Much love,
Amanda

every time someone calls them on this kind of thing, and does so calmly and logically, someone out there hears it.

You don’t have to change their minds, or their behavior to have an impact, and I am glad you had the guts and energy to do it this time.

I strongly suspect there is more than one teenage girl thinking “wow, it’s actually possible to talk back, and even if the douchebags out there don’t listen, they can’t do anything but squawk about it!”

Not only that, but the nice ladies stuck listening to this crap because their carpool drivers insist on it, they all got a kick out of hearing your voice, too!

I try not to listen to this particular radio show on my morning drive to work because it is absolutely moronic, but sometimes when I’m flipping through I’ll catch a commentary or two. This morning, they were discussing an email from a female listener who asked if she should tell her friend that she was “too fat” to be wearing a bikini or two-piece. This man (his ironic moniker is “Puddin”) kept talking about “how bad” many women looked in two-piece bathing suits, and how many “muffin tops” he had seen lately. I was seething. And I was also angered because his comments (obviously publicly) reinforced so many negative media stereotypes of women and their bodies.

I decided to call in to comment. (pardon my paraphrased, verbose, and perhaps simple argument):

I mentioned that no matter how “thin” or “fat” a woman is, a female’s exposure to these negative comments/images contributes to negative self-image, and comments (such as the ones made on the show) in essence are part of the problem, as these compound and essentially contribute to disordered eating in many women (regardless of weight). I also mentioned that the show is listened to by thousands of people (especially young women and girls) every day, so he has a decently sized audience for his negative platform.

This guy became absolutely enraged. From an intelligent individual’s perspective, I was not attacking him: he clearly took it as such. He literally told me I was the “stupidest person alive” and that my logic was “shit” because I “told him he caused eating disorders.” I told him that he needed to take a logic class and that “correlation does not equal causation.” At that point, another ignoramus got on the opposite phone line and started telling me how “stupid” I was and how “I shouldn’t blame the dj because I’m fat and ugly.” I withheld the urge to reply with any rude or otherwise hateful remarks, but instead kept a calm voice and asked the dj why he was shouting at me.

I didn’t expect a scholarly discussion on gendered media representations and power structures, but now that I look back, I could have just turned the radio station and let them continue their misogynist rant without calling in..one of their comments when I hung up the phone was “go write a paper on it.” I thought..”you have no idea.” After personally witnessing women risk their health in pursuit of this ideal body..and watching little girls ask friends if they’re “fat”… I had to comment.

I somewhat regret calling, because anything I said was lost in an ocean of ignorance and rudeness (due to this a-hole who kept trying to talk over me), but I was glad to at least have my voice HEARD on the air, even though they continued to rip me apart after I hung up. Thank you so much for this blog and your witty and thought-provoking posts.

In a thread that made me laugh and laugh, I think this did it most.

interacings, your song made me so happy! And the folks spoofing Time in a Bottle are bringing me the joy of not being alone in my Jim Croce love. Woo!

certainly the obese suffer their own maladys… It’s not arguable….it’s fact…

You hear that, guys? IT’S NOT ARGUABLE. CLOSE DOWN THE BLOG.

I just wanted to thank y’all for your thoughtful comments on my use of small penii joke in my song parody. You’ve given me a lot to think about re: whether my use of “small dick” is negative body talk.

Back to the festivities!

Now I shall return to blasting “50ft Queenie.”

Easy recipe: slice some asian pears and red onions, toss them with olive oil to coat; salt and pepper and add some fresh sage leaves to some pork chops; place all of them together on a rack under the broiler, or on a barbecue (might want the apples + onions in a basket for the bbq). flip pork chops once in the middle, and pull off when just cooked through (depends on thickness of chops). eat. ridiculously delicious.

I’ve heard that, but I’ve always been wary to try it, Peter Brady notwithstanding. I’ve been told of the bacon pie, but never tried one myself.