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Still busy Cleaning All The Things, although was v. unmotivated today. Possibly because the weather was gorgeous and sunny and properly spring-like. Anyway, a swift round-up of links (some from my flist, some from elsewhere) so I can close some of my open tabs:
My Body Is Wildly Undisciplined And I Deny Myself Nearly Everything I Desire.
How Dante Saved My Life.
A 13-year-old eagle huntress in Mongolia.
Also watched Frozen last Saturday and have had Let It Go stuck in my head ever since. Not that I mind, really. And it's probably got a lot to do with Impish Girl practising it on the piano daily...
My Body Is Wildly Undisciplined And I Deny Myself Nearly Everything I Desire.
How Dante Saved My Life.
A 13-year-old eagle huntress in Mongolia.
Also watched Frozen last Saturday and have had Let It Go stuck in my head ever since. Not that I mind, really. And it's probably got a lot to do with Impish Girl practising it on the piano daily...
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As for the weight piece, I find it telling that the media-dictated "ideal" female body is the one that may well be the most difficult to attain (if you haven't been genetically blessed with "natural" thinness). Especially in our largely-sedentary Western culture, where high-calorie food is so readily available (and for some of us, free time is a precious commodity that we have to divvy up between our own daily maintenance/ upkeep and nurturing relationships with family/ friends, often leaving very little room in the day for a bit of exercise), the pounds/ kilograms can creep on all too easily.
(I sometimes joke that I've gained 3-5 pounds for every technological innovation in our workplace. At one time, I had to walk to another building to send large documents to a co-worker. Now I scan the documents and email them as attachments. And that's just one example.)
What's worse is when people, women especially, are made to feel like abject failures for their inability to achieve frankly inhuman levels of physical perfection. Hell, if I had unlimited resources of time and money at my disposal, I could look like an Olympic athlete in no time. As it is, I'm lucky to have an hour(ish) a day that can be devoted to physical exercise.
Another point the writer kind of misses is that the Hollywood beauties who are held up as paragons of good looks have those very resources at their disposal--they can hire cooks and nutritionists; they can have physical trainers come right to their homes; they can have gyms and swimming pools and tennis courts built right on their own property. They don't have to worry about squeezing in 45 minutes of cardio between work and picking up the kids. And frankly, if they're living in places like southern California, they also don't have to endure weeks in winter when they can barely get out of the house to go to work, let alone get out to the gym (and obviously things like the weather being too cold to exercise outdoors, or the ground being covered with ice/ snow are not an issue).
To say nothing of not being able to afford to consult a doctor or a nutritionist either because they don't have health insurance, or because their insurance doesn't cover weight-loss programs.
For so many ordinary women, the slim, lean, buff, sculpted body is completely unattainable, and yet this is what's held up as an ideal of not only physical beauty but personal virtue. It's crazy! Articles like this one also make me glad I don't bother with television and I pretty much ignore the magazines that are aimed at women. My sanity is so much better off without them.
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My pleasure. :)
As for the weight piece, I find it telling that the media-dictated "ideal" female body is the one that may well be the most difficult to attain (if you haven't been genetically blessed with "natural" thinness).
Uh-huh. (I always find it slightly awkward to discuss this, as I am that skinny naturally. Have never been on a diet in my life, although I do eat fairly healthily & walk to work and back. But... I am very lucky and sort of feel like I can't really comment.)
(I sometimes joke that I've gained 3-5 pounds for every technological innovation in our workplace. At one time, I had to walk to another building to send large documents to a co-worker. Now I scan the documents and email them as attachments. And that's just one example.)
That sounds very true.
Another point the writer kind of misses is that the Hollywood beauties who are held up as paragons of good looks have those very resources at their disposal
And even those who *do* have those resources are scrutinised at every turn. Are they a tiny bit too fat, a tiny bit too thin? Or are they wearing an unflattering dress... I wouldn't want to be famous, no matter what. *shudders*
To say nothing of not being able to afford to consult a doctor or a nutritionist either because they don't have health insurance, or because their insurance doesn't cover weight-loss programs.
Or they're too poor to buy healthy food, which is the reality for many.
Articles like this one also make me glad I don't bother with television and I pretty much ignore the magazines that are aimed at women. My sanity is so much better off without them.
*nods a lot* Same here.
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I thought once I moved back into my own digs (and was able to do more walking), I would take at least some of the weight off, but it hasn't really happened. Part of the problem, I think, is that my job is just so sedentary. It used to not be this way--our technology was stone-age when I first started working here, and you had to leave the building to make a copy, send a fax, etc. There was no email. Often if you wanted to reach someone, you had to go to their office (because they wouldn't answer their phones). So there was a lot more daily physical activity.
Now? I'm lucky if I leave my chair six or seven times a day to use the restroom and collect things from the photocopier. I can do my entire job from my chair. Which is awesome in terms of convenience, but not so great for my waistline. (I try to get at least an hour a day of exercise, but that's not a patch on sitting for eight or nine hours straight. At least my blood pressure is down, and I'm building up muscle via weightlifting, so I know my health is good.)
And I suspect this is true for a lot of other people as well, which is why I think the ultra-thin body ideal is so cruelly unrealistic for most women. We're leading lives that hardly encourage thinness. A lot of people are working long hours, or more than one job to make ends meet, and I daresay there are a lot of people who are enduring long commutes because they can't afford to live closer to where they work. Throw in responsibilities to home and family, and where do you find the time to exercise? Unless you have enough money to live closer to where you work, or to hire someone to take care of errands/ cooking/ housekeeping, even finding 30 minutes a day for yourself is close to impossible.
Agreed that the scrutiny of women in the media is ridiculous. Actresses/ singers, etc. are routinely mocked for gaining even half an ounce, but if they start looking skeletal, it's all "OMG! She's so skinny!" When two weeks earlier, the very same woman may well have been praised for her "amazing looks and sense of style." It's really a no-win situation.
I find that unplugging from popular media is definitely a sanity-saver. And not having a TV to watch frees up more time to exercise. ; )
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*nods a lot* Plus, the poorer you are, the less healthily you'll be able to eat. That's a convoluted sentence. But good, wholesome food is not that cheap. And the food industry wants to sell people pre-prepared stuff full of fat & sugar... It's a vicious circle and I don't know the way out. :(
Plus the media scrutiny is the icing on the cake, adding insecurity and paranoia to everything else.
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Sadly it's not that much different over here. Well, not so many drive-by shootings, but rough areas are *rough*. I can just imagine the reception someone would get if they tried to go jogging or joined a gym...