Body Image Activist, Eating Disorders mamaVISION

I love to find hidden blogs, those focused on body image and eating disorders, they are like little gems just waiting to be discovered. I found Patricia,  the blogger of Beutiful, because she posted on a comment here about her blog. If you enjoy her poem below “Raisins, I highly recommend you go check it out, and sign up for her upcoming newsletter here.

AND, lets do something new,  please post your blog URL so I can find you, I’ll add you to my blogroll, and if you would return that favor that would be great!

XOXO, mV

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Raisins

Yea. I used to look in the mirror. Naked. Hoping. For perfection. Yea. I used to eat raisins all day. I used to want to be everything you wanted and never thought about anything that I wanted. I didn’t know. All I knew was that that mirror had better say “perfect.”

I saw the way you loved models. And celebrities. I saw the media. I saw the fitting room, how my body could not look “right.” To feel guilty for eating, to feel guilty about one pound, to feel anything at all, just to be “perfect.”

(more…)

This is a picture from Bergdorf Goodman‘s website. They depict the 19-year-old model Inna Pilipenko in clothing from Mary Kate & Ashley Olsen’s brand  The Row.

This is sick ok?

Not sexy. Not pretty. Not anything but totally sick.

(more…)

Now that I am done hyperventilating over this situation, I think I am in a half way reasonable state of mind to write this post about the Diesel Be Stupid ad campaign, sent to me by the mother of a 14-year-old daughter who was subject to this ad from Nylon Magazine.

Read full story here and comment

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mamaV needs a breather! I am on hiatus for a few weeks…..in the meantime visit We Are The Real Deal, my collective blog from body image activists.

Cankles.

A new          A new term I discovered, which means basically – fat ankles. Mine have always been on the heavier side, not really in proportion to my legs and calves.

I'm here to say cankles are hereditary. My weight is on the low side of normal, and yet the cankles persist. Here's the actual urban definition according to WillRunForCake:

                     Subject: Cankles: Urban Word of the Day

“The area in affected female legs where the calf meets the foot in
an abrupt, nontapering terminus; medical cause: adipose tissue
surrounding the soleus tendon, probably congenital, worsened by weight
gain and improved in appearance only by boots. From the English “calf”
meaning wide portion of the lower leg, and “ankle” meaning slender
joint of leg with foot."

Anklets are a love of mine, but I have to search for a style that won't cut off my circulation.

My cankles look great in high heels, but in flip flops–not so much.

When I was pregnant, my OB said I looked like I was carrying 5 pounds of water in each one. Which actually cracked me up because she was right. She is the bluntest person I ever met, which is why I love her (it was her way of saying – cut down on the salt will ya lady!)

But you know, I've learned to live with them, and love them actually.

After all they are a part of me, and without them I would feel like something is missing from "me"

So if you've got 'em – flaunt 'em baby!

-mV

On my way to Chicago, presenting a session
Blogs and Body Image: What are we teaching our kids?
All that YOU have taught me over the past 3 years has prepared me for this- and I could not be more grateful.
Question for you- what is the #1 thing parents should never do or say to their children in regards to eating/weight?
Love, MV X0X0
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

I am spending the week in a glorious cabin with my husband, kids and parents; boating, fishing, eating, drinking, laughing, and unplugging.

We saw Green Day earlier this week in Chicago, and I nearly peed my pants. Tenth row, thanks to my wonderful husband, an event to celebrate our 40th birthdays (we were born 11 days apart). You would not have recognized me with black eyes, lips, and nails – fake lip ring….kind of scary but I liked how I looked (hey, everyone needs an alter ego right?). Crappy image I took with my crackberry at right (better than nothin')

Today, I headed to Girl Scout Camp leading fifteen third graders on a great summer adventure. I look forward to this opportunity all year long, a tradition we have shared since they were in Kindergarten, and I can guarantee I will be balling the closing flag goes down the last day.

Tomorrow the girls will bury me in the sand by the pond, while the other moms stand by afraid to put their suits on (but that is another story), and then on to the final celebration where the girls throw pies in my face.

Love it, love it, love it.

At left, is a poster I found hanging in one of the cabins today…we have got to start working on 'em early.

Next week, I am gearing up for BlogHer, thee blog event of the year held in Chicago. I have never attended so it should be interesting. I assembled a panel of bloggers that I feel represent the body image perspective from all angles, and I am proud to say we won the vote to host a "Room of Our Own" session, sponsored by the Dove Self Esteem Fund titled;

Blogs & Body Image: What are we teaching our kids?

Be sure to swing by if you are attending BlogHer!

Check out these talkers while I am away…lots to learn from them;

MizFitOnline
Carla has become a buddy of mine, she has one heck of a following, and as you can see she is in phenomenal shape. At left is Carla's pipe featuring her trademark tagline – "Unapologetically Myself"  -which we will all be tattooing on our bodies for the session.

KateHarding
Queen of the fat acceptance blogosphere, Kate spouts her intelligent, controversial, f-bomb ridden "Shapely Prose" on her well respected blog. Her views on fat discrimination, truths about fat and health, and the B.S about BMI are must reads.

Claire Mysko
Author, expert on "girl psychology, and creator of the "Healthy Beauty Pledge, designed to be a formal commitment for those looking to breed positive body image for themselves and others. Read more about her new book coming out in October 2009, dedicated to Moms And Moms To Be.

Ronisweigh

The before and after pics of Roni are simply amazing. A mom, and an inspiration to those who desire to adapt a healthy lifestyle.

Stay tuned for the launch of a collective blog on positive body image featuring the bloggers above. More on this next week.

Unplugged for now, hope all is well gang!

mV

We live in an insanely eating disordered society.

A society that is so totally out of control that we have 9 year old girls dieting, models dropping dead from anorexia, and fat people being treated as if they are a piece of crap. Yet, the world keeps spinning, brands keep pumping out the B.S and we keep on sucking it up as fast as they create it.

Our fear of fat drives young women to choose death over fat.

Losing their parents over fat.

Even cancer over fat.

Is that ok with you?

You’ve got to stand for something.

This is all too much for me. I am not one to sit around watching this madness unfold and act like this is ok. So – I fire off my blog posts and hope it matters. Maybe my thoughts change a few attitudes here and there, makes a few women think before they criticize another, or possibly stops you from weighing in on your worthiness today. And maybe, just maybe, a few lives lives are changed in the process.

At least I would like to believe so.

What I care about;

Children and how they are impacted by our demented media and fashion industry.

Women who are wasting their lives hating themselves and their bodies for absolutely no reason.

Mothers that are so sucked into body hate that they knowingly impact their children but do not know what to do about it.

Men and fathers who feel lost when it comes to helping
their wives and children with self esteem and positive body image.

Anyone who feels degraded in a society where we discriminate based on weight and we have allowed our fear of fat to completely control our universe.

What I write about:

I write about the what I believe are the culprit(s) -

Media, fashion, celebrity culture, plastic surgery, the diet industry, the cosmetic industry and everything else in between. If I knock some sense into a few people here and there, I’m happy.

If you think I am full of it, rant away.

Why I blog:

To influence change, a different line of thought; hopefully help you think different when you page through a fairy-tale fashion magazine.

To be a voice of reason for our brainwashed young women and girls (thank you for all the emails of support telling me this matters – keep ‘em coming, even I get down sometimes and need a boost!)

To debate. I love a good debate, differing points of view…we can all learn something, including myself. I always read your comments and stay in the conversation after I post (I’ve always hated that when a blogger posts and then you never hear from them again on the thread of comments – I like to be part of the discussion – and it gives me a chance to admit when I am wrong!)

And I have always promised myself that if the day comes where I am no longer passionate about these topics – I’ll quit, cold turkey.

Why it matters:

One of the coolest things about blogging is it brings together individuals from various backgrounds and experiences, to discuss topics sometimes civilly and other times not so nice. Without the community of people that come together to read, this blog is nothing, its just a big pile of me babbling, so I thank you for reading and responding (stop lurking already and post your comments already)

Your life is now.

-mV