When I modeled, my thighs were 19 inches around, and my waist wasn’t measuring much bigger at 23 inches… and do you know what? I was considered too fat to do editorial runway! I tried a variety of ways to get slimmer, eventually getting small enough to do a Donna Karen show before I realized how insane the whole not eating thing was. I can’t imagine being that thin now, my 5′8″ frame would look so unhealthy, bony, and downright emaciated. Just thinking about the getting back to my “pre-baby” body I get this lightning bolt in my chest, an awful shuddering that goes deep into my core. How could have I (a mensan!) fallen for such flawed ideology of what was beautiful?
I was so disappointed with the behavior I saw on Twitter this past week, pouty little fits about celebrities on twitter, campaigns to unfollow anyone who mentions such and such a person. I’m sure most of it was meant jokingly, but as a collective group of interaction, there is a much bigger malevolence and fear at play here. Could it be? Geek snobbery as Diana Culbert puts it? Sadly, I think yes, the geek elite afraid that with the “celebrity endorsements” will come scores of mainstream people who discover the amazingness of twitter in the same awkward way that the rest of us did. Maybe people have forgotten that the beauty of this simple little tool is that anyone with internet access can use it, and one doesn’t have to talk to anyone they don’t want to, but can (attempt to) have a conversation with every user. Celebrity or no – we all choose who to follow. Whether it’s @aplusk, @oprah, you or me – twitter is empowering that way. I advise you to open your mind to the idea that twitter will grow, and in the meantime, fine tune your filters.
