More that I don't see her as having a weight problem. Size 16 is the size I want to be; I'm actually in the 20/22 range.
See, this is why I made sure to add the caveat that it all depends on how you play it out in the novel. Because if you come from the angle that her weight isn't a problem at all, that changes up the dynamics of it a LOT. And that's a dynamic that makes me far less queasy and far more eager to read.
Funny enough, we're the same size! I'm a US 20/22 range. It boggles me the sizes at which women get called fat. Crystal Renn is a size 12 and she gets called "plus size". I can't even express what I would give, sometimes, to be a size 12 - if only so that I wouldn't have decide whether or not I want to fly on an airplane (I am so afraid of being kicked off a flight like Kevin Smith was) or I could go to a doctor and not have the first/only conversation about my health amount to, "You need to lose weight".
Thank you for pointing it out, though. It's a helpful reminder that what's clear and obvious in my head is often not so much so on the page.
Yeah, and I hope I didn't make you feel defensive or put on your heels (so to speak) because a two line summary isn't nearly enough to get the feel of a piece.
But yeah, I know. As a fellow fat person? I know that it's very hard to write about and talk about fat characters without giving into the stereotypes and lies we've been told all our lives, without painting society's food policing and concern-trolling all over it.
There are not nearly enough fat characters in this genre, and I'm glad to hear about you writing one. I definitely would love to see this (and if you ever want/need a beta reader, just say the word!) and see how this character and her story turn out.
no subject
Date: 2010-03-28 12:06 pm (UTC)See, this is why I made sure to add the caveat that it all depends on how you play it out in the novel. Because if you come from the angle that her weight isn't a problem at all, that changes up the dynamics of it a LOT. And that's a dynamic that makes me far less queasy and far more eager to read.
Funny enough, we're the same size! I'm a US 20/22 range. It boggles me the sizes at which women get called fat. Crystal Renn is a size 12 and she gets called "plus size". I can't even express what I would give, sometimes, to be a size 12 - if only so that I wouldn't have decide whether or not I want to fly on an airplane (I am so afraid of being kicked off a flight like Kevin Smith was) or I could go to a doctor and not have the first/only conversation about my health amount to, "You need to lose weight".
Thank you for pointing it out, though. It's a helpful reminder that what's clear and obvious in my head is often not so much so on the page.
Yeah, and I hope I didn't make you feel defensive or put on your heels (so to speak) because a two line summary isn't nearly enough to get the feel of a piece.
But yeah, I know. As a fellow fat person? I know that it's very hard to write about and talk about fat characters without giving into the stereotypes and lies we've been told all our lives, without painting society's food policing and concern-trolling all over it.
There are not nearly enough fat characters in this genre, and I'm glad to hear about you writing one. I definitely would love to see this (and if you ever want/need a beta reader, just say the word!) and see how this character and her story turn out.