Hello everyone! I've been enjoying reading your comments in the MBFFL threads for a while, but have just registered today. Note: I'm in London UK so I will be using British spelling.
Watching My Big Fat Fabulous Life episodes is a guilty pleasure for me as I admittedly really enjoy it whenever Whitney gets her karma (not in the spiritual sense as I don't believe in karma in that way, but as in, she gets what she deserves as a result of her own selfish behaviour). I agree with many other people here that she displays so many symptoms of histrionic personality disorder! And she displays so many toxic personality traits every episode I can't understand why she has so many fans. But I was relieved to discover that lots of viewers see her for what she is too!
In the thread for the previous episode, somebody made a very valid point about how if Whitney had been male and was groping female surfing instructors, there would be uproar. Whitney gets away with a lot of highly inappropriate behaviour because she is female, and as a woman myself I feel so embarrassed when she claims to be a feminist. To me, feminism should be about women and men being equal, not glorifying obesity- which to me is equally as damaging to women as promoting anorexia- both disempower women. Ladies, we should empower each other by encouraging each other to be healthy! The fat acceptance movement talks about loving yourself, but how can a person love themselves when they are literally destroying their heart by eating rubbish? There is also a lot of hatred in that movement towards fit and thin women. Strong women raise each other up!
I found the lotion scene with Todd in this episode quite creepy as well as disgusting. Imagine if a morbidly obese man asked his female dance partner to come to his hotel room and expected her to rub ointment all over his backside! Or if he farted in her face and then laughed? People would complain and say it was degrading and rightly so, and I think that kind of behaviour is just as repulsive if a woman does it to a man!
I hate the way that Whitney has no self control whenever she grabs men, or other women, or defenseless animals, without their consent (I loved it when her cat Wanda fought back and scratched Whitney!). I don't know how she has been able to get away with this all her life! Oh and don't get me started on her riding that poor, poor horse last season! Also I found the scene in that dreadful Fitty Smalls music video where Whitney and other obese women hold down a fit skinny woman and force a cupcake into her mouth quite disturbing. Yes I realise in that case it was just acting, but it was the concept of it that creeped me out. I think Whitney has a very sick mind. And if an equivalent music video was made with a fit skinny woman holding a whip and forcing an obese woman to run on a treadmill, I'm sure it would be banned!
By the way, congratulations to everyone in this thread who has lost weight in the past or is currently on a weight loss journey. If anything positive can come of this show, it can inspire people to be healthier so they don't end up like Whitney. But I also feel very sorry for all the young impressionable girls who have swallowed the 'fatlogic' ideology and given up on trying to improve their health. Whitney is a terrible role model.
In response to everyone's comments about Heather pining for Buddy, I can't understand the attraction either. It was obvious to me for a long time from Buddy's appearance and speech that he had an alcohol problem, but I didn't guess about the drug addiction. However the idea popped into my head that Heather's previous marriage could have been an abusive relationship. That could explain her low self-esteem, and if her husband had been abusive, then Buddy, despite all his flaws, would have appeared to be an angel in comparison. I myself survived a violent relationship many years ago and it does damage your self esteem, and not knowing your worth, you may have lower expectations/standards for future relationships than you actually deserve. One thing I can be certain of is that Heather shows symptoms of being codependent (in the sense of not feeling complete without a partner). I agree with others that she should be prioritising her children over her love life, but I also think she urgently needs to see a therapist to work on improving her low self esteem and learning to love herself while she is single. Hopefully if she does this, she will make a better choice of partner next time!
