Letters to the Editor
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The war of the body sizes
Thank you, Salon, for an interesting article.
The topic of body sizes tends to polarise people. The fat-positive feel a need to point out how unhealthy thin people are, and the thin-lovers are forever talking about how fat people will die of this and that. But here's the thing: People are born with different body structures! We look different, and some people will never gain/ lose weight no matter what they do, but they still might eat right and exercise. What I'm saying is that Kate Moss doesn't have to be any unhealthier than Oprah, just because she's skinnier. And vice versa. For what you know they might BOTH outrun you on the treadmill.
This is what's especially refreshing about Josh Max's article; although he finds large women more attractive, he isn't disrespectful of thinner women. He doesn't say this is better or that is worse, but rather talks about the reactions people have to each other, and his own experiences in attraction.
I don't believe in the media mould that some people are always screaming about, because if you watch TV, walk past a billboard or leap through a magazine you'll be bombarded by both sides -- both the fat- and the thin-positive. You'll find articles and experts talking about how damaging the standards of beauty are, and you'll see skinny models presented as icons. The fact is that we all tend to treat each other fairly poorly, often with contempt and suspicion. That goes for the thick and the thin.
Nice, then, to see someone who's writing about love, for a change.