I remember as a kid not being able to get past the improbability of the pants fitting everyone. I could accept such logical leaps as the existence of werewolves and fairies but not a pair of jeans that fit all of them. It is good to look back on those things and realize there has been a bit of progress, however precarious it may be.
Yes I'm reading Roahl Dahl to my 6 year old and the amount of times I have to censor the word fat is wild. I'm happy to say it once as I intend for it to be a neutral describing word but once we know the shopkeeper is fat, we need to move on. We don't need ‘enormously fat’ ‘so fat he couldn't fit behind the counter’ ‘jesus fucking Christ was this shopkeeper fat’.
oh god. The 'eating is cheating' years where you would save up all your calorific allowance to spend on alcohol. I don't miss it. Things do seem to have moved on (even if precariously) in how we talk about bodies and in representation of women's bodies on screen/social media/magazines etc, albeit not sure I'll ever personally outrun the damage the early aughts brought.
Sadly I don’y see enough change in the books I read. Many otherwise great reads are filled with negative commentary on fat bodies. Got an unpleasant background character? Describe their dress or shirt being too tight and linger on full red cheeks and small eyes. I mean, its not even creative. I’m a lot older than you so I saw the Travelling Pants phenomenon but wasn’t part of it.
Having read this book probably in 2005?, the “bee gained weight and then everything was bad and then she lost weight and everything was better” is literally the only thing I remember. Did the book give me anorexia? No. Was the book part of the ubiquitous fat shaming messaging that dominated my childhood and contributed to me having anorexia? Yup yup
I haven't read the books or seen the film, but really enjoyed reading this piece (although from what Iittle I do know about the idea of the books/film, I agree with Amber's comment about not being able to get past the improbability of the pants fitting everyone!).
Anyway, my comment here was to say that as someone who graduated from uni in 2004, your comment about girls not eating all day and then going out and drinking all night until you were black-out wasted hit me hard. That was me for a good chunk of my uni years. Uff - and you're right, it was a rule that we all sorta lived by.
"Whether that’s because people really do feel differently now or they’re just trying to be politically correct or whatever, I really don’t care — I care that some teenage girl won’t read this shit and get any ideas." <-- love this.
But also, I remember trying to get into these books and hating them because they were so fixated on bodies. Sarah Dessen was my favorite author in high school and none of her plots involved body image. Books reflect the inner reality of the author, so the brownies comment is definitely enlightening. 👀😬
I loved this series! My all time favorite YA nostalgic movie is Now and Then and the whole thread about Chrissy being fat always bothered me. There was no reason for it. The pointless throwing around of the word was definitely prevalent in our youth.
I loved these books in middle school! I remember feeling like I "should" identify as a Carmen because I was bigger than all my friends, yet I felt more drawn to Lena. Wild to think back then I would limit myself to only relate to characters that shared my weight, rather than actual personality traits?
Thank you! And I felt exactly the same way about Carmen at the time. I was like welp, that’s the Big Girl character like me! Interestingly, reading it now I recognized so many other non-body things about Carmen as a character that reminded me of myself, so that was nice, too. Like I’ve grown up enough to find other parts of her character that resonate
Recent subscriber and I really love the nuance you bring to these essays Mikala - I’m enjoying your writing a lot. Also god I loved the Pants series, I had the first movie on DVD and must have watched it at least 20 times as a teenager
Thanks so much Tess. I too have seen the first movie like 1193637 times. I do think I’ll rewatch the second, though, which I realize now was cobbled together from the material in the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th books!
Adored this article: nostalgic, moving, optimistic, eye opening. I too re read the Bridget Jones books recently and suddenly felt like my ability to fully embrace body positivity despite my lack of trying made sense. We have come a long long way, but there is still a far way to go balancing our societal micro biome after imbibing content like this in our formative years. Keep writing this stuff, it’s so brilliant and important as well as entertaining ❤️
Hell yeah. I think this is the realest body essay I have seen. There has been a lot of progress! There is still a lot of shit out there but it is really great that we can look at our childhood faves (affected by nostalgia-lenses or not) and still see and reject harmful language and ideas. I will definitely be sharing this! 😊❤️
I remember as a kid not being able to get past the improbability of the pants fitting everyone. I could accept such logical leaps as the existence of werewolves and fairies but not a pair of jeans that fit all of them. It is good to look back on those things and realize there has been a bit of progress, however precarious it may be.
Same. I knew how pants worked then and I know it now!
Yes I'm reading Roahl Dahl to my 6 year old and the amount of times I have to censor the word fat is wild. I'm happy to say it once as I intend for it to be a neutral describing word but once we know the shopkeeper is fat, we need to move on. We don't need ‘enormously fat’ ‘so fat he couldn't fit behind the counter’ ‘jesus fucking Christ was this shopkeeper fat’.
Ugh I remember exactly what you’re talking about!
oh god. The 'eating is cheating' years where you would save up all your calorific allowance to spend on alcohol. I don't miss it. Things do seem to have moved on (even if precariously) in how we talk about bodies and in representation of women's bodies on screen/social media/magazines etc, albeit not sure I'll ever personally outrun the damage the early aughts brought.
I agree. Lots of damage has been done
Sadly I don’y see enough change in the books I read. Many otherwise great reads are filled with negative commentary on fat bodies. Got an unpleasant background character? Describe their dress or shirt being too tight and linger on full red cheeks and small eyes. I mean, its not even creative. I’m a lot older than you so I saw the Travelling Pants phenomenon but wasn’t part of it.
Having read this book probably in 2005?, the “bee gained weight and then everything was bad and then she lost weight and everything was better” is literally the only thing I remember. Did the book give me anorexia? No. Was the book part of the ubiquitous fat shaming messaging that dominated my childhood and contributed to me having anorexia? Yup yup
Exactly, all these things are little pebbles that add up to the rockslide
I haven't read the books or seen the film, but really enjoyed reading this piece (although from what Iittle I do know about the idea of the books/film, I agree with Amber's comment about not being able to get past the improbability of the pants fitting everyone!).
Anyway, my comment here was to say that as someone who graduated from uni in 2004, your comment about girls not eating all day and then going out and drinking all night until you were black-out wasted hit me hard. That was me for a good chunk of my uni years. Uff - and you're right, it was a rule that we all sorta lived by.
I’m glad you enjoyed it :)
"Whether that’s because people really do feel differently now or they’re just trying to be politically correct or whatever, I really don’t care — I care that some teenage girl won’t read this shit and get any ideas." <-- love this.
But also, I remember trying to get into these books and hating them because they were so fixated on bodies. Sarah Dessen was my favorite author in high school and none of her plots involved body image. Books reflect the inner reality of the author, so the brownies comment is definitely enlightening. 👀😬
You’re so right.
I loved this series! My all time favorite YA nostalgic movie is Now and Then and the whole thread about Chrissy being fat always bothered me. There was no reason for it. The pointless throwing around of the word was definitely prevalent in our youth.
Omggg Now and Then. Yes, the Chrissy thing… you just made me remember 😩
I loved these books in middle school! I remember feeling like I "should" identify as a Carmen because I was bigger than all my friends, yet I felt more drawn to Lena. Wild to think back then I would limit myself to only relate to characters that shared my weight, rather than actual personality traits?
Lovely read, as always Mikala!
Thank you! And I felt exactly the same way about Carmen at the time. I was like welp, that’s the Big Girl character like me! Interestingly, reading it now I recognized so many other non-body things about Carmen as a character that reminded me of myself, so that was nice, too. Like I’ve grown up enough to find other parts of her character that resonate
Recent subscriber and I really love the nuance you bring to these essays Mikala - I’m enjoying your writing a lot. Also god I loved the Pants series, I had the first movie on DVD and must have watched it at least 20 times as a teenager
Thanks so much Tess. I too have seen the first movie like 1193637 times. I do think I’ll rewatch the second, though, which I realize now was cobbled together from the material in the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th books!
Holy shit this is awesome. Wow. Thank you.
Thank you, Natira!
Throwback to the juicy sweatpants era
Adored this article: nostalgic, moving, optimistic, eye opening. I too re read the Bridget Jones books recently and suddenly felt like my ability to fully embrace body positivity despite my lack of trying made sense. We have come a long long way, but there is still a far way to go balancing our societal micro biome after imbibing content like this in our formative years. Keep writing this stuff, it’s so brilliant and important as well as entertaining ❤️
Thank you so much! Do you pronounce your name like “mick-Kay-lah” like I do? I’ve never seen this spelling, I love it!
Ok, apparently I subscribed to your site. Full disclosure, may have ever-imbibed. HowEVER, the title of this article has me hooked.
Yes! Same pronunciation!
Hell yeah. I think this is the realest body essay I have seen. There has been a lot of progress! There is still a lot of shit out there but it is really great that we can look at our childhood faves (affected by nostalgia-lenses or not) and still see and reject harmful language and ideas. I will definitely be sharing this! 😊❤️