sleight of hip, or smushing up your belly to appear less like itself

[fflo]

 
"It's all about confidence," my ass!


-----Original Message-----
From: "Junonia.com" <customerservice@junonia.com>
Sent: Feb 22, 2007 10:10 AM
To: [me]
Subject: The amazing story of SlimWear by Junonia



Dear LISA,

Slim wear is the wedding of ingenious design and shape engineering. Graceful draping and wrapping creates long lines and flattering curves. Built-in power net tummy panels hold you in, so you can move confidently.

We're offering SlimWear options that can take you from the office to the gym and pool. We took care of some important details like non-chafing flatlock seams and a breathable inner mesh panel. As great as you look when you first put it on, SlimWear will retain that wonderful shape through regular use.

CLICK HERE to go straight to our web site to shop SlimWear styles in a special department.

Warmest regards,

Anne Kelly
President & Founder
Junonia, Ltd.
Your comments are important!
annekelly@junonia.com

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

From: [me]
Sent: Feb 22, 2007 12:55 PM
To: annekelly@junonia.com
Subject: Re: The amazing story of SlimWear by Junonia

Dear ANNE,

I'm disappointed to see Junonia coming out with this SlimWear line and marketing angle. As a clothing supplier for big women which generally seems to come from a fat-positive perspective---both acknowledging us as creatures who may well like to move/exercise AND using models of a variety of body sizes---Junonia has traditionally been not nearly so fraught with fatphobic references and implications as many of our other choices of sources for bigger clothes have been. Should I expect this presumption that we want to look smaller than we are to continue in your marketing? If so, I'm sure I'm not the only one who'll be quite sad to see you folks going that way.

Sincerely,

[me]

Comments

[lovelikeyeast.livejournal.com]

Haha! I know, all those times I've refrained from going to work in a skirt for fear of my jiggling belly. Thank god I can go about my day more confident now!

Excellent response.

[peteralway.livejournal.com]

power net tummy panels

Confession no. 897. I read this post, And my brain goes "dum de dum, underwear marketing, blah blah, fat acceptance, blah blah, body image, blah blah, repressive thin-o-centric culture, blah blah, repression of women through unrealistic one-size-fits-all objectification of the female form fixated on anorexic models with body shape of undeveloped girls, blah blah, POWER net tummy PANELS?

Solar powered underwear? Wow!

Power net panels? So futuristic? High voltage information webs. SO 21st century.

And then I register the word "tummy." This infantile word thrown right in the middle. I'm sorry, but "power" and "tummy" do not belong together modifying the same noun. It's just wrong.

And now I have to introspect on why the words "power tummy" tie may brain in knots, at the expense of the whole point of your post.

Maybe if I had ever worn a garment like that, or if were a dame what had to buy clothes in my size, I'd be on a completely different page.

"Power tummies"?!

[eve-l-incarnata.livejournal.com]

Word!

[fflo.livejournal.com]

I dunno.... I like to think I have a power tummy. Or an iron gut, anyway... ha!

What a good response!

[eve-l-incarnata.livejournal.com]

Oh damn. I haven't read any of my Junonia mail lately. I was so "rah rah Junonia!" until now.

Re: What a good response!

[fflo.livejournal.com]

Let us shake our fat asses in giggly solidarity!

Re: What a good response!

[eve-l-incarnata.livejournal.com]

Let's!

[vjsmom.livejournal.com]

I got that same e-mail and was also annoyed by it. You'd think the people who market to us fatties could refrain from trying to make us feel unhappy with our size. Hell, we're their bread and butter, so to speak.

Those "power" smooshing-type garments make me laugh at this point in my life. I mean, it just smooshes the fat over into another area--I've crammed myself into any number of these types of ridiculous contraptions over the years. You can't smoosh fat away. You can't hide it. You may as well just be comfortable. After all, your body size isn't the most important thing about you unless you make it so.

On a side note, I'd just be happy these days if some of the kids would stop teasing my son about his "fatso mom." Or better yet, happy if it didn't bother Jeff.

[fflo.livejournal.com]

oooh, that must suck: "fatso mom"

I hate to think of Jeff as not somehow miraculously having been born with a flukish exemption from the natural tendency to absorb what's culturally valued (or reviled), not to mention the kid tendency not to want to be singled out as a freak for anything, even something about yer parent(s). Lord. I suppose you can't just shoot all those nasty kids?

[vjsmom.livejournal.com]

Nope. And they're just parroting what they hear and see all over the media. Poor Jeff is hurt by it, and he cried when he told me about it because he thought it would hurt my feelings. The thing that hurts is the feeling that I'm giving kids something to tease him about.

I'm not really proud of the fact that I also feel like being really childish back--you know, like saying, "yeah, well you're short" or some other hurtful thing to a kid who says a mean thing to my child. My immediate impluse is to lash back. Of course, I don't. But the thought does come into my mind for a moment or two.

[fflo.livejournal.com]

Well, I know you know it, but I'll say it anyway, for what it's worth: if it weren't Mom being fat, they'd find something else. Maybe something else about Mom, maybe something else not. What seems particularly insidious about this particular instance of wanting, though you know you can't, to protect him from everything is that it has that element of the flavor of self-loathing. Can't let yourself turn that in on yourself. Can't do it. Can't do it. (repeat repeatedly, as necessary)

[queerbychoice.livejournal.com]

Having grown up with a "fatso mom" myself, I feel compelled to point out here that I do not feel the least bit emotionally scarred by any teasing that may have happened (nor do I remember much of it ever happening, actually, but I do remember being aware of the potential for it). To the contrary, I feel that I'm much better off for having had a mom who did an excellent job of role-modelling being unashamed of her fatness.

[queerbychoice.livejournal.com]

Amended because that was somewhat misleading: I do not remember much teasing that was done by kids at school. The only teasing rude and totally unacceptable comments that I remember were made by father. Go figure.

[fflo.livejournal.com]

I didn't know you had a fat mom! How cool. You know, an unashamed fat mom.

As far as Dad goes: grrrrrrrr.

[vjsmom.livejournal.com]

I feel that I'm much better off for having had a mom who did an excellent job of role-modelling being unashamed of her fatness.

Thanks for that! It gives me something to work toward. I't's kind of weird being the parent of a male, which is something I often feel pretty ill-equipped to handle, but I do know that I don't want him to grow up to be a male who makes judgments about women based on their size.

[fflo.livejournal.com]

I hope he keeps liking his fat Auntie Me throughout the troublesome pubescent years.