This is the first post introductory post from from Dow Jones, our latest blogging candidate. After she submits three guest posts, we will vote on her inclusion in our blog.
This is going to be my first post. I’m on WordPress! Yay!
I will be talking about things that I am interested in and hopefully get some positive feedback, some new online friends and some intellectual discourse.
Things that I am interested are social justice, particularly the Fat Acceptance movement, religion and philosophy, Photoshopping, among other things.
A little about myself, I am a 34-year-old woman who is hearing impaired, has bipolar and Asperger’s Disorder, of which I probably will be blogging about that as well.
As I said, I am interested in the Fat Acceptance movement. Why? It is a movement that I feel is very much in need given that we live in a society that puts the thin ideal on a high, unattainable pedestal. It is much needed because women and men suffer from low self-esteem, confidence, and more because of the constant bombardment of propaganda from the media. Everywhere we go, we see magazine covers portraying thin people as beautiful, tabloids that blast celebrities for having even a smidgen of cellulite, innumerous articles on the internet about the “obesity epidemic,” and publications both
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online and off about dieting.
People who fall short of the beauty ideal, particularly fat people, are ostracized, marginalized and discriminated against. One only needs to read blogs such as First Do No Harm, Fat Heffalump, and This Is Thin Privilege in order to see that such discriminatory behavior against fat people is common.
Another reason I want to blog about Fat Acceptance is that it helps me. I am one of those millions who suffer from low self-esteem, low self-confidence, and low self-worth. Some of this is, I will say, part of my mental disorders. However, I see the same type of media portraying perfect bodies and flawless faces, and I see and read the numerous posts of fat hate on the internet and I feel that if I can somehow make a small contribution to the Fat Acceptance movement; it will not only help me, but maybe, just maybe, I could help someone else out there. Perhaps it can be a woman who has dieted on and off for years and feels like a failure each time she gains weight. Perhaps it could be a teenager being picked on for his weight and seeing a blog where acceptance of one’s body in a positive way could lift his or her spirits up. Perhaps it could be someone who works in the field of psychology or nutritional studies, what have you, who could be spurned to see the other side of the “obesity epidemic.”
All of these are valid reasons that a small part can make a difference.
I will do my best to be informative, check and recheck my sources, and to contribute to a growing internet community that focuses on group and personal experiences; that deal with such issues as Fat Acceptance, body positivity, and mental health topics that interest me.
I do hope that what I write will be thought-provoking and engaging.
I want for people to consider that some things that are out there, in the media, or elsewhere, aren’t always what they say it is. Nor what it seems to be. I hope to promote critical thinking on some of these topics and I hope for more intellectual, stimulating conversations on these topics.
So this is all I have to blog for now. I will be back eventually when some more ideas come to me.
Dow Jones
Filed under: DT, DW, ED, EX, FH, Guest Post, Introducing, MBL
