Historically fat has often been a moral issue, this is not just some modern phenomena. There are a few societys in the world where being a fat woman (specifically a woman) is desirable, it is a social sign of fertility and motherhood. A fat woman is seen as a walking mother goddess and a man is proud to be able to call such a woman his wife, it reflects well on him socially as well, for here is such a man who can support a goddess.

In other societys, being fat is considered a sign that you must be doing something underhanded to get like that, because resources are scarce and everyone else is thin, not for health and fitness, but for financial reasons. Children starve to death, and being fat is seen as a sign of corruption and evil.

Going back historically, it seems these two opposing views have circled each other, almost cyclical in their reoccurance. There's also a really wonderful book called "The Missmeasure of Woman" by Carol Tarvis (do read it, it's really great) in which the author suggests that socially acceptable woman's phisiques are also connected to their roles within a male dominated society. When women are viewed as home-makers, a curvacious body is desirable (look at the early 1900's and around 1940/50 for example) however when women where entering tradionally male dominated occupations. This was the case in the 20's, and again the 60's. In 1951, Miss Sweden was 5'7" and weight 151lbs, in 1983 she was 5'9" and weighed 109lbs.

The authors theory is that a round big breasted body is associated with mothering, dependance, passivity, domecticity and, unhappily, intelligence. The "normal" male body however is associated with strength, intelligence and ability. Therefore when women want to be thought of as intelligent, proffesional and competent, she must look more male and therefore have a more boyish body.

Men too have suffered... fat was once the sign of mans wealth and success in the early 1900's is now a sign of womanly softness and lack of masculinity, self control and intelligence.

I do not believe fat is a moral issue for me personally. I do think that many see it as such because of our society's influence. In other societies before ours it has been glorified as a symbol of health, wealth, and power.

I just dropped in to see some of your photography, but decided to share my two cents worth - whether it's exactly on topic or not (we'll find out!)

Personally, I've been over 200 pounds probably since I was about 10/12. My whole family is overweight (atleast) to obese. I am still technically obese, but I am working on that. At my heaviest I was about 290. I'm currently at around 230.
Now, I felt like I must say that so others won't (hopefully) get offended at anything I say. I think that being fat -especially obese - has become a moral issue. The way that most medias play obesity out as is that if you don't eat right, you'll be obese. Which means "logically," if you eat right then you'll be “healthy.” This is obviously not the truth, but even people who know this isn't true still play into this philosophy. Granted, it will help a little bit (a change in diet made me lose the weight). I have found myself giving into this philosophy too. In stores, I will see obese people who buy nothing but things that are bad for them - like chips, sweets, cakes, candy, and the such. I try to stop myself from thinking it, and usually do now, that the reason they are so big is because of the unhealthy food choices. But, the issue that should be more important is why they continually eat such bad things. I know that I eat as a way to comfort myself and I am trying to stop that. I also eat when I'm bored. I realize that both these habits are bad and should be stopped. Food has become a comfort for many people.
However, weight lose has to become a lifestyle change if it’s going to work. We all know those people who are always dieting – they lose the weight they want, go back to their old habits, and are back to where they were or even higher. That is just as unhealthy or more unhealthy than being obese. Personally, the problem should be more about health and happiness than just weight. If a person is happy, why bother them with hurtful comments or remarks. That has always been my philosophy. “If you’re happy, why change?” If you’re not happy, then change something, but make sure you’re changing it for the right reasons. I know I’m not healthy at my current weight and “health level” which is the reason I’m exercising and eating better. I would like to think that I’m not doing so I can ‘be sexy,’ or whatever, but, I really do have to give pause to myself and really think about it. I can say for sure that I’m doing it for about 95% health reasons, but perhaps the other 5% is so I can finally go into a store and buy clothes without having to hope that they’ll have something my size, or be able to sit down on a bench without worrying about tipping it over and all those others subliminal fears I have from being obese for so many years.

I have no idea if that made sense, or even addressed the question, but, that is my two cents.

Okay, I was just in the shower, thinking about this thread, and I think I DO have something to add.

I feel that weight is trying to be played off by society as a whole as a moral issue. You won't find that by questioning individuals, because, really, no one thinks that their best friend is a horrible fat... glutton - it's always OTHER people. When I was in the Army, I found a book written by an officer, called On Killing. (Found here, by the way.) In it, his explains the psychological damage done by killing another human being - and how it alters depending on physical proximity. Obviously, hand-to-hand combat had significantly more impact than that of, say, a ground to air missile strike. That's a really extreme way of making my point, I know, but I think it illustrates it clearly enough. It's about creating an enemy, this enemy being fat, and, by proxy, fat people.

How many ads have you seen for "sinfully rich" or "guilt-free indulgence?" I've taken marketing classes; I've observed advertisements and their subsequent affect on people. Every word in an ad is carefully meted out for the most impact. They're pushing the morality issue, whether they (whomever "they" are - I'm over-generalizing...) know it or not. So it follows reason that even subconsciously, people will think that eating those items is "bad".. but so "good". You see the conflict that arises? What exactly are we telling ourselves, and how exactly is it effecting us? Why do we think we can look like the people who get PAID to look like they do? For fuck's sake, I had a four pack! You know why? I was in boot camp. All we did, all day, for 14-16 hours a day, was work out. And you know the funny thing? I was still overweight; I weighed approximately 185, which is ten pounds more than the weight limit to get into the Army for a female of my height.

In some personal light, I find that I feel women who are overweight are more attractive than women who are underweight. (Whatever that means - under and over weight...) As an artist, I find the curves more pleasing to draw. As an obese woman, however, I find myself disgusted by what I look down and see. I don't really understand what the divide is. Maybe because of my experience I know what I could be? But really, do I have 14 hours to spend on exercising? Hell no. I have a husband to care for, and a household to run, and school to go to, and, if I have time and energy, work to do.

<img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/90/236981298_be3a1614e7_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="DSCN1625A.jpg" />
This is a photo of my husband and I, at, unsurprisingly enough, our wedding. People look at us at say, "Well, your children certainly are going to be.. healthy, aren't they?" This strikes me as odd. Why is healthy said like a bad word? It means fat when they say it like that. But the funny thing is, our children are going to be healthy. Probably in both senses of the word. We get our 5-7 fruits and veggies. We drink water and juice, not soda or coffee. We don't smoke or drink (much or often) or do lines of cocaine. Not that those are the same in terms of health, I'm just trying to illustrate a point.

Ok, jumping off the soapbox! I don't even know if I made any sense!

over the course of the past year, i joined a gym in order to motivate myself to work out more (i figured spending the money would be a prompt that i'd find harder to ignore) and for a while it helped a lot. i'd been battling depression/social phobia, and the endorphins were as much of a help as the weightloss associated. but then i got mono and couldn't find the energy to go work out anymore. i gained the weight back and felt/feel -horrible- about it all over again.

unbeknownst to one of my friends, i overheard her saying to someone how sad it was that i'd gained the weight back, obviously i just didn't care about myself at all or i'd've kept up with it.
it took me a lot of thinking before i could face her after that- she'd never been to a gym in her life, and i had been going faithfully 4-5 times a week for 5 months before i was diagnosed with mono.

comments like that make me lose faith in public opinion about overweight people. here is someone i know and care about, who knew i was sleeping 18+ hours a day, implying it was as simple as a lack of self respect. it made me wonder what others think. and i defy most anyone to honestly declare that they don't care at all what others think.

stores like lane bryant and torrid are wonderful, because they don't just take tiny clothes and make them bigger, they design for larger bodies. they hire full figured women as sales associates, so when you ask for the pants one size larger, you don't have to feel embarassed. now if only it was easier to shop at such places without feeling judged when you carry the bag around....

i've been overweight since i was a child, and it was a hideously scarring experience to go clothes shopping, especially with friends. only in recent years have i become comfortable enough with myself to say "yes, i am overweight....so what?"

-i- know that i respect myself, and my body. i know that i eat well, and that i'm back at the gym now that i'm not sleeping the days away. but i do feel judged on a superficial level. what hurts my heart the most, though, is when i see young girls (and boys) that i tutor or babysit being made to feel as ugly as i once did, just because they're larger than the other kids.

... and now i don't know if i actually said anything other than ranting, but man, that felt good all the same.

Hmm... as a bigger girl myself, I find that there's a lot of social stigma surrounding being overweight or obese... beyond just the health issues.

From my personal experience, and coming from the city that I live in, I often get treated like I'm desperate for any male attention... which is completely not true. (I'm single and I'm enjoying it. I have too many things to focus on besides the opposite sex, lol). I guess the men in my area figure that because I'm not thin and obviously not attractive, that I'm easy or something. I get reactions like this when going to the grocery store, or just anywhere in general. It's rather annoying.

Don't even get me started on clothing. Let's just say that just about everything in regular clothing shops that carry my size are either very hip-hop or trying to be classy, but look very bad on me, individually. Plus-Sized clothing is horrible... because they assume that you've got a huge rump and thighs, and a big chest. Pants don't fit me, and tops are either too small across the bust in me, but then once I go into the plus sizes, they're too big.

Anyway, I've rambled enough about that.

About the weight loss surgery issue... I think that in some extreme cases, it's needed. There are people who are in a lot of danger who for whatever reason cannot lose weight through conventional means. So I think that in those cases, it can be benificial to get the person down to a healthier weight.

But I think for most people, it's kind of the easy way out. It's a lot of hard work to lose weight, to get rid of bad eating habits and to exercise regularly.

Also, I don't know, there's just a huge thing with people wanting to lose weight to be extremely thin... especially with all these diet commercials. "I went from a size 18 to a size 4 in 3 months!!!!" Personally, I find that having curves and shape is more attractive than being on the thinner side.

I got a lot of flack back in my high school years for being a "fattie" but I was only a size 11-12 back then. I'd be extactic to be that size again, but it's not likely.

Anyway, I really enjoyed looking through your gallery. It's very inspiring to see someone who can show such artistic nudes of themselves, while seeming very comfortable with their own image. They're very beautiful. I hope that you continue!