Get Premium
Dark mode theme is available exclusively for premium users. Learn more about the benefits of subscribing.
No fees, cancel anytime.
Dark Mode 
No fees, cancel anytime 
then open in external browser
and click "Open in External Browser" 
40 Millennial Women Call Out How Toxic The Media Is And Break Down What They Found Harmful When Growing Up
Interview
When you look back on the early 2000s, what comes to mind? Do you immediately start singing “Oops!...I Did It Again”? (Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah) Are you transported back to the days of low-rise jeans, crop tops, cargo pants, and mini skirts? Or does your nose immediately fill with the scent of Japanese Cherry Blossom body spray from Bath & Body Works that was a cherished Christmas present to you when you were in middle school? Looking back on the early 2000s can be extremely nostalgic for many of us, but it can also be triggering.
If you ever happened to take a glance at the tabloids at the time, the headlines were ruthless, brutally mocking women for their weight, their relationship status and any other personal details they could get their hands on (or simply fabricate). Misogyny ran rampant through films, TV shows and the way we treated celebrities, so many millennials grew up being exposed to these sexist messages at impressionable ages. That’s why, now, women are speaking up about how this toxic era of media affected them, in hopes that their children's generations won’t have the same experiences.
Tara Watson sparked a conversation on Twitter last week, by calling out the 2001 film Bridget Jones’s Diary for portraying the lead character as “fat” and allowing that to be a running joke in the film. Plenty of other women then joined in on the conversation, so below, you’ll find some of their criticisms for the media of the time.
Keep reading to also find an interview with Tara about what inspired her to start this conversation, as well as interviews with a few of the women who chimed into the conversation on Twitter: the hosts of the Read, Watch or DNF podcast and blogger and content creator Magali Vaz. Be sure to upvote all of the posts that encapsulate how you felt during the early 2000s, and let us know in the comments if this era of media had any impact on you. Then if you’re interested in reading another Bored Panda article calling out blatant sexism that still happens today, you can find that right here!
After Tara Watson called out the film Bridget Jones's Diary for giving women "trust issues", many others shared how the media of the early 2000s negatively affected them
Image source: tara_watson_
Image source: tara_watson_
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
Kathryn Baylis 2 years ago
I was a teenager in Southern California in the seventies, when everyone who was considered hot and desirable was a f*****g x-ray. I was 5’4” tall and 115 lbs. Because I didn’t weigh 99 lbs I thought I was fat, when I actually was a normal weight and quite slender, judging from pictures of myself at the time. Impossible “fashion” ideals are nothing but a goddamned mind f**k, especially for impressionable teenagers.
Load More Replies...
D. Pitbull 2 years ago
Wow. Yeah... I'm not a millenial - however - this still applies!!! I found some high school prom/grad photos the other day... and I was like "Wait. I was like.. CUTE. and... I was pretty thin. Why the heck did I HATE on myself so much??? What. the actual f***"
Mia Hamsa 2 years ago
I remember all these articles.. but I also remember reading about retro beauty Marilyn Monroe being plump and round and curvy and remember thinking that she was all that.. I hadn't thought about it and recently saw a photo of her and thought "how on earth did I ever think she was anythign but skinny?!"
LynzCatastrophe 2 years ago
Yup. Sadly relatable. I used to think I was fat in my early to mid twenties. I'm now 35 and I definitely notice a difference in the last ten years. I'm bigger than I once was and I miss that body.
Rahul Pawa 2 years ago
I'm male and still find this incredibly relatable. Looking at pictures from 20 years ago, I don't know why I thought I was fat.
Agnes Jekyll 2 years ago
I severely limited my food intact when I was very, very thin because I thought I was fat Doing this messed with my metabolism. The diet industry and the beauty industry wants women to feel bad about themselves, so we will continue to need them.
Hakuna Matata 2 years ago
This is so relatable I feel so fat right now cause the other middle schoolers are so skinny and I feel fat
The voice of reason 2 years ago
In high school I weighed 160-170 and was considered overweight and made to feel inferior. Now 45 years later I would love to be that weight.
Let me first start by saying that I acknowledge that the media today is nowhere near perfect. Body standards are still unattainable, women are still expected to never age, and diet culture is still running rampant, especially online. But some things have improved. It takes a long time to correct systemic issues, and when sexism is ingrained into many cultures, it takes quite a bit of effort to eradicate it. But one reason why I know things have improved, at least a little, is because when I watch many of these films or shows today, I know they haven’t aged well. They leave a bad taste in my mouth, and I’m confident that these storylines would not be successful with today’s audiences.
For example, I recently watched Friends for the first time, and wow, was I appalled by the “transformation” they give Monica to play a younger version of herself. Dawning a fat suit for comedic effect would not fly today, or at least I hope it wouldn’t. The joke is a cheap trick and in horrible taste. Of course, fatphobia still exists today, but I am confident that a plotline such as that on a popular sitcom today would face a mountain of backlash.
RELATED:
#2
D. Pitbull 2 years ago
They. Called. Lucy Lawless Fat??? Okay - so... uhm... maybe it's the dudes who have body dysmorphia when looking at women because... Ms. Lawless is a stone cold fox. I'd LOVE to have her proportions.
Elaine Morinelli 2 years ago
I'm 73 and my clothes size 14 have fit me for decades despite my occasional feelings that I felt fat. But apparently this is the size of the average American woman
Brazen 2 years ago
That size 14 that you have been wearing for ages is now manufactured under a much smaller number. It shocked me when I figured this out about my old clothes. Not sure why they do this to women.
Load More Replies...
Mama Penguin 2 years ago
In what universe is Lucy Lawless fat? These people need to get their eyes checked.
Bleble BlebleBla 2 years ago
Where? Where is she fat exactly? Show me? Literally skin and muscle!
#3
Raven Sheridan 2 years ago
No, she's a healthy weight. Unlike the sickly, anorexic look that media tells us is, "normal."
Little Wonder 2 years ago
You're missing the point. She wasn't actually fat, but her character was described as fat.
Load More Replies...
GoGoPDX 2 years ago
This was the one thing that really bothered me about this movie. I didn't like how Cher and Dion had to totally makeover her character into what they thought was "cool" or acceptable. As a punk grunge girl of the 90s, I would have absolutely loved seeing her stay who she is, and still become friends with them. Oh, and the fat thing too!
Slarty Bartfast 2 years ago (edited)
She was gorgeous, fantastic actress, and not at all fat! Anyone who thinks she was has a pretty screwed up idea of what's normal. We may all have preferences about what we seek out in a woman, but pushing your own opinions about size as an expectation onto anyone else just for your personal, aesthetic satisfaction is offensive. (R.I.P. Brittany)
Even many of the films that were extremely popular in the early 2000s would never receive the same response with a modern audience. All of the jokes about Bridget Jones’ weight, along with remarks about weight in Mean Girls, The Devil Wears Prada, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, Bride Wars, and countless other films and shows would definitely be critiqued today. I’m not saying that all of those movies are awful; there are redeeming moments in some. But due to all of the discussions that have taken place in mainstream media about mental health, body positivity, eating disorder awareness and sexism over the years, I am optimistic that these storylines would not be received the same way today.
Unfortunately, that does not negate the impact that these plots had on young, impressionable viewers at the time. Countless women on Twitter shared their own struggles with disordered eating or body dysmorphia, fueled by the atrocious media at the time. And these struggles don’t vanish overnight, they can become permanent issues that take years in therapy or excruciating personal growth to overcome. Let’s look at eating disorders, for example. According to the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders, “10,200 deaths each year are the direct result of an eating disorder—that’s one death every 52 minutes.” Unfortunately, the media is very powerful when it comes to how impressionable audiences view themselves, so it’s extremely irresponsible to spread messaging that promotes disordered eating.
#4
Helena 2 years ago
How sad is this. And so true. For everyone who thinks they're being 'helpful' by pointing out weight, save the world a whole lot of therapy bills and just keep your 'help' to yourself.
Pizzagirl 91 2 years ago
Not just weight, though, anything you can't really change about your body in the blink of an eye... I still remember one day in 5th grade, when I'd accidentally scratched open a pimple on my chin, and my crush (who, in hindsight, was a stupid little git!) asked "if I cut myself shaving"... I still think about that when I see any stray hairs on my face, or when I have a hurtful pimple.
Load More Replies...
Melissa 2 years ago
My mom always used to brag about her size 2 wedding dress. When I was a teen I wore a size 10. She complained about wasting money preserving it since it will never fit my fatass. Then she wonders why I have zero self confidence as an adult.
Purplescales 2 years ago
My mom got married at 17 and I fit her wedding dress at 12. Granted her family was very food insecure, so she made sure we never were.
Jojo 2 years ago
My mom's 63 and skinner than me (25 yrs her junior) and still keeps complaining about her 'tummy fat'. I'm like WTF woman, have you LOOKED in the mirror recently? I'm still healing from all the body-shaming she (unknowingly) induced in me over the years...Shame on all media! And yes, it DOES stick for ever...
Meeliasi 2 years ago
I'm one of those women as well. I really really really try hard, but it has been so engrained in my mind, that no matter my size I feel fat. I dropped 20 kg due to a medical condition a few years ago and was at a "normal" weight and was still obsessing about my size. I wish I could just get over it...
Kiwii Stone 2 years ago
I wore my mums dress to prom but it split because I had a wider back - I'm glad I was confident to recognise that it wasn't because I was fat, I just had a different body shape
Monkeyfunkster 2 years ago
I'm a size bigger than my Mum, yet she often says she wishes she was as slim as me! It really does stick...
Julianna Weber 1 year ago
So true. I’m still struggling, seeing myself larger than I am, according to others…
Pizzagirl 91 2 years ago
Yupp, my 85-year-old grandma only recently, because of my twin pregnancy, STARTED to come to terms with women's bodies going through changes, and that her perception of slim might not be quite right. Even during my oldest sister's pregnancy 18 years ago, she was supposedly shocked by my sisters "weight gain" - again, there was a BABY in her! - which I only found out when my mother told me to be careful with mentioning my pregnancy to grandma... Now she's on beta blockers for her health conditions, and she's really, really suffering because of being so "chubby", while still fitting a size M. She's a nice, warm heated woman, really, it's just horrible to see how she's stuck in those old "realities"...
#5
Brazen 2 years ago
That is in fact what they have done to clothing sizes over the decades. I've taken my measurements from the 80's and put them in clothing size charts now and the size is waaaay off what I wore back then. Like why do they do this? I often wonder if it's to make us feel bad for how "big" we were or to make us feel as though we are "smaller" now.
Kathryn Baylis 2 years ago
Or to cut costs by cutting the amount of fabric used to make clothing. Smaller sizes take less cloth.
Load More Replies...
KMill 2 years ago
I wish manufacturers followed men’s sizing systems. If your waist size is 38 then buy size 38 pants. Easy. Simple. Done!
Gin Marie 2 years ago
I just bought some mens' fleece-lined sweats. One third the cost of womens' PLUS huge pockets!
Load More Replies...
MrsFettesVette 2 years ago
Holy f*****g s**t. I grew up reading those and I have quite the collection. I always cringe thinking of my 13 year old self reading that.
Gwenn Kuhns 2 years ago
My sister and I loved that series back in the 80's. I guess it makes sense because women sizes are all running small now. NOT!!!
ravina nimje 2 years ago
We need to start defining obesity based on body fat percentage than looks.
featherytoad 2 years ago
I read those back in the 80s, and now looking back, I remember that. I didn't think about it back then, I just liked the books.
#6
And the like 2 years ago
The comparison at the time was with Kate Moss. Of course everyone seems fat if compared to Kate Moss.
Marcellus II 2 years ago
Nothing like a steady diet of cocaine to keep you at a 'healthy weight'.
Load More Replies...
Agnes Jekyll 2 years ago
a 49-year-old male colleague told my department, in a meeting, that both Kate Winslet and Jennifer Lopez were too fat for him. I was like 1) WTF dude, as if they'd ever be interested in you 2) He looked like he was pregnant with elephant twins 3) what in god's green acre was he thinking of bringing this up in a MEETING.
Gin Marie 2 years ago
But it made HIM feel superior, that HE could reject two famous women and put them in their place.
Load More Replies... Little Wonder 2 years ago
Oh god yeah, I remember the magazine articles. Page upon page talking about overweight she was.
Lara Verne 2 years ago (edited)
I found old magazine where they described her as "little overweight" and I really don't know WTF people were thinking back then. But I remember, how I was teenager in 2000s, and media really were like that back then. Anyone who wasn't thin as toothpick was called "fat".
ChonkyRaccoon 2 years ago
I thought Kate Winslet was really beautiful on Titanic. Great role as well. :)
Mariele Scherzinger 2 years ago
I remember reading a review when this film came out (Rolling Stone Germany, I am looking at you), in which the film critic joked that the ship sank because of Kate Winslet's weight. I was in high school and paid for a subsciption with my pocket money. This was when I wrote the only letter to the editor in my life, explaining the reasons for cancelling my subscription.
Holly Stevens 2 years ago
Yes this one. This is the one I remember. The tabloids were BRUTAL to her when Titanic came out. Look at her!! Look at the movie, look at the red carpet for the movie, how on earth was that fat????
Icecream Sarang 2 years ago
I never could figure this one out. She has a gorgeous figure. If she were any thinner, in 1912, they’d have locked her away thinking she had consumption.
KARMAZYNA Rogalska 2 years ago
Excuse me what? Kate is drop dead gorgeous here. Perfect hourglass body type.
To learn more about what inspired this conversation on Twitter in the first place, we reached out to Tara Watson, the editor of Punkee. She shared with Bored Panda that she started rewatching Bridget Jones’s Diary at Christmas time because she loved the movies growing up. “Last year, I was watching it with my mum, and we were both shocked to see how thin Renee Zellweger was in the first movie. While she is often seen wearing frumpy and oversized clothing in the movies, there's several scenes where she's not wearing much at all and there's no denying that is a thin woman!”
“Despite this, Bridget calls herself ‘fat’ throughout, and the characters around her reinforce this skewed view,” Tara pointed out. “I didn't even recognise how odd this was while growing up in the 00s, as seeing extremely thin women represented everywhere was the norm. I was left baffled that these movies had skewed my idea of women's body shapes for so long.”
#7
pink_panda 2 years ago
The width of her torso is the width of her ribcage plus a normal, healthy, biologically desirable layer of skin and fat. Most women will never meet the Hollywood ideal for thinness BECAUSE OF THEIR LITERALLY BONES.
D. Pitbull 2 years ago
... Didn't Brittany Spears call herSELF fat after this performance (which is insane because clearly she's not)?
Jessica Bertram 2 years ago
maybe she did, but she is not immune to body dysmorphia and public body shaming. if she commented that, where do you suppose it came from?
Load More Replies... 
Mariele Scherzinger 2 years ago
Too be fair, it was meant to be her comeback performance, and she was not in the shape people remembered her to be. Her dancing was also not as smooth as before. Not an excuse, though.
#8
JustJackie 2 years ago
You can be 'plumpy' and gorgeous too though. It doesn't have to be one of the 2.
Load More Replies...
Agnes Jekyll 2 years ago
They call her different versions of "fat" throughout the movie. It's one of the things that made me dislike this movie.
AndThenICommented 2 years ago
I must be missing something - I thought that was a joke in the movie. We as the audience could clearly see that she was gorgeous (as did the PM), but those around her sucked and called her plumpy
Brazen 2 years ago
I had a 24 inch waist when I was in high school and I still got called fat. There is no accounting for the people around us.
Load More Replies...
Winter 2 years ago
I think this example was actually calling out the toxic practice of body shaming women. I mean, Hugh Grant the "Prime Minister" thought she was beautiful, and that was the point, and that's good. However, there is also the matter of the age gap between the on screen lovers, and how it perpetuates younger women being cast alongside men 15 years their senior. (Martine McCutcheon was 27 in Love Actually, Hugh Grant was 43) but I suppose that's a whole other topic.
BrownTabby 2 years ago (edited)
It was!!! Martine was shamed by the media IRL for not being ~thin enough~ and the movie lampooned that. Admittedly it was done in a 2000s way, though, so it KIND of counts but it’s more nuanced than the other examples.
Load More Replies...
Heather Talma 2 years ago
Literally every time I watch this movie I'm like "How in the hell is that considered fat??" (The nickname was only used once but people do call her fat throughout the movie)
Jude Corrigan 2 years ago
I think that it was horrible because the actress publicly stated that she struggled with her weight.
#9
Ricardo Ferreira 2 years ago
Sometimes I think people on entertainment & fashion industry hate women.
Cyber Returns 2 years ago
If every actress that was called fat walked off the set, the TV and film industry would be in turmoil and the producers and directors etc would probably never get another gig
We were also curious how Tara thinks this media affected her while growing up. “To see a woman who is about a size 10 represented as ‘fat’ definitely affects how young women see themselves,” she shared. “It sets unrealistic beauty standards and stigmatizes any body shapes that aren't a size 6. Women's bodies come in all shapes and sizes, and no good can come from deeming one size as superior to another.”
But Tara is optimistic that the media is moving in a healthier direction. “The body positivity movement has seen small strides made, which has translated to TV shows like ‘Shrill’, ‘Insecure', and ‘Orange is the New Black’,” she told Bored Panda. “But there's still so much more work to be done in normalizing seeing an entire spectrum of body shapes on screen -- not just thin and mostly white bodies. That being said, thankfully I can't imagine some of the dialogue in Bridget Jones would fly today.”
#10
3 Owls In A Coat 2 years ago
My thighs touch and I’m about 10lbs underweight! People need to stop being so small-minded and cruel.
Load More Replies...
Lynne Hammar 2 years ago
This scene is so dated ... KC has a TINY stomach roll and Anthony screams "What's with the gut??" Then everyone sympathizes with KC's "eating disorder."
Amy Semenov 2 years ago
I just watched this on a flight and I was shocked. She had a super small roll and they were all like..WHT did you get fat?!
Finally, Tara wanted to thank all of the women who contributed to her thread. “Bridget Jones is just one example of the countless harmful depictions of women in pop culture which set unrealistic beauty standards. I had so many responses from women sharing their struggles with body confidence growing up, so thank you for sharing your stories.”
#11
Brazen 2 years ago
Guys in my school called girls like that 2 x 4's. Not clever or funny.
Load More Replies...
Bleble BlebleBla 2 years ago
Where do you see curves exactly? Do not point to the shoulder joint, that's the shape of the bones. She was underweight, which is bad for her health - short and long term.
#12
Cooter McCoughlin 2 years ago
Love Actually and she was hands down the hottest girl in that movie in my opinion.
Load More Replies...
BrownTabby 2 years ago
The real life media VICIOUSLY judged her body. The movie was trying to lampoon the media’s treatment but missed the mark. I wish more people knew about the IRL treatment she got because it was orders of magnitude worse with none of the good intentions the movie had.
Lollipop Girl 2 years ago
I just Googled the actress, and an article titled "Martine McCutcheon looks slimmer than ever [...]" camu up. What. The. F**k. https://www.thesun.ie/tv/8891185/martine-mccutcheon-slim-skinny-jeans-husband/amp/
We also reached out to Mel B. and Jackie D., the hosts of the Read, Watch or DNF podcast, as they joined in on the conversation on Twitter as well. Last year, during April, they covered some of Jackie’s favorites from when she was younger to celebrate her birthday month. And one of these favorites just happened to be Bridget Jones’s Diary. “Watching Bridget Jones’s Diary 20 years later was surprising for sure,” they told Bored Panda. “Jackie says she believes as a 20-something young woman without much life experience, she found this story to be cute, funny, and relatable.”
“Now, we both agree that the level of cringe in both the book and movie are unforgivable,” the hosts shared. “Like honestly, what were we actually thinking back in 2001? The work chat exchanges between Bridget and her BOSS are so inappropriate - especially considering there was no prior relationship between these two. So she’s wearing not-so work appropriate clothing, and that’s an invitation to bring up her breasts!?”
#13
LapCat 2 years ago
Might depend on which “end” of GenX they are referring to. I was in middle school when friends first debuted. I don’t recall anyone talking about their weight, but nearly every girl in my class went and got the “Rachel” haircut.
Load More Replies...
KimB 2 years ago
Not all of us I'm gen X and I was a teen in the early 90's
Load More Replies...
Debby Keir 2 years ago
But it's much worse NOW, this minute, where everyone has boob jobs, bum jobs and pouty lips and fillers everywhere.
Icecream Sarang 2 years ago
Xennials had Calista Flockhart and Lucy Liu. I can’t imagine why I thought I was a hideously fat giant at 71” and 160lbs.
D Peterson 2 years ago
Don't forget Barbie! I couldn't wait to grow up & look like that. Was I surprised!
bears. beets. battlestar galactica. 2 years ago
i wasn't allowed to have any barbies growing up. mom already knew it would be harmful for self image
Load More Replies...
Ola Polowczyk 2 years ago (edited)
Not okay to call anyone a "walking stick figure" either though
#14
Kathryn Baylis 2 years ago
There used to be a clothing store called “5-7-9”. Guess what sizes they carried?
Tinderella 2 years ago
Odd sizes. That’s why it was called that because it was Junior sizes, which are odd. Adult sizes are even.
Load More Replies...
Salma Hernández 2 years ago
Is curious that in the story of Devil wars prada there is a dialogue that is something like this: Trust the fat girl because she is inteliggent.
BrownTabby 2 years ago
The fat comments in The Devil Wears Prada and Ugly Betty were satire of the way beauty magazines talked about women’s bodies.
Icecream Sarang 2 years ago
America Ferrera’s first movie was Real Women Have Curves. The title says it all.
Outgraygeous 2 years ago
As a woman without curves, I despise that quote. Real women... just are Real Women.
Load More Replies... #15
That emo Girl 2 years ago
Maybe she didn't want to date or likes other genders
Load More Replies...
KittyGotClaws 2 years ago
For those of you not in the UK, an en suite is a bathroom connected to a bedroom, usually the master bedroom.
“Looking back to 2001; we accepted that 134lbs was overweight because every magazine had features of candid celebrity photos highlighting cellulite, belly jiggles, double chins (and let’s be real, none of them actually had any of that),” Mel and Jackie shared. “So being in our teens and early 20s in the early 2000s– media made sure to remind us every day that we weren’t good enough, so when we go to see Bridget Jones’s Diary, we happily agree with all of her griping and cheer her on has she goes through fad diets, and empathize when she stress binges. Then to top it all off, we welcome the sexual harassment from the cute boss because we obviously don’t deserve the attention.”
#16
Kathryn Baylis 2 years ago (edited)
She only gained 20 lbs for Bridget Jones. So probably only went from a size zero to a size six—-maximum.
RedRose 2 years ago
This horseshit at that time is why I still refuse to see any of those movies. I was athletic and in very good shape and am the same height as her and I weighed what her “fat” weight was. Even as a teen, I knew “kiss my muscular a*s! I’m not fat, b***h!”
BoredDisneyPrincess 2 years ago
To be fair, it's usually easy to gain weight, but not that easy to lose it. And once you lose that gained weight, it has a nasty habit of trying to come back with friends.
Bleep Bloop 2 years ago
To be fair to the actress, the weight gain was a lot more substantial -- and reflective of the character -- for the second film.
And as far as the media today, Mel and Jackie say we still have a long way to go. “We wish we could say that [it’s gotten] better, but unfortunately we just featured an adaptation of a more recently published book, that is supposed to be an ode to female survival and empowerment, but in reality, it’s just glorified Stockholm syndrome. It parades a young neglected and traumatized girl as a survivor (which she definitely is), but we’re guided to swoon over a love interest that displays all the tendencies of a predator. But hey, he’s cute and called her sweet names. And, oh yeah, saved her…?”
Mel and Jackie then provided a few examples of media that they believe are doing things right. “Authors like Sarah J Maas write female characters who can take care of themselves, but maybe choose to take on the grumpy sexy love interest, but they don’t need them,” the hosts told Bored Panda. “Platforms such as Twitter, Twitch, and YouTube provide spaces for young women to feel comfortable expressing themselves- though not entirely flawless, but we find support and strength in numbers there.”
#17
Lou Cam 2 years ago
Yes ED were "normal diets" back then. I'm still suffering the long lasting effects from being anorexic in my teens. Think brittle bones, scoliosis and kidney damage. I used to get so many compliments when I was actually dying too.
Katy McMouse 2 years ago
That poor girl has been through the ringer and it all began with her father, a disgusting piece of trash. And the worst part? She was tagged as stupid, as well.
𝐚𝐙𝐙𝐲_𝐝𝟑𝐋𝐭𝐚 2 years ago
𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫? 𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐲, 𝐈 𝐚𝐦 𝐚 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐠𝐞𝐧 𝐙
Load More Replies... 
You Should Do Nothing with the Fence 2 years ago
Left-field (apologies y'all)...every time I see (or hear) "ED," I think "Erectile Disfunction" and see Bob Dole walking on a beach and talking about it. Sorry.
Dani M 2 years ago
Yip. Aging millennial woman here. My relationship with food was never healthy or reasonable... And about the photo: she is NOT fat, but the belt is a crime against my eyes
Evolbeky 2 years ago
Her stylist probably made her wear it to hide her "fatness"
Load More Replies... Kiwii Stone 2 years ago
I thankfully didn't get an ED despite my mum telling me that clothes made me look 'bigger'
“We are grown women now with teenage daughters, so we hope that we are guiding them well enough where they’ll feel empowered to get out there in the world. But we’re not sure who on the outside is helping with that,” Mel and Jackie shared. “One of them really doesn’t like romance in shows and movies - which highlighted a reality that a production can’t seem to not include some sort of love/lust/sex subplot, even when it provides nothing to the story. But sex sells, right?”
If you’d like to listen to hear more from Mel and Jackie, be sure to check out their podcast Read, Watch or DNF right here!
#18
Mihai Mara 2 years ago
I don't think they wanted us to think she was fat. This was to show that she gained a bit of fat and she didn't fit in the same clothes (like she gained 5-7cm on her waist). That's what was going on here. She was still slim, but not as slim as before. Who on earth would have thought she was fat in this scene???
3 Owls In A Coat 2 years ago
Upvote for ya, but the joke in the scene was played as “oh look they made her gain weight, now she’s heavier than a pretty girl should be, how hilarious.” 🤷♀️ that’s it, that’s the entire point of the joke. Most of us can look at her and know she’s far from being overweight, but that was the way the joke was set up.
Load More Replies...
Darth Kittius 2 years ago
I don't think they were trying to convince us, it was really just feeding Regina's insecurity with her weight
Furious George 2 years ago
This was commentary on their skewed little world. It's clear that she's not fat.
that weirdo in ur closet 2 years ago (edited)
Ikr, like, excuse me, she is not in ANY way, fat.
#19
Stephanie A Mutti 2 years ago
Hold up,, which decade exactly has been kind to women??? Which year?? Which day????
D Peterson 2 years ago
Let me ask a question. This sh*t has been going on forever. Why do we women put up with it? It happens to every generation, why?
Agnes Jekyll 2 years ago
They are not kind now either. There is always some impossible beauty standard to achieve--like being curvy but only curvy in very specific places.
We also reached out to blogger and content creator Magali Vaz, who contributed to Tara’s thread on Twitter as well. When it comes to how the media of the early 2000s affected her, she told Bored Panda, “I do think movies like Bridget Jones’s Diary were part of a larger culture that promoted extreme fatphobia. We were shown absolutely normal, average bodies and told that this is what an overweight person looks like, and that being fat or overweight was one of the most unattractive things, and that we should all aspire to be skinny. I think the media is one of the main reasons that most millennials have body image issues!”
#20
Monday 2 years ago
Fuller figured doesn't necessarily mean fat though. Just means she had really nice hips.
KARMAZYNA Rogalska 2 years ago (edited)
I don't see anything wrong with calling her "fuller." Doesn't mean she's fat. Someone with bigger breasts and hips is technically "fuller" than someone without them. Why is this a breakthrough though. Makes zero sense.
Auntriarch 2 years ago
Yes it does. Fuller is code for fat in today's world.
Load More Replies... #21
cadena kuhn 2 years ago
I remember getting down to 130 after having my first daughter and being so excited at how skinny I was
Icecream Sarang 2 years ago
At one point in my teens, I was 5’11” and 105lbs. Let me tell you, it is NOT a healthy look. By the end of the summer, I was 150. Much, MUCH better for someone my height:
Kathryn Baylis 2 years ago (edited)
I thought the basic rule of thumb for women was 5’ and 100 lbs, plus 5 lbs for every inch above that—-depending on your muscle mass, as muscle weighs more. If you’re really athletic and have substantial muscle mass, you could weigh more and still look thin. Basically, forget about the number of pounds and go by the fit of your clothing—-and more importantly, your health.
Blackstone 2 years ago (edited)
That's horrible. The charts say I should be 120, but that'd make me a size 0. Definitely not healthy. I looked and felt my healthiest at about 140. I guess it probably does depend on your genetics, but they really should adjust those charts to reflect that instead of making perfectly healthy people think they need to lose weight. I hate those charts so much because it was "science" bullying me, and body shaming me, telling me I was fat when I wasn't.
Load More Replies...Magali is also optimistic that things are improving, though. “While today's media is far from perfect, I do think it is more diverse and inclusive,” she shared. “Even tabloids don't comment about people's bodies as aggressively as they used to.”
#22
Tracy Wallick 2 years ago
I hope they impolitely told them to f**k off, that comment was totally out of line
Load More Replies... 
Terry Tobias 2 years ago
When I was in high school, I weighed about 110lbs and my height is 5'5". My father used to make fun of my butt calling me "Crisco" because I was "fat in the can". I started cutting out bread and drank skim milk in an attempt to lose weight. When I was a senior in school they had a blood drive and I wanted to participate. When they weighed me I was told I couldn't donate because I weighed less than 110lbs. Many years later my mom told me that she had been concerned at the time that I was becoming anorexic. Now I'm around 125-127lbs. Even though I know that I'm at a healthy weight I still feel fat. Some negative thoughts never go away.
Bleble BlebleBla 2 years ago
I lost about 10kg after I went in coma (incredible amount of stress for several months, made my body poison me with insulin over-release, so I was told by docs). But in a few months I gained 10kg back. A coworker joked to me once that I could easily lose these 10kg if I went to the hospital again. A person in their thirties.. People really make no sense to me.
Katie the Koala 2 years ago
Gahhhhhhh I’m 5’3 and 125 pounds and I’m really self conscious even though I know I’m not overweight :’(
#23
Marcos Valencia 2 years ago
If it's difficult for girls and women to get free of this culture, I just can imagine how it is for girls and women INSIDE this industry.
Pizzagirl 91 2 years ago
I was a UK size 12 when I went to the gym twice a week and was at my ideal weight - I really don't want to imagine what I'd look like in a size 0!
#24
pink_panda 2 years ago
I look back at photos of me at my lowest adult weight, probably 20 years old, and I look kind of sick. I'm trying to lose COVID weight now but more trying to get healthier by eating nutritious foods and going to the gym. I'm more muscular than I ever have been, and I think that's way more attractive than looking malnourished.
Bleble BlebleBla 2 years ago
I was in a relationship where I was criticized for getting fatter. I was 60kg, at close to 170cm! I had bones sticking out FFS! I started not eating while with him, and secretly eating while he was not looking and after I was dumped (of course) I gained a lot of weight. I now know that I developed an eating disorder out of this, and it is unfortunately still with me :(
Auntriarch 2 years ago
Have a hug from an old lady who is 152cm and remembers feeling fat at 52kg. Love yourself and approve
Load More Replies...
Me 2 years ago (edited)
I am 40 and still not very happy with my body, but it's not anymore my biggest concern. I truly believed all my childhood and teen years I was too fat and when I see pictures of me now I wonder how I could ever think that and how my life would have been if different shapes were considered beautiful back then. I truly believed no boy would love me because I was ugly so I was so happy when a 21 year old wanted to sleep with me when I was 15....
We were also curious what sorts of changes Magali would like to see to prevent young girls from being fed the same toxic messages that we heard growing up. “I'd love for movies and television to feature people of different sizes, races, genders, sexual orientations, etc.,” she told Bored Panda. “More genuine diversity without it feeling like they're trying to tick a box or fill a quota. If younger folks could see more versions of themselves or people they'd like to grow into, that'd be amazing.”
If you’d like to hear more from Magali or keep up with her travels, be sure to check out her blog right here!
#25
3 Owls In A Coat 2 years ago (edited)
I’m tall at 5’9” and my male coworkers can’t believe I weigh 125 (I’m slightly underweight) because “don’t women usually weigh like 100-110? Why are you so skinny if you weigh that much?” 🙄 it’s genuinely exhausting, I should be around 135 to be healthy
Load More Replies...
3 Owls In A Coat 2 years ago
It’s true - my bf lost a lot of weight and weighs 150 now, only 2” taller than me, when I told him I’m 135 he was like “how? You almost weigh as much as me? Is that not really heavy for a woman?” Like no? Not at all? For a human being?
Load More Replies... Marcos Valencia 2 years ago
This couldn't be a more normal (in healthy terms) weight for that height.
Purplescales 2 years ago
all the men in my life have been similarly stupid about numbers. Recall the psych episode when someone guesses Juliette's weight at like125 and she threatened them that she has a gun.
ibyishimo 2 years ago
Yikes. I've always been thin but "heavy" (130-135 5'5'') and told so even though most of it muscle. A lot of people don't understand how that works, and it's so sad. I ended up getting amoebic dysentery at one point in my early 20s and was so thin my collar bones were sticking out - and people said that I looked even better then. Yuck. Yuck.
#26
Monday 2 years ago
I don't recall Beyonce even being called fat...maybe I just missed that trend?
Lou Cam 2 years ago
They did, and Jennifer Lopez also. Basically anyone with hips, thighs and bum was fat no matter how tiny. It's why I'm really happy about the Thicc trend although I hope it's not just a trend....
Load More Replies...
Kathryn Baylis 2 years ago
It wasn’t because of her waist, it was because she had hips and a round behind—-you know, like a woman.
madbakes 2 years ago
I was thinking this person does not know the difference between waist and hips.
Load More Replies... tmw 2 years ago
heh. about 5 years ago my elderly mother finally saw the video for booty-licious. She said she was disgusted with the jiggling bodies b/c they were so fat. she said she couldn't believe that the video director/company/etc didn't correct this or prevent the video from being shown. siigh. all 3 of us daughters have eating issues.
Agnes Jekyll 2 years ago
I remember an Much Music interview with Destiny's Child. There was a plate of bagels in the green room and Beyonce said that she couldn't even eat one, and Michelle said to the cameras that Beyonce has to really watch her wait and work really hard to not gain any. Awful.
Marina Rocha 2 years ago
What you mean by huge waist?? I don't think this was the issue. It couldn't have been. She is tiny on those pictures. What's wrong with people??
#27
Isabela Cincu 2 years ago
Gerry Hallywell got so skinny after the band dismembered.. standards🤨
Load More Replies...
AnnaKooo 2 years ago
There's quite good documentary about spice girls made last year (-22). There's one scene where they make Victoria go to scale after giving birth in five weeks. She was in some talk show as a guest. Host insisted to know have she already lost her baby weight...!! That documentary really shows how media treated women in 90's and early 00's. Especially how much all spice girls were treated. It's horrible to watch today
Alexandra Davis 2 years ago
Mel C has since come out saying how she battled an ED the whole time they were big and I'm not surprised. Anyone who was famous in the 90's and female and didn't have an ED deserves a bloody medal (and the ones who did have an ED also deserve a medal for living through such a hellish time) The interviews Mel C has done and how she talks about the things said to her and her weigh/ appearance etc are awful and so sad
I’m not even a millennial, and I still remember being exposed to many of these toxic messages. We still have a long way to go in terms of eliminating misogyny from the media, but having conversations like this is one of the best way to educate the younger generations. They don’t have to stand for these outdated views, and they certainly shouldn’t support them. Keep upvoting the posts calling out messaging that you can’t believe was fed to us, and then let us know in the comments if you can recall any other toxic messages the media conveyed to you when you were younger. Then, if you’d like to read another Bored Panda article calling out blatant sexism that we still encounter today, you can find that right here!
#28
AG 2 years ago
Not that I think it's a good movie but with this logic we would never watch any movies, TV, drive anywhere or do anything or even eat because you can find connections or support tonegative things everywhere. In fact you're gross if you touch the filthy money with slave owners on it and oil is associated with oppressing women in the middle east the list of connections to atrocities is very long and touches everything.
#29
KitKatss 2 years ago
I think these tweets are replies to the Bridget Jones original tweet, so they're talking about Bridget
Load More Replies... #30
Tinderella 2 years ago
Kind of. I’m not black or Hispanic but I’m middle eastern and most of my friends and boyfriends in high school were black and Hispanic. Having full thighs and being bigger than 100lbs was considered very desirable. In my 20s I got down to 100lbs and everyone freaked out and acted like I was Skeletor. I got hit on by a lot of white guys those years.
Load More Replies...
Mary Hiers 2 years ago
I went to a museum show of some of Marilyn Monroe's dresses and let me tell you they were tiny! Maaaaaaaaaybe a size 2 o4 4 today.
TheKitKatLizard 2 years ago (edited)
Because she IS curvy. Curves have nothing to do with weight, it's about how big your boobs and butt are in proportion to your waist... Other cultures have impossible standards too, they just have the BBL look instead of heroin chic...
Whitney-Blair Beals 2 years ago
I'm so thankful I'm a lesbian. This is a cis white woman thing. The men who can't appreciate a full figured woman are literal scum.
AG 2 years ago
WTF are you talking about? What does your lesbianism have to do with anything? This list is basically women/women's mags hating on women. No man has ever said JLo or Beyoncé was fat. Your also a kind of a bigot. Gay & straight men are scum because the choose not to be attracted to big girls. That is a hateful idea. Also you don't know what literal means.
Load More Replies...
Rosie Hamilton 2 years ago
Yes. Though also depends on when - not knocking her at all but her weight fluctuated (relatable). She was at her 'heaviest' (not heavy) in the 50s I have read. Which would have been a UK size 10/12 today. She was curvy, not because she was overweight but just her natural hourglass shape.
Load More Replies...
#31
RafCo (he/him) 2 years ago
Here's a male Gen X voice. Bridget Jones was plenty thin. I did not know they made two others. I thought the joke was that she believed she was fat, but then there's these two men attempting to pursue her because they think she's hot. I found her character annoying, but she is a beautiful woman.
Gwyn 2 years ago
I (F45) also remember the movie like you do, I did not think she was fat or that the writers were trying to say she was fat, as much as the fact that she believed she was fat and ugly. It's been a while since I saw the movie though, I'll have to watch it again and see if my recollection is accurate.
Load More Replies... cadena kuhn 2 years ago
My brother was once seeing a girl with what I considered my ideal body. Then I heard him going off about her being the fattest girl he ever dated
Christian Dyson 2 years ago
Just because you're less thin than the others don't make you fat. People need to start setting realistic body standards. Would you rather starve yourself to be socially acceptable to someone else or just know that you're beautiful and tell everyone who doesn't to f off.
Lucy James 2 years ago
I think all these tweets are in response the the first one about Bridget Jones.
Load More Replies... D Peterson 2 years ago
Does anyone out there understand that dividing people by age groups, Boomer, Gen X, whatever is just a way to divide people? Most women, regardless of the century they live/lived in where told they were 'less' & if they just tried harder they would be perfect. We were perfect, perfectly ourselves, & none of us knew or believed it.
Auntriarch 2 years ago
I liked the film, but was stunned afterwards when she returned to her normal (and I use the word advisedly) weight
#32
Purple Bayes 2 years ago
The only thing I can remember from that movie is George Clooneys bat-suit having bat-nipples…I have forgotten everything else about it
BlackestDawn 2 years ago
*shudders* Thanks you sooooo much for bringing back that memory.
Load More Replies...
StumblingThroughLife 2 years ago
As an aside, what a horribly sexualized outfit that is! Jeez! 😡
Damon 2 years ago
How is it anymore more or less sexualised that Robin’s suit?
Load More Replies... Katrina Marie 2 years ago
I don't think the nipples were needed in the suit because it would add protection... unless they had super long nipples that would protrude when fighting. Other than that, why are nipples specialized, it's not gross or obscene to have them... the suit didn't make sense to me thigh as that would take more time to make the nipples and just put padding instead. Shrugging here - eh‽
Mariele Scherzinger 2 years ago
What about the Batman suit pants? Women are defined by their size. Men are defined by their "size".
Alison Lover 2 years ago
I don't recall most of these people being called fat. Maybe I'm just not that sensitive
Talitha Jansen 2 years ago
Being called fat has nothing to do with sensitive, it's destructive. It's toxic and can ruin your life. I should know, I was called fat when I wasn't and ended up in therapy for an eating disorder.
Load More Replies...
#33
AndThenICommented 2 years ago
All of Ally McBeal, the women in Friends, even Daphne from Frasier
kaycee14 2 years ago
When Ally McBeal was popular, i remember reading that Courtney Thorn-Smith was constantly pressured to lose weight because she looked heavy next to Calista Flockhart. Calista was a stick figure, Courtney wasn't overweight.
Load More Replies...
SkinnyMini 2 years ago (edited)
Let’s not call or label people with ED’s unless they’ve confirmed it. I’ve struggled with one thru a lot of my life but I also cannot blame these women. They were held to the same cruel standards, if not even more so because they were magnified and criticized relentlessly in magazines and tv
OnAFreakingRollercoaster 2 years ago
Isn't Victoria beckham still anorexic? She looks like a living skeleton
#34
Tiny Dancer 2 years ago
I'll tell you why. Look at their neck and chest areas. The "skinny" chick has bones sticking out and the "fat" one doesn't. That about sums this all up perfectly. Seems you need to look literally like a skeleton to be consider normal and healthy, which makes NO sense at all, kids!
#36
Pizzagirl 91 2 years ago (edited)
You'd have thought, since it's Meryl Streep, they'd have made the clothes fit HER, not the other way around... Although, of course, this goes great with the movies story line...
#37
D. Pitbull 2 years ago
Reminds me when I had to find a tank top ... and the woman at the store looked at me (with barely hidden disdain) "Well, you're at least a L or XL..." and I was like... say what now. Same here... was a solid medium *everywhere else*.
MacToast 2 years ago (edited)
God, there was a store in the mall called 5-7-9, because that was the sizes they kept, my sister always would stop in and try stuff on. I, however, have always been on the overweight side, and HATED going there because of how big they always made me feel. And not just the clothes themselves, but there was this one sales lady who legit told me, "I'm not sure you'll be able to find anything here".... Like I know b*tch, I'm here for my sis, not myself, but thanks for stomping on my self esteem...
Tinderella 2 years ago
They kept odd sizes which are Junior sizes. They had more than just those 3 sizes.
Load More Replies... Alewa 2 years ago
My best friend from high school (female) in the early 2000's was quite tall, like 178cm/5"10 and she had to buy men's clothes because her body dared to not only grow tall, but also wide proportionally to her height - not fat at all - but apparently, that was not allowed at that time.
Erin Geiger 2 years ago
I worked there in high school from '98-00. I'm 5'8 and was 120 lbs and always had to buy a L or XL. It was infuriating.
Lee Banks 2 years ago
Anyone else remember 5-7-9? Which became 1-2-3 in Mean Girls? According to my body type those were actually the exact same things, in different years, but they did actually change the size listing. My buddies were upset they weren't Ones. Not blaming the movie, which I actually find amazing. I now shop in boys junior... goes by waist size, and have pockets.
#38
MrsFettesVette 2 years ago
When the girls all went away for a weekend together her mother actually made her bring her "Metrical" which I think is a diet shake like Slim-Fast. Even her friends called her "Pudge" even though they also told her she was beautiful.
Load More Replies...
Julianne Hannes 2 years ago
In the movie she's a former "fat kid" who long had lost weight and still psychologically thinks she's fat and has crippeling low self esteem from growing up chubby having a fatphobic mother who starved her on diet milkshakes to make her skinny. She was not portrayed as fat, she was clearly portrayed as anorexic with an abusive mother.
#39
StumblingThroughLife 2 years ago (edited)
If the tall girl was as slim as the shorter girl, she'd look underweight. My daughter is 5'8" and is in perfect proportion, but she keeps saying she needs to lose weight, due to fashion magazines and various media.The only peeps we should listen to re: weight ratio are medical professionals.
Something 2 years ago
Specifically medical professionals specializing in this area of health, because unfortunately, the bias affects medicine too.
Load More Replies... #40
ScarletRos 2 years ago
Wasn’t she in Arrested Development as George Michaels girlfriend Ann who Michael kept calling “her?” for a similar reason? When she’s definitely not ugly nor fat!
pink_panda 2 years ago
I thought it was her personality as well, very bland, serious, quiet, uptight.
Load More Replies...
SheamusFanFrom1987 2 years ago
I'm actually more interested in her first name. Don't really see many girls with Mae as their given name anymore (or perhaps I'm living in the wrong part of town). Definitely miles away from ugly and fat though...
#41
Little Wonder 2 years ago
I just found one of my high school photos. I was indeed overweight, but not nearly as overweight as I remember being. I wish I'd known at the time.
3 Owls In A Coat 2 years ago
Same - I had a lot of baby fat in high school, was about 30lbs heavier than my adult self. When I look back on my pics, I look cute and have sweet lol chubby cheeks. I felt like a whale though and only wore giant men’s hoodies. Wish I’d been able to see myself for how I actually looked!
Load More Replies...
Angie Taylor 2 years ago
I’m 5’4” and weighed 105 lbs. when I graduated high school in 1997. I don’t remember a time that I didn’t think I needed to lose at least 5-10 lbs. and tried every new diet that came out. I have distinct memories of relative saying things like “you are really filling out” and telling me that I’m going to have to start watching what I eat so I don’t get fat when I was 8-9 years old. It took 38 years of life to finally realize that dieting was the unhealthiest thing I could do for myself and vow to never diet again…and I haven’t (I’m 43 now). I have a much healthier relationship with food because I’m not focused on what I can/can’t eat. It’s a freedom, really. I know my story is not unique, but I still get people my age that swear that they have found the best diet ever and try to convince me to try it. I kinda feel sorry for them.
#42
#44
#45
Kathryn Baylis 2 years ago
You were actually the normal weight for your height, going by the 5’ 100 lbs + 5 lbs for every inch above that for women. 5 x 9 = 45, so 145 is absolutely spot on for a 5’9” tall woman.
Blackstone 2 years ago
* Depending on genetics and other factors. Those charts are drastically oversimplified and can lead healthy women to think they're overweight when they aren't. Just tagging that on so other pandas dont calculate their weight this way and take it at face value.
Load More Replies...
#47
pink_panda 2 years ago (edited)
That song slaps! 🔥 It's really made me consider why the hell I should buy underwear from a business that's not owned by women.
#48
Little Wonder 2 years ago
The thing i hate about this song is it body shames skinny women. We can lift ourselves and others without dragging people down - skinny women also get a lot of body shaming.
Blackstone 2 years ago (edited)
That how I gained too much weight right there. Being told I needed to put some meat on my bones. I hit puberty, my hips widened and I gained weight and suddenly all those people with opinions had new opinions, but apparently my body type is a one way street. I can put on weight by looking sideways at chocolate, but it takes weeks of strict diet and exercise to lose a single pound. One tiny cheat and I'm up three pounds. It's so frustrating.
Load More Replies... Lara Verne 2 years ago
Damn I just hate that song. It sounds awful, lyrics are about how great her body is while others are "skinny bitches". It's not helping anyone.
#49
D. Pitbull 2 years ago
So much of this has to do with not understanding that "You can have a round face shape and not be fat" - which is kinda of a REALLY SIMPLE CONCEPT that seems to be super difficult for many???
Kathryn Baylis 2 years ago
Plus, when you’re young your face is rounder than it will be when you get older. You simply have more collagen to fill it out with. It’s just a thing that happens when we get older, ffs.
Load More Replies...
ginny weasley 2 years ago
I bet. lot of that was from people pissed at her anti- war political stance though.
Amy T 2 years ago
I honestly would bet a lot of the negative comments come from jealousy. It's one of the easiest ways someone can make another person feel like c**p about themselves.
Load More Replies... #50
DeeDee M 2 years ago
What's funny is, if you look at the picture, her and Blake Lively look the same in the hips...Blake is just tall. Yeah...the 90's and '00s we're not kind to Gen x and elder millennial girls. We grew up with some really f****d up ideas about what was healthy and what wasn't.
lolbana_yy 2 years ago
no, not really. She is not carrying excess weight, just different bone structure.
Load More Replies...
#51
AndThenICommented 2 years ago
Thank you! I thought I was going crazy. And she wasn’t unsuccessful - she just felt it because it seemed there was always someone more glamorous, taller, more cultured and smarter - something many of us feel in our 30’s. Envy vs loving oneself
Load More Replies... Kathryn Baylis 2 years ago
Should’ve made that point a bit clearer, as it’s obviously been interpreted as being thinner than you already are is an ideal to chase, and obsess about, your entire life, starting in your teens.
Beans 2 years ago
Its because people don't remember it. The point is that you don't need to change. Mark loves her as she is, even if she thinks she isn't perfect, she's perfect to him. The book and movie show society is against Brig and she takes it, but everyone against Brig is vilified in the end like Daniel and her fat shaming mother. The moral is to not obsess about your weight, the fact she does is because she is a product of society too.
Load More Replies...
#53
D. Pitbull 2 years ago
low rise jeans worked for people like me with short waists (ugh. I could lose 50 lbs and be darn near see-through and I'd still look 'oddly squat' because I have a short waist)... but they had to start remember that women still have a$$es.
Kathryn Baylis 2 years ago
I’m short waisted too, with extra long legs, and remember the high-waisted pants—-which were all they were selling at the time—-that literally came up under my boobs. What works best for me, pants-wise, is mid-rise boot cut.
Load More Replies...
Lara Verne 2 years ago
Low rise jeans were awful. They simply does not work wor pear-shaped people.
#54
Undercover 2 years ago
Yes, I had the same issue and developed a nice ED at age 15. The body dismorphia got better with therapy but the ED has never left my mind, even as I'm "clean" now.
#56
Kathryn Baylis 2 years ago
Bullies go for the worst insult they can think of, and unfortunately for the last 50-60 years, calling someone fat, especially if they’re young and definitely not overweight, is an especially low blow that can cause decades of ED and/or body image issues, not to mention attempts to lose weight with every fad diet that comes along. All of that can truly f**k up a normal metabolism.
#59
Peppy 2 years ago
Maybe just stop calling normal healthy size people plus size for a start. I don’t know why we have to be so obsessed about size, when I shop for clothes (uk) depending on which shop I’m in I can be anywhere from a 12to an 18,. Time we just embraced that people are different and size is just a number that means s**t 💕
Ola Polowczyk 2 years ago (edited)
The sizes differ within the same brand AND the same model of a clothing piece. I once bought two dresses. Same brand, same model, same size. Different colors only. One was too small, the other was too big 🤷♀️
Load More Replies... pink_panda 2 years ago
For that matter, I'd love to see more casting of people who don't have the Hollywood-perfect ideal of beauty as main characters. Does anyone else think it's kind of boring looking at one main type of person on screen all the time?
#60
InvincibleRodent 2 years ago
That.... sounds like the dumbest marketing strategy I can think of. I'm gonna go out on a limb here, were the clothes sold there also ridiculously overpriced, and made with obvious logos/in an easily identified style?
Little Wonder 2 years ago
There was a shop like that here in Australia, I can't remember what it was called. Mostly sold jeans. Anyway I walked in with a group of friends and the sales assistant ushered them all in, then looked me up and down and said "We don't have anything for YOU" lol
Load More Replies...
#61
Kathryn Baylis 2 years ago
Same during the seventies, when everyone who was considered attractive was a f*****g x-ray.
Whitney-Blair Beals 2 years ago
Gen Z won't allow it. It's why I love cancel culture. It's a nose thump.
#62
cadena kuhn 2 years ago
Delia*s is still around on dolls kill. I ordered a couple things things all in the same size but the Delia's stuff was so much smaller. They suck
Skylar (they/them) 2 years ago
Yeah, just looked it up. Everything is 2-3 sizes bigger than the largest size I wear. That absolutely sucks, shouldn't happen.
Load More Replies...
#66
JoJo Anisko 2 years ago
My mother was 95 lb, I was 130 lb in high school. I never had a chance.
pink_panda 2 years ago (edited)
My mom would just look in the mirror and talk about how fat she was. Terrible thing to do, especially in front of children.
#69
that weird wallflower 2 years ago
Oh, believe me, that still is all that a lot of people think is beautiful. I remember being about 5-7 yrs old and seeing Disney princesses and Barbie being so much skinnier than I was at the time, and so I thought I was fat. Now, you can see my rib cage because of what I did. It’s been at least 4 years since then, too. Please never do the same thing I did. (Btw I ate less. That’s what I did. And no one told me I was fat except for myself.)
#70
Phoenix(or nix)they/them 2 years ago
Oh sh!t my mind was twisted back then. I haven't seen any pictures of her in so long, I forgot what she looked like. She was never fat, but in fact she was skinny.
#73
#78
#80
Tinderella 2 years ago
It works both ways though. Now this full, cute and round butt would be considered flat. This is JLo, the princess of booty. They’d call her flat and make her get a bbl if she came out like this today.
#82
Ricardo Ferreira 2 years ago
I don't know, fellow Americans, but here in Brazil I never saw or read anyone call these women "fat". Not even once. But I never read gossip magazines or sites, so... I'd rather saw the movies and make my own opinion about them.
N000dle 2 years ago
Interesting how you have a completely different experience than all the women above. DO you think the fact that you are a man has something to do with that?
Load More Replies...
#83
Daffydillz~ 2 years ago
Father Of The Bride part 2, Diane Keaton, Steve Martin, Kimberly Williams Paisley, and Martin Short.
#84
Tesla Sulu 2 years ago
ya'll still! missing it. It's not whether or not you're/ they're fat. It's why is fat bad, scary, shameful, the worst possible thing.
Add New Image
What do you think ?
David Andrews 2 years ago
Are things that much better now? Instead of tabloids commenting on women's shape and holding up skinny people as an example, celebrities post pictures of themselves which have been edited to the point of completely unreal, and are called brave if once in a while they post an unfiltered picture of what they actually look like.
Tinderella 2 years ago (edited)
Exactly. Now we get EXTREME round hip shapes, microscopic waists and huge huge booties, and people clap for it and say “wow look how diverse and inclusive we are being, this is how women actually look!” Meanwhile 90% of the ads / models like that are photoshopped or have BBLs. At least you can lose weight to be thin. There’s nothing short of surgery you can do to achieve todays standard. Just look at the Fashion Nova ads on Instagram and tell me I’m wrong.
Load More Replies... N Miller 2 years ago
Bridget Jones' Diary (the novel) was meant to be satire, in a similar vein to Adrian Mole - someone writing from such a narrow personal perspective they miss the really obvious things happening in front of their face. Or they interpret events one way, when reality shows another. It was satirising the culture at the time which all these lovely tweets are repeating - Bridget had been brainwashed by the media that a UK size 10 was fat. That was the point. And the filmmakers missed it by several miles, giving us a mere romcom with a "clever" casting gag (Colin Firth was literally who Helen Fielding was imagining when she wrote Mr Darcy), instead of taking a look in the mirror themselves.
Nadine Debard 2 years ago
Loved the book, hated the movie for these very reasons.
Load More Replies...
Okiedokie 2 years ago (edited)
Yeah, we all remember when having a ‘heroin chic’ body was considered ideal and not dangerous. [Edit: it is 100% dangerous].
Leo Domitrix 2 years ago
And that began in the 1990s for extreme thinness (Kate Moss et al.)....
Load More Replies...
Linden 2 years ago
It was a horrendously toxic time for women and body image - the examples given here are just a small sample. It caused me to have an eating disorder as a young woman. I recovered but I still carry that old thinking around with me. To think now how much the likes of Weinstein and Wexner drove it creeps me out.
Kat O. 2 years ago
Ok, but calling women "stick figures" or calling all women under a certain weight "anorexic" is also toxic body shaming.
Something 2 years ago
But it's important to note that the relationship between weight and mortality is a J curve.
Load More Replies...
Donkey boi 2 years ago
I know it says right at the top of the article that this isn't for us men ,and that our opinions are irrelevant, but I'm gonna give mine anyway. During the 90's the most attractive celebrities IMO were the more normal looking ones. Lucy Lawless was (and still is) hot AF, but even she was what I considered thin and athletic. The majority of them I didn't find attractive, pretty maybe, but not attractive. The were too skinny. I always had a thing for Liv Tyler's face, and when she put on a bit of weight and the magazines started calling her 'dumpy' I actually got pissed off, she was getting sexy not fat!!! I was a s**t time for almost all women back then, but I think nowadays it's more toxic, but less frequent.
David Andrews 2 years ago
Also having been around at the time, I think there was a big gap between what media was telling women that men found attractive, and what men actually found attractive. While women's magazines and newspapers were pushing super thin as the ideal, if you look at things like the FHM 100 sexiest lists it's women like Gillian Anderson, Kelly Brook, Liz Hurley, Sandra Bullock, Catherine Zita-Jones who are coming out on top. Not that these women were overweight, but they had actual curves at the time
Load More Replies...
Daria 2 years ago
Well, I've been called ugly because I've been Twiggy-skinny all my life, and with an almost flat chest too. So it's not only heavier bodies that received toxic comments during that time. Before I met my bf, I seriously thought a woman is not a woman without big boobs 🙃
GoGoPDX 2 years ago (edited)
Yes, women if all shapes and sizes have been body shamed or bullied, which is never right. But the pressure, expectations, and what was deemed attractive in every corner of society and media is on a whole other level.There is a big difference from being bullied by a couple people and what this whole post is saying. I am sure I am going to get down voted for saying this, but this whole article is focusing on the impact that society, movies, magazines, music, fashion, had on girls and women to be as thin as possible. Being told In every facet of everyday life, everywhere you look, everything you hear, everything you read, caused catastrophic damage to a vast majority of women and girls that has had generational consequences. It was on a level that cannot be comprehend for those who were not targeted. Lets try not to take away from the experiences of others. We are not trying to say that skinny people never got called names or that it doesn't matter, because it does. It is just that right now we are focusing on the experiences and impact on millions of girls and women who were bigger than a size 2.
Load More Replies... Erin Fish 2 years ago
Around this time I was in middle school and remember the girls in my class competing to see who's spine stuck out the most. You were fat if you couldn't clack, clack it on the back of the plastic chair like a friggin instrument. Twisted. In the words of Sondheim: be careful the things you say, children will listen.
GoGoPDX 2 years ago (edited)
All of this resonates with me so much. I was a size 6 -8 in highschool in the late 90s. I had a very hour glass figure, and very large breasts (I actually had a reduction when I was 20 for back issues) I was told by a guy I liked that I was too chubby. Girls would ask me "how do you play sports or dance or swim with such big boobs? In front of the entire locker room. Imagine if I asked a girl " how do you do this with sick small boobs"? I was fat shamed by my PE teacher during the annual fitness test (even though I passed it all with no problem) So hard to find clothes that fit my body type, had to have many prom dresses altered. I look back at pictures of myself and can't believe how great I looked, yet I always felt like I was a freak.
Greta Kolding 2 years ago
You don't think girls were teased for having small/non-existent boobs? I was very skinny unti I hit menopause and would have given my eyeteeth for a set of decent boobs. That arrogant tone other girls would use as if I could actually help it.
Load More Replies...
D. Pitbull 2 years ago
I still remember when that supermodel - who is/was a size 4 was told by her agency she was 'too fat' for modeling... and how insulting it was that they had touched up her photo SO MUCH for an Asian ad campaign that she looked like ... well... she looked like 'anime in real life' - aka: a bobble head. It was ... horrifying (her head was larger than the width of her waist in the doctored ad).
kate h 2 years ago
Yep. It was Filippa Hamilton. Here is an article about the ad: https://tinyurl.com/Ralph-Lauren-photoshopped-ad
Load More Replies... David Andrews 2 years ago
Are things that much better now? Instead of tabloids commenting on women's shape and holding up skinny people as an example, celebrities post pictures of themselves which have been edited to the point of completely unreal, and are called brave if once in a while they post an unfiltered picture of what they actually look like.
Tinderella 2 years ago (edited)
Exactly. Now we get EXTREME round hip shapes, microscopic waists and huge huge booties, and people clap for it and say “wow look how diverse and inclusive we are being, this is how women actually look!” Meanwhile 90% of the ads / models like that are photoshopped or have BBLs. At least you can lose weight to be thin. There’s nothing short of surgery you can do to achieve todays standard. Just look at the Fashion Nova ads on Instagram and tell me I’m wrong.
Load More Replies... N Miller 2 years ago
Bridget Jones' Diary (the novel) was meant to be satire, in a similar vein to Adrian Mole - someone writing from such a narrow personal perspective they miss the really obvious things happening in front of their face. Or they interpret events one way, when reality shows another. It was satirising the culture at the time which all these lovely tweets are repeating - Bridget had been brainwashed by the media that a UK size 10 was fat. That was the point. And the filmmakers missed it by several miles, giving us a mere romcom with a "clever" casting gag (Colin Firth was literally who Helen Fielding was imagining when she wrote Mr Darcy), instead of taking a look in the mirror themselves.
Nadine Debard 2 years ago
Loved the book, hated the movie for these very reasons.
Load More Replies... Okiedokie 2 years ago (edited)
Yeah, we all remember when having a ‘heroin chic’ body was considered ideal and not dangerous. [Edit: it is 100% dangerous].
Leo Domitrix 2 years ago
And that began in the 1990s for extreme thinness (Kate Moss et al.)....
Load More Replies... Linden 2 years ago
It was a horrendously toxic time for women and body image - the examples given here are just a small sample. It caused me to have an eating disorder as a young woman. I recovered but I still carry that old thinking around with me. To think now how much the likes of Weinstein and Wexner drove it creeps me out.
Kat O. 2 years ago
Ok, but calling women "stick figures" or calling all women under a certain weight "anorexic" is also toxic body shaming.
Something 2 years ago
But it's important to note that the relationship between weight and mortality is a J curve.
Load More Replies... Donkey boi 2 years ago
I know it says right at the top of the article that this isn't for us men ,and that our opinions are irrelevant, but I'm gonna give mine anyway. During the 90's the most attractive celebrities IMO were the more normal looking ones. Lucy Lawless was (and still is) hot AF, but even she was what I considered thin and athletic. The majority of them I didn't find attractive, pretty maybe, but not attractive. The were too skinny. I always had a thing for Liv Tyler's face, and when she put on a bit of weight and the magazines started calling her 'dumpy' I actually got pissed off, she was getting sexy not fat!!! I was a s**t time for almost all women back then, but I think nowadays it's more toxic, but less frequent.
David Andrews 2 years ago
Also having been around at the time, I think there was a big gap between what media was telling women that men found attractive, and what men actually found attractive. While women's magazines and newspapers were pushing super thin as the ideal, if you look at things like the FHM 100 sexiest lists it's women like Gillian Anderson, Kelly Brook, Liz Hurley, Sandra Bullock, Catherine Zita-Jones who are coming out on top. Not that these women were overweight, but they had actual curves at the time
Load More Replies... Daria 2 years ago
Well, I've been called ugly because I've been Twiggy-skinny all my life, and with an almost flat chest too. So it's not only heavier bodies that received toxic comments during that time. Before I met my bf, I seriously thought a woman is not a woman without big boobs 🙃
GoGoPDX 2 years ago (edited)
Yes, women if all shapes and sizes have been body shamed or bullied, which is never right. But the pressure, expectations, and what was deemed attractive in every corner of society and media is on a whole other level.There is a big difference from being bullied by a couple people and what this whole post is saying. I am sure I am going to get down voted for saying this, but this whole article is focusing on the impact that society, movies, magazines, music, fashion, had on girls and women to be as thin as possible. Being told In every facet of everyday life, everywhere you look, everything you hear, everything you read, caused catastrophic damage to a vast majority of women and girls that has had generational consequences. It was on a level that cannot be comprehend for those who were not targeted. Lets try not to take away from the experiences of others. We are not trying to say that skinny people never got called names or that it doesn't matter, because it does. It is just that right now we are focusing on the experiences and impact on millions of girls and women who were bigger than a size 2.
Load More Replies... Erin Fish 2 years ago
Around this time I was in middle school and remember the girls in my class competing to see who's spine stuck out the most. You were fat if you couldn't clack, clack it on the back of the plastic chair like a friggin instrument. Twisted. In the words of Sondheim: be careful the things you say, children will listen.
GoGoPDX 2 years ago (edited)
All of this resonates with me so much. I was a size 6 -8 in highschool in the late 90s. I had a very hour glass figure, and very large breasts (I actually had a reduction when I was 20 for back issues) I was told by a guy I liked that I was too chubby. Girls would ask me "how do you play sports or dance or swim with such big boobs? In front of the entire locker room. Imagine if I asked a girl " how do you do this with sick small boobs"? I was fat shamed by my PE teacher during the annual fitness test (even though I passed it all with no problem) So hard to find clothes that fit my body type, had to have many prom dresses altered. I look back at pictures of myself and can't believe how great I looked, yet I always felt like I was a freak.
Greta Kolding 2 years ago
You don't think girls were teased for having small/non-existent boobs? I was very skinny unti I hit menopause and would have given my eyeteeth for a set of decent boobs. That arrogant tone other girls would use as if I could actually help it.
Load More Replies... D. Pitbull 2 years ago
I still remember when that supermodel - who is/was a size 4 was told by her agency she was 'too fat' for modeling... and how insulting it was that they had touched up her photo SO MUCH for an Asian ad campaign that she looked like ... well... she looked like 'anime in real life' - aka: a bobble head. It was ... horrifying (her head was larger than the width of her waist in the doctored ad).
kate h 2 years ago
Yep. It was Filippa Hamilton. Here is an article about the ad: https://tinyurl.com/Ralph-Lauren-photoshopped-ad
Load More Replies... You May Like 44 Rage-Inducing Pics You Might Not Be Stable Enough To See Someone Asked Women How They’ve Destroyed A Man’s Confidence, And 41 Savage Ladies Didn’t Hold Back 58 Misogynists Tried To Explain Women But Ended Up Embarrassing Themselves (New Pics)
Ilona Baliūnaitė
Ieva Pečiulytė
Greta Jaruševičiūtė
Related on Bored Panda
