New York Times 'Black Women And Fat' Writer Responds To Critics

Hello Beautiful:

"Many black women are fat because we want to be," Alice Randall stated in her NY Times Op-Ed piece that sparked a firestorm of online criticism and backlash.

Read the whole story at Hello Beautiful

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Comments

[Frank Bourne]

09:49 AM on 05/12/2012

>>> "I haven’t gotten fat because of eating horrible foods, but by overwork."

I couldn't bare to read past that. Tell me how it ends.

[Alexis718]

09:48 AM on 05/12/2012

No. Another reason BM are running off with non-black women. Granted, some women are just naturally big and look better that way. But 'fat'? No.

[ucpprod3]

08:12 PM on 05/11/2012

To give a more startling fact to the discussion, the cardiovascular system is made up of miles of blood vessel. The purpose is to transport each drop of blood from the body, to the lungs, then the heart and back to the rest of the body. As we age, the blood vessels grow and lengthen to accomodate this task. When the body adds additional weight over the lowest requisite amount, additional vasculature is grown. It is postulated that for "each" pound that a person is overweight, a "FULL MILE" of blood vessel is needed to transport our blood appropriately. Mind you, this is all needed to occur during approximately one minute. Greater distances require higher levels of pressure on the blood(hence 'high blood pressure') to send it through the entire circuit. Add diabetes, vascular disease, lung disease, kidney disease and the problem is multiplied. It is not about about a White Man's Standard or an European standard of beauty. Physiology, chemistry and anatomy rule this aspect of health.

[clarendon67]

05:29 PM on 05/11/2012

I have seen this so many times and I have commented on it to my family. Take a random picture with different races and guess who the fat ones are. Black women. I am slim amd never been fat but if I start putting on a little weight my blood sugar starts inching up, that is why I walk at least 3 miles per day to keep myself in shape. When I got married 21 years ago I weighed 107lbs, I now weigh 118lbs which I'm fine with, but I have to keep at it. There is no man under God's green earth who could tell me I should put weight on and I do it to please him, not happening.

[msoverall]

11:06 AM on 05/10/2012

Any man who can't love you unless you are obese or starving to death is not worth having. Your health is what's important, he can talk all the foolishness he wants, but in the end he won't be taking the medication for you and he won't die for you.

[Aesthete]

10:57 AM on 05/10/2012

Obesity among any demographic is a life-shortening health risk. What I find alarming is the high prevalence of obesity in teenaged black females.

[Gigi1217]

10:35 AM on 05/10/2012

I think obesity is a universal issue. EVERYONE should strive to be healthy.

[Anne Marie313]

10:23 AM on 05/10/2012

at 5'8 and 120 pounds I am by no stretch of the imagination "fat". I stand by the fact that it is not anyone else' business what those around them weight. People shouldn't have to explain to perfect strangers why they weight more or less than those around them.

[Seattle Noir]

07:39 AM on 05/10/2012

Most black women do not "want" to be big (I know I don't like it) but at the same time I am not a white woman and don't want to live up to "white beauty standards". This is the real issue I have always lived and worked around whites and the self-depreciation that white women wear as a badge of honor is sickening. I don't like my fat (which I am finally getting rid of) but I refuse to hate myself because of it, and that is the real difference with black women and other women. They buy into the lifestyle of self-hate and big, small, short, tall black women still love themselves!

[Anne Marie313]

10:26 AM on 05/10/2012

well that is a big generalization in regard to white women. I for one am white and I have never deprived myself. I eat good, tasty food I work out and that helps with my depression in the end. Having weight issues is a bit like falling into a black hole, it is nearly impossible to get out of once you start falling.

[JonB2057]

02:24 PM on 05/10/2012

"Most black women do not "want" to be big (I know I don't like it) but at the same time I am not a white woman and don't want to live up to "white beauty standards".

Now that's a good point! Quite a few women (of all backgrounds) do not want the "white beauty standard" to be their ideal image of beauty.

http://www.lemondrop.com/2009/12/08/the-world-has-curves-countries-where-beauty-isnt-stick-thin/

http://maddieruud.hubpages.com/hub/Standards_of_Beauty_An_Illustrated_Timeline

http://www.britannica.com/blogs/2006/11/skeletons-on-the-runway-the-size-zero-debate/

[maxbianco]

07:38 AM on 05/10/2012

ive had friends and relatives who were obese. they had all manner of health issues and died relatively young. i witnessed first hand my own mothers demise via diabetes. it was long, slow, cruel, miserable, and relentless... and all of it could have been prevented. her doctor told me that as i prepared to move her into a hospice situation... but she didnt even live long enough for that.
"if you dont take care of your body, your body will testify against you" and for you ladies who say your "husband likes you that way".... he's either lying to you, or wants to put you in an early grave.

[GuiltyUndertaker]

09:49 AM on 05/10/2012

And what about anorexic women who say "husband likes me this way"? Are those men trying to put the wife in an early grave?

[msoverall]

10:48 AM on 05/10/2012

@ GuiltyUndertaker- Yes. No one should make themselves unhealthy to please someone else. Everyone isn't meant to be a size 2 but you shouldn't be blithely unconcerned when you're a size 20 either. Diabetes, high blood pressure, sleep apena and depression are no joke.

[Pseudo Blaccentric]

05:50 PM on 05/15/2012

The are more health complications to overweight than underweight.

[MARTYB]

07:36 AM on 05/10/2012

Well..... here goes, i do not find the "metabolically challenged" attractive in ANY way, the extra padding, the jiggle etc is not for me, and i am not alone in this even though "supposedly" as a Black man, i should like it, not true for me. I like woman who are weight and height proportional and a well toned body, regardless of age, is pleasing to the eye and healthier looking to "me". No, i am not attracted to anorexics, but i do find the "glorification" (?) of Black women who are flat out FAT to be puzzling.

[JonB2057]

02:27 PM on 05/10/2012

"Well..... here goes, i do not find the "metabolically challenged" attractive in ANY way, the extra padding, the jiggle etc is not for me, and i am not alone in this even though "supposedly" as a Black man, i should like it, not true for me."

Curious, if you are comfortable in your decision, why did you feel a need to write that you are not alone?????? Your decision should be able to stand alone.

[TLKelly]

06:58 AM on 05/10/2012

I agreed with her original article. Most Black Women have no desire to be rail thin and anorexic looking. We often grow up being told not to get too skinny by family members, boy friends, husbands and the like.

There is a difference between being skinny and being healthy. You can be over 150lbs and still be healthy to a certain point.

The goal should be to get to a weight that doesn't put you at risk for major diseases. That does not translate into trying to fit some unrealistic standard of beauty prevalent in other peoples cultural norms.

Further, I don't think the standard BMI charts apply to black women as to percentage of body fat. We naturally carry more body fat than, say white women.

I scoffed when my doctor told me I should be 150lbs. I look like a starving child a 150lbs.... I just don't buy it...

And her point about working as a cause of Obesity, was to make the point that we don't take care of ourselves first. We put everything and everyone before our own health, whether it be work, children, school, etc. If anything needs to change, It's that.

[Tracy A Brocker]

10:35 AM on 05/10/2012

You are right that the goal should be to get to a health weight. But I promise you there is NO starving child that weighs 150lbs unless they are almost 6 feet tall. But you are in denial and your doctor is right about the BMI charts. Excess weight puts strain on your heart and other vital organs as well as your joints. This is a fact. I struggle with weight however I am very honest medically with myself. At the height of 5'5 I need to weigh no more than about 150lbs on the high end and I am close to my goal. That will make me a size 8 or 10...not a 0 or 2! That is a completely healthy curvy size to be, I am not a starving child nor too thin...I am still round in the right places and muscular and a D cup too. But to do this I eat well, fruits and vegetables and work out 5-6 days a week. I make time because its important to me. Plenty of women make time for their favorite TV show...I tell them to watch it on a treadmill!

And if a husband, boyrfriend or family member tells you that you look better heavy ask yourself... "Would they also tell me I look better with a cigarette in my mouth?" Probably not! So why are they telling you that you look better endangering your life with extra pounds?

[JonB2057]

02:29 PM on 05/10/2012

"Further, I don't think the standard BMI charts apply to black women as to percentage of body fat."

Hello!!!!!!!!!!!! Who's standard is being used to state what the ideal BMI is????

[Reggie Wright]

06:03 AM on 05/10/2012

The writer is definitely in some kind of denial, is she saying that an educated hard working woman will gain a hundred pounds of unhealthy fat to please a man? What happens when that man leaves you but the diabetes & heart disease decides to stay? Yesterday when I took my niece to high school, I looked around & noticed that 90% of the teenaged women of color I saw were overweight & I doubt if its because they're "working long hours". Eat a salad, drink water & take the stairs instead of standing around waiting to squeeze into an elevator. Please black women, make YOUR health a priority

[GlennWatson]

10:59 PM on 05/09/2012

"The 8-8-8 costs no money. It costs the decision to put yourself at the front of your list and to decide. It is the key to turning things around. Make sure you drink eight glasses of water each day, you’re doing eight miles a week and you’re sleeping eight hours each night. Sleep deprivation is the often unnamed, unrecognized culprit based on hard science. We’re working too hard. We have to learn to get our sleep."

And maybe, just maybe if you "ate" less.

[Seattle Noir]

07:34 AM on 05/10/2012

8 glasses has been rebuked and in some case 8 glasses can actually be too much water doing more harm than good.

[Sablescorpion]

03:05 PM on 05/10/2012

I think the doctor who put that out there didn't take current body mass into consideration and made a blanket rule for everyone. Too much of anything will do harm. However, her point was that people make all kinds of excuses to NOT do what's right for their bodies. Water is an excellent, simple way to start the path to healthy living. Only those living in the desert or where there is no clean drinking water have an excuse out of that. That leaves Americans with no excuse whatsoever!

[JohnnyAce Okeke]

08:15 PM on 05/09/2012

Well, that was the most BS defense I've ever heard. I'm sorry I even shared this article. {{-_-}}