Whitney Thore: So She Thinks She Can Dance

[Meredith Quill]

Your Whitney Topic!

[PityFree]

Even though I am here to snark on the show I do not dislike Whitney. There. I said it. I think she'd be fun to hang out with. 

[goodbyeglittergirl]

You know, as much as I enjoy her mother on the show, her descriptions of her childhood and conversations about food and weight - well, I don't have any respect for them. He told her his two regrets as he sent her off to college were not exposing her to more religion and that she hadn't lost more weight. Honestly, that's terrible. 

[CherZ]

I want to like her....but I just can't.

[non sequitur]

You know, as much as I enjoy her mother on the show, her descriptions of her childhood and conversations about food and weight - well, I don't have any respect for them. He told her his two regrets as he sent her off to college were not exposing her to more religion and that she hadn't lost more weight. Honestly, that's terrible.

Yes that kind of comment stays with you forever and probably contributed to her depression and drinking behavior.  However, reading on in the blog he seems much more supportive and understanding.

[Morgalisa]

I see Whitney is scheduled to appear on The View on Tuesday.

[Linky Loo]

The show has renewed. 16 new episodes. Filming starts next month. On air this summer.

 

http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2015/02/10/my-big-fat-fabulous-life-renewed-for-second-season-by-tlc/361244/

[goodbyeglittergirl]

I'm really glad it got renewed. I have a hope that we will see more steak and less sizzle in season 2. That might be wishful thinking.

 

I live in NC not super far from Greensboro and I would LOVE to do one of her dance classes. 

[lovetheduns]

I can't really like her either.

 

Her over the top boisterousness seems "filler" and a mask of trying to be really really like herself so much but deep down she really doesn't. 

 

Granted, if she is acting for the cameras then maybe I can buy into it a little, but at the same time I just can't understand the types who go on a reality show and play to a part. 

 

As someone who has PCOS I am even more offended with how much she is playing into all of the fat logic that I see people hating on whenever they see a fat person. I am overweight, ok correction I am obese right now. I try really hard to watch what I eat, get exercise, take my meds as prescribed and stay away from the things that I would much prefer to eat. Meanwhile her persona on the show is constantly portraying that it is her condition that makes her fat. No way, no how does PCOS cause you to gain 100lbs in a year, perhaps an addiction to food, booze and bad habits actually contribute to that kind of weight gain. I just really loathe that she is the poster child for PCOS.

 

Then the icing on the top is that on the show she is "wanting to change", she is "dancing" all the time and yet still needing "snackies," drinking lots, and so lazy and out of shape she needs her friend to drive from central NC to the outer banks to rub her down? Pathetic.

 

 

 

I want to like her....but I just can't.

 

[AnJen]

 

I'm going to hell for this, many will probably hate me for it, but I have to say it... For someone who has "danced all of her life" she really isn't *that* good... I don't even mean now, I mean the videos they show when she was smaller. I'm probably being snobby about it, I am very willing to admit that, and maybe it's a matter of an unfortunate clip was picked when they keep showing that college dance clip, but technique wise it was not what I would expect for someone who has danced all of their life. If she's just dancing for the sake of fun and exercise that's fine, more power to her, but she tries to portray that she is/was an expert dancer, and I just do not buy that.

 

Pulling this over from the Small Talk thread; 

 

I agree with you. Also, if you note her video that initially went viral and got her the show, it's several different videos stitched together. She can't even manage to dance one song, with all the dancing she supposedly does. And yet somehow she thinks that the dancing is enough exercise for her to lose weight with, when she is eating at least 3000 calories a day, and can only dance for maybe 30 seconds at a time before having to take a rest. At the end of the video, she collapses onto the ground, while her physically fit dance partner can easily walk over to the camera; he barely looks out of breath.

 

I also noticed her form is wrong. Dancers should dance on the balls of their feet; you can see her partner in the dance video is dancing correctly, while Whitney dances flat-footed...it's not only a sign of poor "training," but it's going to screw up her knees, especially when you consider she's carrying around an extra 250lbs while doing it. 

[greekmom]

Doesn't look like Whitney will be interested in slimming down anytime soon. If the clothing line is targeted to people who are plus size, she won't want to actually slim down.  I understand the premises and yes there is no reason people should be fat shamed, body shamed, etc.... But the girl needs to slim down for her health reasons.

 

http://www.plus-model-mag.com/2015/09/my-big-fat-fabulous-lifes-whitney-way-thore-launches-new-online-store/

[CarolMK]

I'll give Whitney a pass on the plus sized clothing, because honestly, she won't be in regular sizes until she's around 200 lbs or less, actually, probably more like 180 since she's only 5 ft 2. It's going to take her a long time to lose that much weight , years probably, unless she has weight loss surgery. And since probably a lot of her audience is plus sized females, from a marketing standpoint it makes sense for her to come out with a plus sized clothing line. 

[monagatuna]

Perhaps it's just because I have two left feet myself, but in her videos Whitney seems to be a decent enough dancer. Possibly because a lot of it is choreography, which is hard to get the hang of unless you practice it a lot. (My first time in a choreographed dance class made my head spin.) It's not technically difficult, just muscle memory. (Again, please take this in the context of me NOT being a dancer and really NOT knowing what I'm talking about.) One of my best friends is a professional dancer/NFL cheerleader and I don't think she knows about this woman. If she saw Whitney's videos, I'm sure she'd have a LOT to say.

 

I think the main thing I notice (besides "hey, she's not that bad") in her videos is that you can't actually really see what her body is doing because it gets in its own way. She may be a good dancer for 400 pounds, but she'd be a lot better if she lost half of that.

[leighroda]

Perhaps it's just because I have two left feet myself, but in her videos Whitney seems to be a decent enough dancer. Possibly because a lot of it is choreography, which is hard to get the hang of unless you practice it a lot. (My first time in a choreographed dance class made my head spin.) It's not technically difficult, just muscle memory. (Again, please take this in the context of me NOT being a dancer and really NOT knowing what I'm talking about.) One of my best friends is a professional dancer/NFL cheerleader and I don't think she knows about this woman. If she saw Whitney's videos, I'm sure she'd have a LOT to say.

I think the main thing I notice (besides "hey, she's not that bad") in her videos is that you can't actually really see what her body is doing because it gets in its own way. She may be a good dancer for 400 pounds, but she'd be a lot better if she lost half of that.

I'm the one who made the original comment that I didn't think Whitney was that good (I didn't know where to put it, so I put it in the small talk thread, which was wrong and I feel bad... Sorry!!) and I completely agree with you that she is not "that bad"... She just isn't that good either. But I am also a harsher critic because I grew up dancing, so little things bother me. My issue really isn't even so much the newer videos as it is the old one they always show when they are talking about how she was dancing in college and was professional (or nearly I don't remember exactly) and she does a fan kick but it's really low, her knees are bent and her toes are not pointed at all. It's all fine, but it just irks me because she is always saying how good she was at dancing and either that is a poor example or she wasn't that good. I feel horrible saying that, and I know it's nit picking, it's just something that annoys me.

[Juneau Gal]

Large, small or anywhere in between, she would still be an insufferable person. I just can't like her. At. All. Truly anyone can star in a reality show on some channel somewhere. Andy Warhol was right.

[Shibori]

As far as Whitney's dancing, for someone who dances because it makes her happy, she is fine. For someone her size, she's fine. But for someone who holds herself out as a "dancer" and whose only means of support (besides this reality show) is teaching dance, I don't think so. As others have said, even in her "skinny" dance videos, there's not much evidence of technique or much talent. What she's doing now is what passes for watered down hip hop in white suburban dance studios and a little bit of Zumba, but not even done well.

[Snarklepuss]

I'll give Whitney a pass on the plus sized clothing, because honestly, she won't be in regular sizes until she's around 200 lbs or less, actually, probably more like 180 since she's only 5 ft 2. It's going to take her a long time to lose that much weight , years probably, unless she has weight loss surgery. And since probably a lot of her audience is plus sized females, from a marketing standpoint it makes sense for her to come out with a plus sized clothing line. 

 

I'm 5'2" and pear shaped like Whitney - When I was 180 lbs. I was a regular misses size 14, so you're close.  Now I'm 200 and a size 16.  Although these days I'm finding more and more size 16s and even 18s in regular misses sizes in the department stores.  I discovered that "plus size" 16s and 18s are cut more fully than regular 16s and 18s, though.  Most of the time the plus sizes are too big on me.  I agree with you that Whitney might need weight loss surgery to lose enough weight.  One thing I know about being short and pear shaped is that losing weight below the waist is a bitch and that's where a pear shape carries most of it.

Edited September 20, 2015 by Snarklepuss

[Snarklepuss]

I think Whitney should do "Dancing with the Stars".  Then we'll see if she has any real dancing talent.

[Christi]

You know...after watching so much of My 600 lb Life, I find her happiness refreshing. She is very agile and energitic which really suprises me. Do I think she needs gastric bypass. ..yes, but she is happy doing it her own way.

To see so much love with her parents, friends and even animals makes me happy. I wish I had that much love and support around me! Is she fat...yeah, is she the best dancer? Nah...but she sure as hell is making the best of it...and not becoming withdrawn, suicidal and bedridden.

I am ready to snark with the best of ya'all, but I honestly find Whitney and her "village" inspiring...and I only wish I had people in in my life that loved me that much

[CarolMK]

I like Whitney too, overall. She kind of reminds me of my nieces who are in their late twenties with her bubbly energy and manner of speaking , which is very different from my son's who are in their late teens. I wish I had as much of a positive attitude as she does. Yes, I agree with Christi who mentioned my 600 Lb life and how depressing it can be, since most of those people have just about given up hope and are truly desperate. Whitney isn't desperate and I don't think she's the kind of person who  would let anything stand in the way of her goals. When Ruby was on the Style network a few years back, even though she was a lot closer to my age, I like her but found her way more annoying with her butchering the English language and talking in a high pitched tone all of the time. 

[greekmom]

I am so stupid. I just noticed something about Whitney. How come her father and mother have real southern accents but she doesn't? 

[leighroda]

Am I the only one annoyed by the constant calling Buddy "boo bear"? Especially if they are not a couple, (although it's irritating either way). It's not the nick name it's self, but the sheer number of times it is used in a sentence. Even if I'm using someone's regular name I would not say "joe, do you like this couch joe. Joe we could put it joe over by the joe window joe"

[John M]

She probably went to one of the better schools near the city center. It's common in the south for children that grew up in major metros to have little to no placeable accent even if their parents do.

 

Plus doesn't she have a degree in communications or something similar?

[PityFree]

I cannot stand Whitney's laugh any more. Did she laugh like that when she was younger and weighed a lot less? She laughs so loudly that it seems fake to me. It is too over the top and it grates on my nerves.

[Bugfrey Von]

I really don't get Whitney. On the one hand, she seems like a nice, fun loving girl who has a zest for life. On the other hand, she is miserable at her weight and her continuous whining about it makes the title of the show seem really contrived and false. I know that folks are layered and complex, but she really needs to pick a lane. As someone who was once a very very big girl, I can honestly tell you that most of the time, you are just trying to get by without being made fun of or mistreated. I don't think that there was enough gold in Fort Knox to get me to take my pants off around anyone, let alone a parking lot or a store full of people. I don't know, it just seems really fake.

I don't understand her relationship with her parents. I come from a culture where your children are your children until they're in their 70s, but the truth is that if she has such a problem with her mother and father being so involved in her life, she needs to stop involving them in her life. They don't need a play-by-play of every single action she is going to take, mom doesn't have to go with her to shop for every single item of spandex in her closet or give her the OK on date wear.

I really don't think that her relationship with Buddy is healthy. Where there was fire, lie embers and I really think that if he made the move, she would be more than happy to be his girlfriend. There need to be boundaries in that relationship.

All that said, I think that Whitney is a lovely girl. I think that she has a great attitude toward life, I just wish the show was a little bit more genuine and she was a little more honest with herself.

[RCharter]

I really don't think that her relationship with Buddy is healthy. Where there was fire, lie embers and I really think that if he made the move, she would be more than happy to be his girlfriend. There need to be boundaries in that relationship.

 

 

I'm super confused by that relationship.  Which one of them doesn't want to date the other?  Having said that, he could stand to drop a few pounds himself.  He seemed to gain a lot of weight between seasons.

 

She is gonna go all super bitch when/if he gets a girlfriend.  It is going to be so ugly -- now I hope that happens because it will be entertaining.

[Passing Strange]

I have all kinds of admiration for Whitney and her No Body Shaming campaign. I think it takes courage to put yourself out there the way she is. I realize she's not doing the show for altruistic reasons, still, it's good to see someone standing up against the attitudes about fat people.

 

That said, there are a couple of things that drive me crazy. One is the fact that she chuckles her way through her THs. I want her to just say what she has to say, there's no need for the constant laughing. It's not only annoying, it makes me wonder if she believes what she's saying. The other is the reaction to the diagnosis of pre-diabetes. She's hugely overweight; why is she surprised she's headed for diabetes? Her doc has got to have been warning her for years. Also, it's diabetes, not end stage anything. Yes, diabetes is serious, but it can be successfully managed. She needs to do what the medical professionals recommend and stop acting like she's fighting off the worst medical condition in the world.

[Snarklepuss]

 

The only point I would want to make is the reason I think obesity is seen as more of a personal choice than is anorexia is because, along with people who have a medical condition that may hamper weight loss and encourage weight gain, you have a much larger number of people who claim medical issues when their weight may honestly be caused by personal choices.  The ones that many of us would make if we could.  If I could get away with eating whatever I wanted and never working out and remain a normal size, I would totally do it.  I would not choose to not eat anything or to throw up.  That doesn't sound nearly as fun as eating whatever I want.

 

Not to mention that there are people with PCOS who are able to lose weight.  By most accounts PCOS makes weight loss difficult, but not impossible.  But weight loss will almost always be impossible if you are eating poorly.  And everything about Whitney, to me, screams that she doesn't actually want to put in the hard work to change, but that she simply wants unquestioning acceptance by society.  And I think your situation is different, which stinks because I think its people like Whitney who are obese and don't want to put in that hard work that almost discount your hard work.  Which stinks.

 

I think Whitney struggles with a couple of things that I can relate to myself.  One of them is that it's hard to strike a balance between body acceptance at any size and being motivated to lose weight. A big motivator for losing the weight is to feel better about one's body, but when one accepts their body size, there's one less reason to want to slim down.  Not that being healthier is not also a strong motivator, but I think Whitney is probably too young and too healthy relatively speaking for that motivator to have hit home with her in a big way just yet.

 

Also, and this is from personal experience - Depending on one's personal metabolism and medical issues, the scales often don't balance 100% equitably based on what you put on them or take off.  For a person such as Whitney (and myself) gaining weight happens extremely easily, but losing is quite hard.  The amount of effort needed to lose the weight is far greater than the "sin" that caused the weight gain in the first place. Strange things happen in that to maintain your current weight you can eat 2000 calories a day, but in order to lose weight you would have to cut back by half that to starvation levels.  It can take a month to undo one little transgression.  That can be extremely frustrating for anyone, even the most die-hard dieters.  We are conditioned to believe that if we put in a lot of hard work we will see the reward, but when it takes 5 times the hard work to achieve one little tiny reward than it does for most people, one's motivation can go way down.  And even worse what one does achieve in a week can be undone by one little slice of pizza.  It's only natural to find that an uphill battle that may not be worth it.  Who wants to be hungry and tired all the time and see little to no results?  My mother used to say that her body fought against her losing weight.  Now that's happening to me.  I wonder if it's happening to some degree to Whitney too.

[RCharter]

I think Whitney should do "Dancing with the Stars".  Then we'll see if she has any real dancing talent.

Yes all day every day to this suggestion.  And we can also test her claims about the near impossibility of losing weight with PCOS.  Right now I think there are two schools of thought...one being that she is really working hard right now with her dance classes and so it must be PCOS that is keeping her weight on vs. she isn't moving all that much during her dance classes so if she put in a little more effort she should be able to lose more weight even though she has PCOS.

[ClareWalks]

Oh man, Whitney on DWTS...that would be amazing. She would have to face some extremely harsh realities. That said, I am sure she would lose weight if she did that regimen, unless she ate a gallon of ice cream in her car after every rehearsal.

[Ketzel]

I've given up watching this show; it was making me feel an uncomfortable combination of sadness and disgust for this immature and none-too-bright woman. So I was startled, to say the least, to see a promo for a two-hour episode of MBFFL. Apparently Whitney will get tattooed! Live! With the audience voting on what the tattoo will be! Judging from the previous taste level of the show, I have a queasy feeling she'd happily submit to having "No Body Shame" inked across her buttocks on live TV if it boosted the ratings enough for a third season.

Edited October 31, 2015 by Ketzel

[leighroda]

I saw that too, honestly I'm sure it's rigged like she already knows what she wants, it's not like we'll be able to see the votes to know.

I'm assuming they are giving us predesigned Whitney approved choices, not actually letting us design because if that's the case what would stop people from voting that she gets fat ass in large print. If we can design, my personal choice will be a large scorpion, his name can be "fluffy" and it will say that in old English letters under the scorpion.

[Ketzel]

Oh yeah, I'm sure the vote will be a multiple choice question: her name, her slogan, her initials, her No BS logo. I wonder if "Big, Fat and Fabulous"  will be one of the choices -- or has anyone (including her) figured out that the show title is kind of offensive, itself? Maybe not if the show had actually shown a big, fat woman living a fabulous life -- successful in her career, engaged in healthy adult relationships with her parents and her  friends and her SO,  working to improve her physical health in a committed way, but not obsessed with the need to lose weight. But as the show is currently portraying her? Yikes! To me that title comes across as a joke, and the joke is meant to be on Whitney.

Edited October 31, 2015 by Ketzel

[RCharter]

Her blog http://nobodyshame.com/tag/whitney-thore/

Her story http://nobodyshame.com/my-story-part-1/#comment-21022

Seems like she's had weight issues her whole life

I'm side eyeing this:

"As early as 13, I started to notice that the black boys in my classes were exclusively interested in me and a few of my friends. They told me I was “thick,” and “juicy,” which I learned to equate with “fat,” because they didn’t ask out the skinny girls I aspired to be like. By the time I reached high school, I vowed that I wanted to lose enough weight so that a black guy never found me attractive again. I realize this sounds racist, but it wasn’t like that. It wasn’t that I wouldn’t have dated them (fast-forward a couple years and I’ve dated plenty),but in my mind I had decided that what some of the black guys saw as “thick” translated to “fat” in the white community, and being white, I felt the pressure to look like right kind of white girl."

Later: okay, I read more of her blog and I feel like I understand and respect her more than I did. Moving to Korea to teach must've been hard, esp. Since she broke it off with her fiancé while there, apparently.

oh please, any guy interested in her in high school was only looking for the low-hanging fruit.  Anyone desperate enough to be interested in Whitney was probably looking to date anyone with breasts and a pulse.  She should stop giving herself such credit.

[ClareWalks]

She wanted to lose enough weight so "no black guy would ever be attracted to me again?" Holy fucking shit, you guys. First of all, that is an insane "goal." Second, I have been hit on by tons of black guys, even (especially?) when I was a skinny white girl 10 years ago. Still white, just not so skinny, but I was 5'10" and about 130 lb and still got hit on by black guys. I don't think it's fair to say black guys only like thick or fat women. Although now she has GAINED enough weight to severely limit who is attracted to her, so...there ya go.

[RCharter]

She wanted to lose enough weight so "no black guy would ever be attracted to me again?" Holy fucking shit, you guys. First of all, that is an insane "goal." Second, I have been hit on by tons of black guys, even (especially?) when I was a skinny white girl 10 years ago. Still white, just not so skinny, but I was 5'10" and about 130 lb and still got hit on by black guys. I don't think it's fair to say black guys only like thick or fat women. Although now she has GAINED enough weight to severely limit who is attracted to her, so...there ya go.

Yeah -- the only guys I see courting her now are her boyfriend with the pubic hair beard and Buddy.  So mission accomplished.  No black guys are interested in her, but she does have two sub par white men interested in her.  Congratulations Whitney, you're living the dream! 

 

I just can't with her.  

[ClareWalks]

I didn't watch last night and don't plan to (2 hours? Fuck THAT.) but based on what people are saying about the previews and going to the doctor about her fertility, I will be tuning in next week. I had trouble conceiving because of issues my husband and I both had (not PCOS, thankfully), and I lost about 50 lb busting my ass because I knew it would be easier to get pregnant even though I wasn't super heavy (5'11", went from 200 lb to 150), and it helped. Hormones at a heavy weight are chaotic even without PCOS. Also, no reputable fertility clinic will touch her at that weight. Many won't even let you walk in the door unless you're under a 50 BMI, and they wouldn't do IVF until she was under 40. That's because success rates are everything and they try to preserve those.

[greekmom]

I'll probably tune in next week for the snark value. That's all this show is good for. I too had issues when I was overweight (heaviest was 218 pounds) from trouble to have a baby, allergies ranging from seasonal to certain foods, plantar fascia to aches and pains in joints.  

Just watching her try and do her "signature roll" as a plus size girl was super sad. I knew no matter how she tried she can't do it. I always equate dancing with grace and poise. Watching her do that dance performance I also thought - and please forgive me - that she looked like a jiggly mess. It was not graceful at all. 

I'm not saying she can't be fabulous as an overweight gal. Look at Melissa McCarthy and Brooke Elliot.  

At this point Whitney needs help from Dr. Now from My 600 pound Life. He wouldn't take any of her crap.

[RCharter]

I'll probably tune in next week for the snark value. That's all this show is good for. I too had issues when I was overweight (heaviest was 218 pounds) from trouble to have a baby, allergies ranging from seasonal to certain foods, plantar fascia to aches and pains in joints.  

Just watching her try and do her "signature roll" as a plus size girl was super sad. I knew no matter how she tried she can't do it. I always equate dancing with grace and poise. Watching her do that dance performance I also thought - and please forgive me - that she looked like a jiggly mess. It was not graceful at all. 

I'm not saying she can't be fabulous as an overweight gal. Look at Melissa McCarthy and Brooke Elliot.  

At this point Whitney needs help from Dr. Now from My 600 pound Life. He wouldn't take any of her crap.

I would love a TLC crossover special with her and the doctor from my 600 pound life.  That man won't take any excuses, and you know Whitney is full of them.  It would be fantastic TV.  

[RCharter]

She's made me very cynical re: the fat acceptance movement/HAES. Congrats, Whitney, to undermining your cause.

I couldn't have said it any better.  

 

I think she did the FA movement a great disservice by playing into almost all the stereotypes people have of those that are overweight/obese.  

[ClareWalks]

I don't even fully understand the fat acceptance movement. I'm not going to walk up to a fat person and be a dick to them. I'm not gonna snicker at them or point or take pictures. But does "fat acceptance" mean I have to be thrilled to sit next to them on airplanes? Or that I have to be sexually attracted to them? I think most people are generally "accepting" of fat people, meaning they behave like civil human beings in public to others regardless of their size. 

[RCharter]

I don't even fully understand the fat acceptance movement. I'm not going to walk up to a fat person and be a dick to them. I'm not gonna snicker at them or point or take pictures. But does "fat acceptance" mean I have to be thrilled to sit next to them on airplanes? Or that I have to be sexually attracted to them? I think most people are generally "accepting" of fat people, meaning they behave like civil human beings in public to others regardless of their size. 

I get confused by that too.  Is acceptance supposed to be the same as being enthralled?  

[Tosia]

There is an awesome video of a large woman doing complex yoga moves that Whitney could only dream of. The yoga woman is a hero for/to me. Whitney? NEVAH!

[Snarklepuss]

I don't even fully understand the fat acceptance movement. I'm not going to walk up to a fat person and be a dick to them. I'm not gonna snicker at them or point or take pictures. But does "fat acceptance" mean I have to be thrilled to sit next to them on airplanes? Or that I have to be sexually attracted to them? I think most people are generally "accepting" of fat people, meaning they behave like civil human beings in public to others regardless of their size. 

 

The fat acceptance movement, for better or worse, is a response to fat discrimination, which exists and is real according to numerous studies as discussed in this article:

 

http://everydayfeminism.com/2015/08/size-discrimination-facts/

 

This extends to being passed over for jobs and promotions, being bullied, being legally terminated from employment based on one's weight, earning less money on average by comparison to thin people, being less preferred for medical services and even family advantages.  So it's kind of like any other minority group based on anything from ethnicity to religion to even sex (male or female).

[ClareWalks]

The fat acceptance movement, for better or worse, is a response to fat discrimination, which exists and is real according to numerous studies as discussed in this article:

 

http://everydayfeminism.com/2015/08/size-discrimination-facts/

 

This extends to being passed over for jobs and promotions, being bullied, being legally terminated from employment based on one's weight, earning less money on average by comparison to thin people, being less preferred for medical services and even family advantages.  So it's kind of like any other minority group based on anything from ethnicity to religion to even sex (male or female).

 

Okay that makes more sense. The way Whitney seems to be framing it is "you are not allowed to judge me, even silently, because of my size." Which kind of violates human nature, because everyone judges everyone all the time, for all sorts of reasons. The key is to not be an asshole or make someone feel bad. Or discriminate in some of the ways you mentioned, although I went into a bit about the medical thing re: infertility in an earlier comment.

[Snarklepuss]

Okay that makes more sense. The way Whitney seems to be framing it is "you are not allowed to judge me, even silently, because of my size." Which kind of violates human nature, because everyone judges everyone all the time, for all sorts of reasons. The key is to not be an asshole or make someone feel bad. Or discriminate in some of the ways you mentioned, although I went into a bit about the medical thing re: infertility in an earlier comment.

 

Well, I think it might also extend to thinking to oneself that a person is inferior in some way just because they are (insert ethnic group/religion/size/sex here).  That's prejudiced thinking, and I think that's something most people today would agree is human nature, but still wrong.

Edited November 6, 2015 by Snarklepuss

[ClareWalks]

Well, I think it might also extend to thinking to oneself that a person is inferior in some way just because they are (insert ethnic group/religion/size/sex here).  That's prejudiced thinking, and I think that's something most people today would agree is human nature, but still wrong.

 

Meh. As long as they aren't saying it out loud or stomping on my civil rights, I don't really care if someone sees me and thinks "wow, what wide hips she's got."

 

I guess that's what it boils down to, it has to come from within. Whitney can shriek at everyone else not to judge her all she wants, but until she decides that she doesn't give a shit what anyone else says, she won't really be happy. You can't change the whole world, and there will always be people who judge you. Make it about self-acceptance instead.

Edited November 6, 2015 by ClareWalks

[Snarklepuss]

I guess that's what it boils down to, it has to come from within. Whitney can shriek at everyone else not to judge her all she wants, but until she decides that she doesn't give a shit what anyone else says, she won't really be happy. You can't change the whole world, and there will always be people who judge you. Make it about self-acceptance instead.

 

Actually, I think Whitney is making the whole "No BS" thing more about self-acceptance for fat people rather than other acceptance, which is probably a good idea since you really can't change anyone but yourself.  I think she does care what other people think though - She preaches the message but doesn't completely accept it herself.  That's understandable after years of feeling like people are judging you negatively, IMHO.  Like I have said before, she's a work in progress.

[AnJen]

Pulling over from another thread because it fits better here:

I understand what she wants to say but there is overweight, then there is grossly obese. She isn’t overweight. She is obese. And I would hedge to say class 2 or even 3.  It’s not funny anymore. Just really sad.

 

Oh, she left class 3 obesity in the dust years ago I bet. Class 3 is a BMI over 40, and Whitney's BMI is almost certainly in the 60s. She is at the top of her class, LOL.

 

 

Honestly, the highest BMI chart I have found only goes to 40, but it labels anything above a 40 BMI as Class 3 obesity....Whitney is a whopping 70 BMI (assuming she hasn't gained any weight since her last weigh-in). If they had an obesity class that high, it would likely be a Class 9 (since the scale goes up by fives).

 

I honestly have had to stop watching this show. Whitney has gone full Fat Acceptance Movement, and I honestly don't think she's even trying to lose weight. At her size, even eating 2,000 calories/day would be a huge cut in calories for her. She would easily lose over 2lbs/week on that. The fact that she's "making healthy changes" and "easing into a healthy diet" and has lost no more than 3lbs in the 3+ months she's been doing this, is just pathetic. Even with PCOS (I have it too; I struggle to lose weight, compared to the average woman, but PCOS does not make it impossible) she could have easily be almost 30lbs down in 3 months; being excited about a 3lb weight loss is just ridiculous.

 

There's an actual thing called the Fat Acceptance Movement and it's entirely full of women like Whitney: women who live "fierce" and "fabulous" lives while fat (except they're either pissed off or crying half the time at how "oppressed" they are by being fat...you know, things like stores not selling a 6X for the same price as an XS, or having their doctor tell them their weight is endangering their health). Almost all of them have Whitney's exact over-the-top personality, they almost all have tattoos (most of which are artsy/hipster, or feminist like Whitney's), and most of them dye their hair outlandish colors and wear spandex or garish clothes (and then cry online about people "staring at them because they're fat").

 

Whitney's life is just depressing to me. She seems like a cautionary tale of what happens when you hand a kid a trophy for every mediocre accomplishment and tell them they're just so amazing and inspiring for any pointless little task they accomplish. She's obnoxious and spoiled and self-centered.

 

It seems, to me, that she either feels unable to confront her food addiction, or she has realized she gets the attention she craves fine at the weight she is; she doesn't seem at all motivated to lose weight; if someone handed her a magical "lose 250lbs for free" card, she'd take it in a heartbeat, but doing it on her own seems like it is too much effort for her to care. Whitney has many more avenues for weight loss than the average person; she has plenty of money for a personalized food delivery (and I'm not talking about Jenny Craig; there are now tons of independent chefs who will make gourmet meals tailored to your calorie needs and have them delivered to your house), a personal trainer, dieticians/nutritionists, and most importantly, therapists who can help her deal with her addictions. Frankly, if she's not losing weight it's because she is actively choosing not to at this point. She might not like being 380lbs, but she's certainly not making any real efforts to lose the weight either.

 

At this point, I'm honestly expecting to see her on My 600lb Life in a couple years. 

[Snarklepuss]

What bugs me about Whitney is that she is suddenly calling herself a "feminist", probably after finding out that part of the history of the fat acceptance movement had an association with feminism.  Like she would even know what feminism is - Ugh.

At this point, I'm honestly expecting to see her on My 600lb Life in a couple years. 

 

She goes on about how you can be "healthy" and be obese, but she already has the facts to prove that for her that's not the case and if she doesn't do something radical it will only get worse.  If I were her I'd be going balls to the wall with exercise and diet because she has no other choice.  I don't see the sense of urgency in her that would be realistic to have in her situation.  Plus young people in our culture just generally have no clue what they're going to feel like in a couple of decades.  She thinks she can remain flexible and in shape at that weight but she's in for a rude surprise.  When she gets to be 50 she'll be one of those women riding around Walmart in her little motorized cart if she doesn't take steps NOW to prevent it.

Edited November 7, 2015 by Snarklepuss