It has been popular of late to talk about the ill-effects from being a blogger who writes about weight/diet issues. However, I have been wondering about the opposite effect. That is, what reading all this does to you. And to me. Reader Judy (whose hair I always admire in her profile picture) brought up this point in her characteristically diplomatic way in a comment she made in regards to my “Wanted: Only Uber Thin Women With Ginormous Breasts” post. (Note to self: enough with the Cosmo-esque adjectives already! That might possibly be the dumbest title I’ve ever written. Sigh.) Judy wrote:
I think I may have to stop reading blogs like this. It’s having the opposite effect on me, and I see this and just think, gee, my 125 pounds must be perceived by some people as way fat. Gotta go jump on the exercise bike now!
The inimitable Darcy Franklin , commenting on the same post, was a little more blunt:
Yes, all this model stuff is really lame, but why get sucked into it? You know it is just a bunch of superficial people that got this ball rolling in the first place. I say F*#% em’!
I know that I don’t always write all of you back but I absolutely do read, enjoy, process and contemplate every single one of your comments. (Unless you are selling diet pills. Then I delete your lame-o comments with a cackle of glee. Two words: Internet Karma. I picture you in the next life chained to a computer photoshopping pictures of women with spray-on tans and strappy heels perpetually caught three-quarters to the camera for eternity. You know who you are!!!) Anyhow, I’ve been mulling this over for the past week or so. Judy’s words, “I think I may have to stop reading blogs like this” actually woke me up one night. (Don’t be alarmed, this happens to me on a regular basis. The voices in my head are quickly abated by jotting notes for future brilliant posts on my hands with a pen. Sadly, I am often left in the morning with the smeared residue of “vitamin + marzipan suppositories!!” and black streaks on my pillow.)
As a reader of manymany health/fitness/nutrition/weight-loss/body image/what-have-you-for-women blogs, I completely understand what it means to read a post decrying the current state of evil affairs regarding women’s bodies only to come away with the opposite message of “I’ll never be good enough.” In addition, my sister rolls her eyes (yeah, I can sense that kind of thing through the computer) and sighs every time I write a post about celebrities. “When are you going to get over that nonsense?” she asked me the other day. (Not telepathically, she actually called me on the phone. Which isn’t to say she couldn’t be telepathic because if anyone could, I would want it to be her – some days I wish she could take remote control of my brain.)
But I have to say that at the risk of exposing my inherent superficiality, those kinds of stories do interest me. Like a spanx-wearing moth to a red-carpet flame, I am drawn to stories about the differences between what the media spoon-feeds us and what is really going on behind the scenes. And I think many of you are as well. I get some of my highest site hits on days I post about celebrities.
Is quantity, quality though? My aim is a blogger Hippocratic oath of sorts: first, do no harm. The last thing I want is for people to leave my site feeling worse about themselves. Even if I’m a little crazy up in my head doesn’t mean I have to make the rest of you likewise. So I have set up an anonymous poll. Please tell me what you think about my site content! And feel free to explain further in the comments! I need something to wake me up tonight, I hear the view of the moon’s going to be awesome.
Thank you all, from the bottom of my heart, for reading, commenting, e-mailing and otherwise sharing your lives with me.
I find this fascinating.
I think the gap between celebrities /media perception and real life interesting (mostly because it’s so WIDE).
But I’ve got to mull over it some more…I’ll be back. Or send you a novel email, we’ll see, lol!
Well you know I could go on this subject for days..lol! One of the driving reasons for my 3-week blog hiatus was that I had to detox myself of all the internet stuff because yes, being a sensitive emo type, you energetically absorb all this stuff and it builds up over time and gets to you whether you realize it or not.
What has helped me is to set boundaries for myself on what content I put myself in front of on a daily basis. I too want to be a source of inspiration and want my blog to build people up so I focus on that. However, this is the tricky part as someone who wants to build blog traffic yet maintain the good vibes. The truth is that celeb topics are very high in Google searches, as too are the Pro Ana, Mia, anorexia, EDs, weight loss, losing weight, celeb weight loss etc etc. All that “low vibrational stuff” rank very high in searches. On one hand it’s sad that our society cares about that stuff so much, but it’s a reality you have to deal with as a blogger who wants to grow.
So, I do this, and which is why I went back to the weight management stuff, if I rank high already in this topic might as well be the voice of reason in this space. I’ll be the voice of balance and healthy messages amongst all this craziness. And yeah, amongst my deep organic feel good type posts, I’ll sprinkle in my Twinkie posts because it’s a way to draw the mainstream in, and it gives me moments to be light and fluffy. It’s all a balancing game. I think you can easily do that too. You can still talk about the celeb stuff yet angle the story to one that will help people, be thought provoking, and yeah fun. You have that talent Charlotte 🙂
Hey! I wish to protest.
Nowhere in that list did I see All of the Above.
I mean, I want more science/celebrittney/LolCats posts!
What’s most important I think is that you write about stuff you want to write about.. That will make for the best stories! You put this personal twist on everything, which just makes me want to gobble it all up 🙂
You did expose me to some of this celeb stuff, because I don’t actually read a lot of blogs- i try to not let it soak up all my time.. but it’s really interesting- and it’s important to be aware of this shit because the people around you Are affected by it.
If people can’t handle it then they should indeed not read it.. but to be honest i think that anyone who is affected so much by it probably doesn’t get it from here in the first place, it mustve already been dwelling there.
Reading something here might bring it to the forefront of their minds, but that’s actually a good thing- because then it can be actually dealt with.
You go girl 😉
We’re inundated with these fake images of women all day long, and it’s really rare that anyone ever stops to say “This is Crazy!”
Thank you for doing that; I hope you don’t stop.
The next step: I think we need to start getting angry enough to actually change our behavior and start seeking out and choosing magazines, movies, products etc that feature real women whenever we can–not photoshopped, surgically altered, eternally youthful cartoon characters.
Wish “real” women weren’t so hard to find in the media!
Sadly, I am often left in the morning with the smeared residue of "vitamin + marzipan suppositories!!" and black streaks on my pillow.) –
Ha ha – that made me choke on my morning coffee with a loud chuckle.
Anyway, Charlotte, I love your blog. It is refreshing and honest with some occasional fluff. However, you put a totally different spin on the "fluff".
Personally, I am drawn to Hollywood stories. Upon entering any airport, I head straight for the first newsstand for my US or People magazine. I only allow myself to buy them when I'm flying. My favorite stories are those about celeb weight loss, but that's my thing. I devour anything written about health, exercise, & diet.
Charlotte, your blog points out the negative coverage of all of these stories. I need you to write about the fluff to remind me that I AM normal. You present us balance, and I am always encouraged because when I read your blog and your reader's comments I know I am not alone in my struggles. I swear sometimes I I am reading my very thoughts! Knowing that others fight my same battles helps me. I find comfort in your posts and in the comments. So, please don't stop anything – I think your blog is perfect.
A tip for your readers…for inspiration, flip through an Athleta or Title 9 catalog. I'd much rather look like one of those women than a size 0 Hollywood starlet.
I absolutely LOVE your blog for 2 reasons (well, more than 2, but these are the TOP 2): 1. you keep it real; and 2. you genuinely seem like you want others to feel good about/when reading your blog.
I think most of us are just looking to read these blogs for entertainment (enter celebs…who fascinate most of us, whether we wanna admit it or not!), but also we want to FEEL good and get quality information from them. Please don’t change anything…:-)
I loves your blog:)
But agreed, READING all of these blogs can really affect us, without our even knowing it. The trouble might be that we’re all just “too empathetic” sometimes.
Keep it all coming! It’s all good stuff.
I love the content of your blog. If you were too focused on one thing, I probably wouldn’t have stuck around!
Re the celebrity bit. I do think it’s important that we are reminded in a gentle, humorous way that celebs don’t look like celebs most of the time, and that what we see is the result of major processing. Your posts highlight the differences between reality and H’wood, not glamorize the rich and famous.
You are positive and uplifting. You don’t make me feel inferior or lazy, which I have felt after reading some blogs. This is why I keep coming back.
I’m generally fine with celebrity stories and often find them mildly entertaining, but I’m not crazy about them on this blog. I agree with everything you say about h’wood and body image. You seem to “get it” intellectually, but…you constantly mention those ten pounds, you freak out about eating in public, you sprinkle some experimental substance on your food in the hopes of losing weight. So while I’m nodding my head in agreement as I read your celebrity posts, at the same time I also thinking, “What the…does this blog have more than one writer?”
I’m not suggesting you change anything (except for the 10 pounds mentions*). It’s your blog, and part of the reason I like it is because you’re so open about yourself. But it’s because of that openness that I just can’t get into you posts about hollywood.
*And it’s not that I just want you to stop writing about those 10 pounds, it’s that I want to believe that you’re over that, because it really saddens me that someone who’s so thin, with such kick-ass muscle definition, would be so fixated on something like that.
LOL, I’m a stalker 🙂
Write about anything you want! I love your philosophy on life, and never believe in limiting what the magic 8 ball wants to say!
I always enjoy your posts and there have been a few (very few) times where I thought to myself – I wonder why I never starved myself or had a bad relationship with food? But I brush those thoughts away and consider myself lucky. That’s the thing with these blogs – especially those linked together – they generally represent those that have struggled with the same issues, but the readers’ point-of-views aren’t necessarily the same as the blog-owners’. I hope that last sentence made some sort of sense. Strangely, the Hollywood stuff doesn’t affect me at all…they seem so far removed from my reality that I don’t feel any comparison needs to be made.
Just keep on truckin’ Charlotte!
i love love love your blog and its combination of fitness experiments, real day anecdotes/conversations, celeb commentary (not Perez-like at all) – it’s a wonderful balance and it keeps me on my toea. I’m always excited to see what’ll be here so KEEP IT UP!
There are only eight votes (at the time of this post) for more LOL Cats! C’mon people, nothing makes a blog more inspirational and valid by filling the page up with LOL Cats! Who’s with me?!?!?
You can write about anything you want, just keep your awesome wit and way with words, and I’ll keep coming back everyday to read it. 🙂
I love your blog, and I think you should write about whatever you want to write about. That said, I do think that you can find discussion of the intersection between celebrity/media images and body image lots of places on the internet, and that your posts on fitness and research and personal stuff are what keep me coming back every day. So take from that what you will. 🙂
I love your blog! I think that the great thing about it is that you do have a range of topics, so it keeps a range of people interested. But more importantly, you make a lot of it humorous and light – so often we get bogged down in “we should do this” and “we should do that” and “oh my gosh she did what?” without stopping to think how amusing it might be. And humor is so important to bring perspective to it!
Okay, so I voted! yay! Don’t change a thing. Although… if I do have to keep reading about these “10lbs” I will shoot you through the computer. you dont’ need to loose them.. I don’t want to ever hear of them again.
So yeah, you rock, no loosing 10 lbs and don’t change anything!
XOXO
I heart your blog too. I left my comments at the bottom of the poll page, so I hope you’re reading those comments too.
Thanks for such a great blog, one I look forward to reading each morning no matter the topic.
Wow, I was quoted! Is that good?
I agree with Naomi. You should write about what YOU want to write about. It’s called freedom of speech. You know those superficial a-holes I mentioned in said quote are practicing their right to do the same. You shouldn’t worry about what others think.
Like most people, I find celebrities mildly entertaining and on a rainy day like today you will find me on OMG on Yahoo looking at pics of celebs. Most of them are annoying and you need to realize the ones that get the most attention aren’t even the most talented……SPEIDI anyone? Barf. That is just an example of how messed up Hollywood is and hopefully makes the general population realize it as well. Did you know that Lauren Conrad makes $75,000/episode for The Hills? How effed up is that? That truly shows an imbalance in our society….when I was a teacher I made $27,000/YEAR for my first year!
I do enjoy your experiments and learning your results. I get fired up with things like Sensa because I don’t agree with it, but that doesn’t mean you need to change anything. I get pissed when I read posts that discuss eating disorders and comments from people that struggle with them because it sucks that anyone has to struggle with them in the first place. But my emotions result in a comment to share with others. Keep getting us fired up. It is a great way to get a discussion going.
Keep on keepin’ on!
Well . . . I don’t comment here much, but I usually read regularly. That said, I like ALL the posts: I like the celebrity posts because they remind me to to STOP! comparing myself to those people. I like the comments about your “crazy-10-pounds” voice because I’m glad to know I’m not the only one who has that voice, and that just because I have it, doesn’t mean it’s worth listening to.
So yeah. I vote for “don’t change a thing.” 🙂
I love reading your blog–I would have voted for “Don’t change a thing”, but any time I can get more lolcats, I’m gonna vote for MOAR LOLCATS 🙂
Hey, I too voted for “Don’t change a thing” – but by that I mean, don’t change a thing as far as writing about everything that you find of interest (’cause you’re funny and I find those things interesting too), but also – don’t change to be -10 lbs, either. You already look just a little too thin to me – though your muscles are gorgeous – and I think it would look a little freakish if you were ten pounds thinner than your already-thin shape.
So keep mentioning those ten pounds… but as “I SO don’t need to lose 10 lbs!” 🙂
There, that’s my 2 cents.
Oh, another cent… I too like the Lolcats. Though the deliberate mis-spelling annoys me, I have to say. Who decided cats are poor spellers? I know *my* cat spells better than I do!
I refuse to vote. You write about what inteerests you, what you think about and what you have to share. i, as a reader, have no right to tell you what you write about.
and i keep coming back, so that tells you something 🙂
Kelly Turner
http://www.groundedfitness.com
Anybody who makes me laugh out loud while reading her blog shouldn’t change a thing!
I LOVE your blog!!!!, and I’d like to dito the anonymous comment that was posted. I couldn’t say it better myself. ( I do think it a little ironic that you know way more about celebrities than anyone I know and you’re the one who doesn’t watch TV)
Ha! I said I was going to quit reading, and then I haven’t read you all week. And probably haven’t commented since the one you quoted. Really, though, it’s not you, it’s my sons, who have been deciding to wake up at 4 in the morning, not take naps, and refuse to fall asleep until almost 10 at night. There is not enough coffee in my house for that!
I almost voted “more Lolcats,” but that’s just because I’m a dork like that.
I love your blog the way it is. I love reading. I was reading somewhere else today (in the sleep-deprived haze I can’t remember), and watching an animation of cover-model photoshopping. It does send me in two directions – I feel the need for some unattainable perfection, and then I want a cookie.
Today, though, I had a breakthrough. It was chilly here (I’m in DEEP South Texas, on the Mexico border, so that means the high was 75F. Yeah, that’s fall here in the Valley. Winter? 55.) so I needed to put on some long pants. My favorite ones just developed a hole (in the crotch – someone explain that one to me), so they became part of a Halloween scarecrow. And I discovered that NONE of my other jeans would fit. So, I went to the store and bought a new pair, in the next size up. They fit. They look good. And I don’t have to stress about whether or not I can have that cookie, because the pants will still fit!
So, since that was longer than anything I’ve written on my own blog in months, I think my point was I love to read you, and would if you were writing about gym socks, because even then, I’m sure it would be funny and I would learn *something*!
Oooh, and I have to laugh with Becky’s comment, because I also know tons about celebrities (because I’m addicted to Perez Hilton), but don’t own a TV, and havent’ had cable in 7 years. So, I know about the Hills, know who Lauren Conrad is, but have never seen one second of the show!
And now, I mustmustmust find some time somewhere in my day to write about something halfway interesting on my own blog!