Because We’re All Sick Over Here
By Glinda
I’m going to direct your attention over there.
You know, a diatribe against this woman is just too easy, isn’t it? I mean, there is nothing about what she is doing to her daughter that is healthy or redeeming in any way.
Mothers are guilty of passing on body issues even without really realizing what they are doing.
This woman has just thrown all pretense out the door and said, screw it, I’m fat and I don’t want my kid to be fat.
But as Jezebel points out, doesn’t that speak just as much to society’s treatment of fat people that she would go to such extreme measures?
Discuss.
Although, Mother of the Year? Yeah, so not her.
October 19th, 2010 at 10:07 pm
This is child abuse! Child services needs to keep a very close eye on this one.
October 20th, 2010 at 3:00 am
That is all kinds of wrong and she is such a hypocrite for pigging out on the junk food while her daughter is in bed. I wonder how long it will be before her daughter finds the stash and starts sneaking it because she is tired of her limited diet (which is not a very balanced one at that).
October 20th, 2010 at 10:40 pm
I agree that both mom and child need professional help. However, given that the child is only 5 lb underweight (according to nurse in article), I think the 8 year old is finding a way to obtain a more appropriate number of calories, which gives me hope that she will be resilient in the face of such apparent, um, insanity.
I’m not sure what it says about society and society’s treatment of fat people, as the mom is quoted as saying, “I want her to be pretty and popular,” as if all non-fat people are pretty and popular! Ha! And never have acne! And always have dates to the prom! And never get teased! And always have friends! Ha! “Society” will always assign value judgments to questionable attributes, and part of becoming a mature individual is learning to ignore “society” and develop the character qualities that bring meaning and purpose to one’s life. Hard? Yes. But so much better in the long term than focusing on superficial qualities, like figure, or nose shape, or good hair, or trendy clothes.
What about raising a child to value herself for the talents and purposes the good Lord gave her, without worrying about what “society” sees? What about the mom learning to accept herself as who she is, and valuing the good things she can do, rather than continuing to blame her personal unhappiness on her weight? Why not focus on raising a child who is generous, and kind, and compassionate, and forgiving, and secure in herself and her mother’s unconditional love, rather than trying to squeeze the poor thing into some preconceived notion of what might be “popular?” Eh. One can’t control “society,” but one can refuse to abide by its capricious constraints.