Posted on 08/12/2004 7:27:38 AM PDT by SJackson
Don't expect to see much of Elizabeth Edwards on the campaign trail this fall. Oh, she'll be campaigning alongside her husband, all right. But the TV cameras just might decide to miss her.
After introducing her husband at the Democratic convention in Boston, she has all but disappeared, which is curious given that she is arguably the best thing the Democratic ticket has going for it. An intelligent and accomplished professional woman who exudes genuine, down-to-earth homeliness and warmth, Elizabeth Edwards also earned the respect of traditional-minded Americans by courageously deciding to have two young children in mid-life after losing her eldest child in a car crash. A woman of quiet dignity, refinement, and grace, she is the perfect antidote to the arrogant condescension of the "opinionated" Theresa Heinz Kerry.
So why won't you see a lot of her on TV? Because America doesn't like heavy women. It hides them away where they won't be offensive. They are seen as unattractive and are endlessly analyzed by armchair psychologists as to why they would have allowed themselves to become repellant. Worse, they are treated as if they have committed some sin.
This is especially true of women who, like Elizabeth Edwards, were once thin. The women who were always heavy elicit the public's sympathy. "Maybe it's genetic," they think inwardly. But women who were once thin and attractive, like Elizabeth Edwards, but who dare to put on weight – even after suffering horrific personal tragedy like the loss of a child – are treated as if they have violated some sacred commandment: Thou shalt always look pleasing for thy menfolk. And by menfolk, we mean here not only Elizabeth Edwards's husband but all American men who have a right to look at a young candidate's wife and see something that pleases the eye, like Jackie Kennedy.
By now you have no doubt heard the endless political commentary about how handsome and vibrant John Edwards is and how he nicely complements the long-faced taciturnity of John Kerry. Even Kerry himself praised his good-looking vice-presidential candidate for having "great hair." But those same commentators are utterly silent on the looks of Elizabeth Edwards because to them, as to the rest of America, the fact that she is overweight – itself a pejorative implying extremism – means that she is unsightly.
For the longest time, America has been waging a holy war against women that dare to be fat. The American tabloids have for months shown us pictures of the "obese" actress Kirstie Alley. The pictures of her at 300 pounds are invariably contrasted with photos of how she looked when she was thin and pretty on TV's Cheers. She is a legitimate object of ridicule, depicted as a circus elephant, replete in tent-like clothes. The implication also is that she is possessed of some grave mental illness to have allowed herself to mushroom to such proportions.
Now, I do not deny that shedding extra pounds can make us healthier, improve the quality of our lives, and enhance the self-esteem of both men and women. But do we really want our daughters to be numskulls like Paris Hilton and Britney Spears, who have perfect bodies but rotting brains?
Just think about the message that American girls get when large women are unjustly treated as repulsive. They learn that personality, education, virtue, and motherhood – pregnancy often causes women to put on and retain weight – counts for nothing in the eyes of men. Spending all your time in a gym burning off fat, rather than being idle in a library and reading a book, is the only way to get noticed.
EVEN THE American TV networks these days seem to hire only thin, beautiful women to read the news, and highly intelligent women like Greta Van Susteren feel pressured to undergo plastic surgery in order to get ratings on their TV shows. Indeed, you are more likely to see a space alien on your rooftop than a heavy-set woman on your TV screen.
This is also part of an ugly double standard. Weight is not an impediment to power and success among men. Just look at Michael Moore and Harvey Weinstein. But the only women who are allowed to be heavy in America are funny women, like Starr Jones.
Thinness may have become synonymous with beauty in America, but it is decimating the erotic life of marriage. In multiple sexual surveys, one of the biggest complaints that husbands voice about their wives is that they rarely initiate sex and are far too reserved in the bedroom. But can we really expect the American wife to be sexually adventurous when she is permanently self-conscious about her weight? It makes sense that women who feel unattractive will choose to hide under the covers.
Indeed, Dr. James Watson, the Nobel prize-winning geneticist who was jointly responsible for discovering the structure of DNA, maintained that plumper women were more likely to enjoy a better sex life than their thin counterparts. He told an audience at University College London that extra pounds had the biological effect of making a woman well rounded in character and better in bed. "Thinness is never associated with sexuality."
He explained that extra fat had the effect of boosting endorphins, the natural mood-enhancing chemical that is also linked to sexual desire. "Kate Moss is probably the most famous thin person in the world, and she's looking particularly sad. Who has ever heard of a happy supermodel?" Watson asked.
He also argued that leptin, which is produced in fat tissue, boosts the chemical MSH, which enhances sexual desire. "Your mood is controlled by endorphins, and you make more of these when you are fat; hence, nobody has ever drawn Santa Claus thin. Thin people are discontented."
And the obsessive American war on fat is also decimating the American family because women are afraid to "disfigure" their bodies with pregnancies and post-partum pounds.
Elizabeth Edwards didn't worry about all that, and she has two young beautiful children who treasure her, even if the superficial American media does not.
Because cats are the spawn of Satan.
LOL! Yeah I know what you mean, in both cases. I personally like Polish women or women of Polish decent. I've known two personally (friends of mine), and have met a few others over the course of my life. One is an ex-girlfriend of mine (we're on good terms). She's 5 foot 11, a first generation American born of Polish parents, and is "built like that" too. ;-)
Middle age women have a heck of a time losing weight. Metabolism slows down but not appetite. When they get old, they shed fat and muscle and apetite contracts. So, maybe we should be patient.
The common scapegoat for laziness is the metabolism argument. We create our own metabolism. It's directly proportionate to the amount of exercise and the level of intensity. Force a marathoner to stop running and sit on the couch eating potato chips for a year, and he'll change his metabolism and balloon up.
***Look ladies, it's a choice. You can't force us to marry you. You can either be the kind of woman we want, or you can be single and die alone in a house full of cats. It's your choice.***
Well, as long as men have that kind of attitude, I'll gladly stay single. I take care of my appearance, but it's for my own satisfaction. If any guy gives me the slightest hint of shallowness, he can forget it. Call me old fashioned but any relationship where the chance of its success relies solely on whether the woman puts on weight is pretty sad in my book. I'm definitely not advocating that obese women should see themselves as victims, but it's such a sad reflection on our society that we are so fat-obsessed in the first place. Just my opinion.
Cate is 21 IIRC.
I often wonder what eve looked like? Most people have Adam and Eve looking like Barbie and Ken?
Was Eve White, Black, hispanic, Indian Asian? Of course most people have protrayed Biblical Characters as Adam and Eve and Jesus as Caucasion Blond light eyed creatures
When I was young I thought how special it was for all the Biblical Characters to look like me :-)
Of course I know that is not true, but American Culture has taught for thousand of years many bigoted views on most everything, will we ever learn? proably not....
"...exudes down-to-earth HOMELINESS..." ROTFLMAO
I'm wondering if Mrs. Edwards was overweight before she visited the fertility doctor. I have read articles where her weight was attributed to her having children so late.
There's a very simple reason for this: the fashion and advertising industries are heavily influenced by homosexuals and thus are not especially in touch with the thought processes of regular people.
YOu should be flogged! CATS are the most special little animals GOD created.....
My Kitty Zorro can play catch, sit on the dining room chair on his hinie to recieve treats,coming running to the door as the bell rings, he shows loves, curiosity playfullness and me and my husband loves him ABUNDANTLY..
"THE SPAWN OF SATAN ARE PEOPLE WHO DO NOT LOVE ANIMALS"
Indeed.
Yup. Not to get TOO far off topic of the thread, but hats off to daughters of Poland.
Misses gefreiter was born in Poland, is about 5'8 ish, and has more in common with classic pinup girls than with the models who look like junkies on "glamor" magazine covers.
Fellas, get involved with a Polish-American org in your area.
Why do I find you on the same threads I frequent? LoL.
And they like "kielbasa!"
OK, believe it or not I didn't see that coming.
But it nevertheless appears to be true.
>> Because America doesn't like heavy women.
Not this American.
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