It’s ok for them to say it but not for her to do the same?
Posted on December 8th, 2009 in general
There was a lot of hoo-ha about a recent statement by Kate Moss, that ‘nothing tastes as good as thin feels‘.
A lot of hoo-ha.
And rightly so.
But then it occured to me. I had heard that slogan before. Many times. And there had been no hoo-ha about it. No outrage. Not even a meek protest.
Weight Watchers use that slogan ALL THE TIME. It is apparently meant to spur members on and encourage them to stay on the ‘program’.
I have my theories on why it is ok for WW to spout this sort of crap but not for Kate Moss to do the same but I am more interested in what you think about it. Why do you think there is a disparity in the reactions to the use of the statement by Kate and by WW?
Yep, I remembered it from my WW days, too. I suspect that when Kate Moss says it, people fear that she’s encouraging eating disorders in young women, but when WW says it, they’re just encouraging us fatties to “improve” our lives.
I actually posted (albeit briefly) about it: http://donewiththisshit.tumblr.com/post/249748139/nothing-tastes-as-good-as-skinny-feels
I think when WW say it the facilitators/sponsors/whatever they call those wretches who weigh you in public are to some extent empathising with the faithful. Since diets are mostly ineffective in the long term, many repeatedly return to the fold over time, (having resolved yet again that This Time It Will Be Different). Under these circumstances it’s reassuring and inspirational to hear the mantra from someone who used to be fat and has triumphed in the face of adversity.
Kate Moss, on the other hand, carelessly trots out the slogan without having been there. She was merely fortunate enough to be born with a body type deemed highly desirable in the era into which she was born. Sure the fact she smokes like a chimney and (allegedly) has a fondness for the ol’ Bolivian marching powder, (I couldn’t possibly say), may have some bearing on her maintaining the waifish physique that got her discovered in her teens – but the simple fact remains that she’s never had to diet in her life; she has never “suffered” in the way we are all obliged to in order to emulate her.
Since bonding over shared body hate and dysmorphia is a fact of life for most folk outside the fatosphere, and dieting regularly embarked upon by women of all sizes, I think the outrage simply boils down to a case of sour grapes. I think the hoo-ha over the co-opting of the slogan by pro-ana groups is a red herring though I have heard it mooted. While she is no doubt admired, the pro-ana lobby have skinnier role models than Moss to emulate.
People love to target Kate Moss, other models, and/or celebrities. I’m not exactly sure why, but they do.
I think it’s because Kate Moss is a thin model. A thin person saying it makes people automatically scream “eating disorder!”
However, when fat people are saying it or it’s being said to fat people, which one would assume that all people in Weight Watchers are, then it’s okay because it’s “for their health/own good.”
To me, it feels like people are saying “We don’t want those fatties hanging around! You’re sick and gonna die and are costing us money! Lose weight! And you thin people… You’re sick too! Only skin and bones! We know you’re anorexic/bulimic because no one could naturally be that thin! Gain weight!”
Conflicting much?
I think people feel more comfortable attacking a person than attacking a huge company. There’s no face, no one person to direct hatred at. Also, WW is supposedly there “For people’s own good.”
Meanwhile, we can demonise Kate Moss. We can be all “Boo! She hates everybody anyway so it’s OKAY to hate her.” There’s already this image of her that is the sterotypical “skinny bitch,” so I think some people ar emore comfortable hating her. I think if someone, like, say, Jennifer Aniston (I really struggled to think of a female celebrity lots of people like, or at least not hate) there would be less of a backlash, and more of a “She’s a victim of the industry” spin.
Another thought: I know the “They have everything, but they don’t have this one thing so I can pity them” mentality is pretty prevalent. I remember there was a rumour of a young star (Lil Bow Wow I think?) who was raped by his body guard. It was a way of going “Yeah, I’m jealous, but I’ve still got things they don’t so I can judge/pity them.” So, yeah, Kate Moss is beautiful (conventionally, I’m not really into her myself) and rich, but if she has this quote we can say “Well, yeah, she SEEMS to have everything, but she’s crazy!”
Whoa, that turned into an essay. That’s just my opinion anyway.
Charlotte Cooper wrote an excellent essay about this very subject on her blog:
http://obesitytimebomb.blogspot.com/2009/11/kate-moss-nothing-tastes-as-foul-as.html
She points out it’s the media and their stereotypes we should be angry about, not something Kate Moss said that was quoted out of context. I agree.
Envy.
Disguised as pretend concern about eating disorders, when really people want to be thin and dispise fat people.
Thinness cannot be achieved any better long term even by those who are slim, so when they reluctantly accept this, they have a stick to beat the thin with.
To me it doesn’t matter who says it, it’s a crock of crap. Anyone who says that, hasn’t tasted grilled haloumi and stuffed olives. Or Tim Tams.
“nothing tastes as good as thin feels” is one of those stupid slogans that make the rounds in pro-eating disorder communities. they also love the one angelina jolie has a tattoo of. “quod me nutrit me destruit” or something like that. “what nourishes me destroys me”. these people are sick puppies and if kate moss really said that, she’s obviously making a reference to restricting food so as to be thin. that is disordered eating.
i believe moss used to be anorexic at some point. or considered to me. maybe that’s what the huss is about…
I called WW to complain about their ads when they started with the music with words saying ‘you have to wake up and hear the music’ or something similar. I told them that fatties KNOW that they are fat, they know they are fat everytime they try and shop for clothes, they know everytime they are jeered at, they know every time the contents of thier shopping trolley or lunchbox is looked over by those wanting to know WHY we are fat……. WW is not my fave organisation.
Kate Moss isn’t allowed to say it because we love to shame her body too. In the end, it comes down to a feeling that we can look at someone and tell whether they are healthy or not – and believe that we have the right to regulate their bodies. And there’s probably a healthy(ha) amount of sexism in there too.
When Kate Moss says it she is “too thin” (even though we aren’t her doctors, and don’t know what is healthy for her) therefore we must shame and hate her body, and her thought on her body, and tell her how to regulate it.
When Weight Watchers says it, it’s a form of regulating bodies that are “too big”. Just like when looking at Kate Moss, the public believes they can SEE health and are allowed to (required to?) regulate them. The saying “nothing tastes as good as thin feels” is therefore apropos because it shame fat bodies as a form of regulating them.
It’s meme roth’s method so it must be right, right?