racism" rel="tag nofollow">racism</a><br /> sexism<br /> classism<br /> coalition<br /> African American history<br /> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Body+Impolitic" rel="tag nofollow">Body Impolitic</a><br /> English history<br /> diaries