This morning I woke up and decided to check my Facebook before heading to class. My nice morning was abruptly disrupted by something I saw. A girl who I used to play soccer with had posted this link:
http://mashable.com/2012/10/02/tv-anchor-fat-bullying/
I watched the video and was really proud of the way the woman articulated herself after being publically called out for being "fat". But then I read the comments posted on Facebook underneath and was appalled at people's lack of compassion for this woman. Comments ranged. Some congratulated the news anchor for taking the high road and standing up for herself (WOO totally agree). But what really grinded my gears were those who supported the argument that this woman is a role model in the media and her obesity makes her a "bad" role model. HUH????? This really rubs me the wrong way. One guy even posted "I sent her a message telling her to keep her chins up"...
I have spent most of my day discussing this video & response with my close friends and so I thought I would share it with you all and see what your thoughts/opinions/comments were. Feel free to comment :)
What stood out to me the most was when she said "you know nothing about me but what you see on the outside." This is a great reminder not to judge someone based on their appearance. She also addresses that we need to teach our kids " to be kind not critical and we need to do that by example." I was able to relate to this line because I work with at risk kids. A lot of the kids have no role models in their lives. I find it hard to teach the kids not to be critical of others. I am always trying to remind them to include everyone and not to judge someone based on their haircut, weight, clothes, style etc. Thanks for posting the link!
ReplyDeleteHere is an interesting article on the news story
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/tv-anchor-blasts-viewer-criticized-weight-article-1.1173067
What I find so frustrating about situations like these, are that it is so much more frequently women who are being policed on their body size and called "bad role models". I mean really, when is the last time one of us can think of a famous man in news being called a bad role model based on his weight? Al Rocker? In 2005?
ReplyDeleteThanks @Stephanie and @Gingerywilson for your comments, they both are great. It is sad that we are so critical of woman in the media and lack compassion when we judge them. Like @gingerywilson said, when IS the last time I can think of a man in the news being called a bad role model based on his weight? I can't!
ReplyDelete