Okay. This is what makes me violently, hideously, politically angry. This is what moves me to want to start revolutions. This and almost nothing else. From Overheard New York:
Imagine Eating When You Were Hungry and Still Being Loved
Big latina: I want to get to the gym more often.
Bigger latina: Yeah, I need to get around to that, too.
Big latina: The problem is, though, my man tells me he don't want to go to the gym. He said he likes my weight right now and I shouldn't lose any.
Bigger latina: He right.
--Dunkin' Donuts, Queens
Vote counted! 0% of 27 people liked this one.
ZERO PERCENT. I voted "liked it." Because I LIKE IT AND THESE WOMEN ARE RIGHT AND THE TITLE BETRAYS A GLORIOUS IRONIC SUBTLE UNDERSTANDING OF THE VICIOUSNESS OF OUR CULTURE AROUND BODIES.
And the message I get is that 0% of people feel the same way I do. Zero percet of people get that the joke is on the person who thinks these women are a joke. Zero percent of people think they're right. Zero percent.
I get so angry I could spit. I could howl. I could lacerate. But it doesn't do any good, does it? Because zero percent of people even get what I'm talking about.
Imagine Eating When You Were Hungry and Still Being Loved
Big latina: I want to get to the gym more often.
Bigger latina: Yeah, I need to get around to that, too.
Big latina: The problem is, though, my man tells me he don't want to go to the gym. He said he likes my weight right now and I shouldn't lose any.
Bigger latina: He right.
--Dunkin' Donuts, Queens
Vote counted! 0% of 27 people liked this one.
ZERO PERCENT. I voted "liked it." Because I LIKE IT AND THESE WOMEN ARE RIGHT AND THE TITLE BETRAYS A GLORIOUS IRONIC SUBTLE UNDERSTANDING OF THE VICIOUSNESS OF OUR CULTURE AROUND BODIES.
And the message I get is that 0% of people feel the same way I do. Zero percet of people get that the joke is on the person who thinks these women are a joke. Zero percent of people think they're right. Zero percent.
I get so angry I could spit. I could howl. I could lacerate. But it doesn't do any good, does it? Because zero percent of people even get what I'm talking about.
The title "Imagine eating when you were hungry is still being loved" is a very nice one, but it doesn't necessarily apply to the conversation itself. I actually don't like the conversation because that woman is still deferring to her boyfriend's ideas of what a woman's body should be like, rather than her own.
Also, the issue isn't her eating habits, it's her exercise habits. Because she thinks she's not "allowed" to lose weight, she's also giving up on the chance to become healthier and stronger. After all, women don't just exercise because they hate their bodies; lots of women exercise because it's self-empowering. By working out, by doing sports, by rock climbing, boxing, or whatever, they can grow to love their bodies for what they can do, rather than how they look. Imagine if that woman eventually became physically stronger than her boyfriend. I bet he wouldn't like that either.
I agree with one of the points tb raises...we don't know if all 27 of the people disliked the entry necessarily because of the reason that you suggest. What if they, like myself, just don't find that very funny? I go to ONY for ludacris comments that people make and when placed on that scale this one is pretty bland. Sure some people likely dislike this for the reasons you state but I think you might be reading more into this than the simple 0% of 27 allows us to know. Just a thought.