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.
Or we have a perverse interest in fatties?
American culture is thousands of years old? Missyme, please return to 1st grade and don't come back till you pass basic civics and American history and graduate from HS.
Umm, just how many thousands of years has American culture been teaching?
Could it be the reason that the ambulance chaser is on the ticket is beacuse terrrrrraaaayyyyyzzaaaaa told jfnk that she wanted someone whose half moons were bigger than hers, making her look svelte?????
Does this mean they will be suing the fertility doctor?
......umm, Guys
Women aren't the only marriage partners who gain weight after the wedding. Pretty much every man I've ever met gained weight after they got married.
I weigh the same today as I did when I got married 12 years ago. My husband has gained 40 or so pounds and has a figure that resembled mine when I was 7+ months pregnant with our son.
And I love him more today than I did when we got married,
Yeah, you are probably right. Though I am interested in how the RATmedia will hide Mrs. Edwards. It has to hurt when the party that must depend upon the vacuous and brain damaged for support must run a candidate whose wife is portly.
Just think if she and Michael MOOer had had children. Shudder.
And Theresa is not much better. Any wagers that the author of this piece has a wide beam herself?
Here are two links for those (like meself) that appreciate the more generously proportioned lasses.
www.lardbisciut.com
www.lestoil.net/Hilda/prints.html
Enjoy. Note, the first is a web site of a guy that likes full figured gals and the second is that of an illustrator that found old 'calendar girl' illustrations of a humorous, not even provacative nature, and posted them.
The author of this piece is a male Jewish rabbi.
Himself.
You cat people are too easily offended. Get over yourself.
LOL!
BUMP
I agree. I'm a thin, athletic woman with a healthy appetite and plenty of would-be suitors. If anyone makes a comment on how much food I eat (and it has happened before), he gets dropped quickly. I've got a good metabolism and genetics, my mother loves food just as much as I do and she's not at all fat.
There are many ways in which a spouse could be rendered sexually unattractive. Thyroid cancer can literally reduce your metabolism to only 200 calories a day (that's 2 apples). A Freeper (forgot her name) had that and she went from 100lbs to 190lbs in 2 months. Also, you can be burned beyond recongition, wheelchair bound, etc.
If men don't think they can take the "in sickness" part, they shouldn't marry. Elizabeth Edwards was on fertility drugs to conceive a child at an advanced age--a decision I don't agree with in the first place, but fertility drugs do have a great impact on weight (not to mention the resulting pregnancy). Likewise, if women can't take the "for poorer" part, then they shouldn't marry either.
Note: I'm not being sanctimious about Elizabeth Edwards... just using her as an example of someone who most likely had less control over her weight than, say, a 30-year-old housewife with no health or fertility problems.
Excuse Me.....That is not cheapshot at America! I am very pro-america but I am not going to sugar coat reality...
It was American Culture that determines what "Beautiful" was for many many years,I always thought Adam and Eve and Jesus were very Nordic looking that is what people's perception in pictures and attitudes were like....
Look at Holllywood for many years and how they protrayed
characters other than "White" in the movies...
Blacks, Indians Hispanics..
As a blond hair green eyed American born female I realize NOW maybe GOD did not create people that looked like me? I had a very narrow view of what people might have looked like, I use to think FAT people were lazy some still are but so are some Skinny people so that theory goes right out the window....
We still as a Country determine what people should look like watch "Extreme Makeover"
What makes you Beautiful and look that way is having a good positive outlook on life, eating right, getting enough rest and excercise saying your daily prayers helping people and animals...
Wether your physically Un-Attractive or Attractive you can still be a "Jerk"
You know what I mean....Let's not be a BOZO....
You would feel the same way if you rescued a little 4 legged furry love bug too......
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