Narzain’s Comments (group member since Feb 19, 2010)

Narzain’s comments from the Perspective Plus group.

First, I would like to apologize for letting this group lie fallow. The utter lack of activity is exactly what I did NOT want to happen after Kim passed. I can't promise that I will be as diligent as I should, but I do intend to make more of an effort.

That said, here's one from the flip side of the coin:
http://www.msn.com/en-us/entertainmen...

After all, size discrimination can go both ways. And, quite frankly, Katherine Webb is the flip-side of our own founder. Her appearance is affected by her height and a thyroid condition, and she is being judged for it.

Whether one is 5'11" or 5'3" or any other height, fat, thin, or in between, we are who we are. No one should be judged or mocked because of how they happen to be built.

I think we can start with "what a bunch of blathering knobs do they have at that institute?" and go from there. It just goes to show, when you're manipulating the data and making the charts, you can 'prove' just about anything, no matter how ludicrous.

Besides, if I read the chart right, it's measuring economic impact (at least partly). So right there they've completely missed the boat. Fat people are good for the economy: We buy more food, we have to spend more for clothes that fit, and let's not even get into the cash cow that is the diet and fitness industry... (Use your own discretion on how much sarcasm you read into the previous sentence.)

Welcome, Gina! By all means, come on in and share. It sounds like your documentary is right up our alley of perspectives.

Frighteningly familiar. Though #3 does sort of fall in the category of "things they never tell you in the movies." Also known as "if we couldn't laugh, we'd all go insane."

Interesting, and she makes some good points. It's only tangentially size-related, being mostly about the airline industry itself, but it does speak from our perspective. And perspective, after all, is what we're on about.

That is a very interesting article (note: the original New Yorker article linked to is quite long; set aside some time). Perhaps there is some hope yet for the fashion industry. And maybe, just maybe, in our lifetimes we'll see 'Full Figured Fashion Week' and just plain 'Fashion Week' become one and the same, with all sizes of fashion represented together.

Fingers crossed for you, man.

And we will be here for you the whole time. One can honestly say that pain in your knees is affected by your weight; that's a correlation that actually makes sense. So you do whatever you need to do. It sounds like you're working from sensible reasons.

Let me know how I can be of support to you.

I just... don't even know what to say about this one:

https://www.yahoo.com/health/scooby-d...

First, if that's a size 8, I'll eat my head, with my hat on it. Second, she looks just fine that way (even with the frumpier dress and frizzed out hair; just like all the 'before' photos in weight loss ads, they do whatever else they can to make her look less appealing, and still fail). Third, and most important, how is this a 'worst thing that could happen'?!? Is Daphne really that shallow a character? (Okay, I've always thought she was pretty shallow, but still...)

Way to reinforce negative body image issues in children, folks.

There is really no excusing either of those sites. Heart disease is not as tied in to weight, nor weight to chronic overeating, as that 'PSA' would have us believe. Our late founder had a thyroid condition, undiagnosed for decades, that made it nearly impossible for her to control her weight. Once it was diagnosed and treated, she became much healthier overall. And I have a genetic heart condition which would have manifested if I was 120 or 420 pounds. Trying to say "you eat too much, you're fat and shameful, and you're going to die from it" is horribly irresponsible, and distracts medical attention away from the factors that should be considered more closely. Shame on them!

I have to wonder if the moderator of the fair "people-watching" site would be so blase if he or a loved one were being mocked like that. Running a website includes responsibility for that site. If he wants a site about people watching, that's fine. But show some responsibility and actually act like a moderator! The power to delete posts, ban abusive users, and *gasp* post and enforce rules of conduct exist for a reason! Saying "oh well, if what's posted here offends you, just don't look" in that case is a cop-out, and worse, a tacit endorsement of the hurtful things that are being said. Shame again.

Thank you. You don't know how much I appreciate that.

This one has mixed connotations, really, but I think it fits here.

https://shine.yahoo.com/healthy-livin...

Robyn Lawley, a 'plus-size' model, posted a bikini photo of herself, completely unretouched and without makeup. And she's lovely. Which was the point.

Overall feedback is positive, which is wonderful. There is some question as to whether she is really 'plus size', but I think that's a false distinction. She's real sized. This is a size that real women are. And really, isn't the whole point to accept and celebrate ourselves and each other, no matter what size we may be?

In my opinion, we need more models like her, whether size 14 or 24 or whatever, who are happy and comfortable in the body where they live, and are willing to share that comfort and joy.

I realize that Kim's death is a huge blow to Perspective Plus. She was truly the heart and soul of this group. Most of the posts and initiative were hers.

That said, I am not willing to let something so important to her fade away. Perspective Plus will live on. But I can't do this alone. We will need to pull together to keep this going. I hope that you will all find something that you can contribute to Kim's cause and to her memory. Every little bit helps. See something in the online news that makes you angry or makes you think? Let us know. See someone who really gets it? Bring them to our attention. It only takes a couple minutes to post. Kim thought it was worth the time to make a difference. Can we show the courage of her convictions? I truly hope so.

You all know about the issues Kim had been dealing with, up to the biopsies done on her arm by the dermatologist (see the Joys, Concerns & Prayers thread). Well, after that, she had been experiencing shortness of breath consistent with anxiety attacks. Our physician put her on a mild dose of Xanax, which seemed to help. Then it worsened, accompanied by heart palpitations, which then shifted to abdominal pain. She spent most of Saturday in the ER; they eventually diagnosed her with a bladder infection, prescribed more antibiotics, and sent her home. That evening she was exhausted, mostly drowsing in her chair, and still having trouble breathing. Around 1 AM, her mother had to take her back to the ER. She passed away around 5:30 AM on Sunday, supposedly of a pulmonary embolism. They will be doing an autopsy today to see what on earth actually happened.

Shock doesn't even begin to describe it.

Of course. A drug that causes all kinds of ill side effects that may 'require' MORE drugs to deal with? Get that on the market now! Cold 'medicines' that just prolong the illness instead of curing it? Gold mine. Something that can actually cure serious conditions in just a few doses so the person is healthy and won't need more drugs? Nope, can't approve that one.

Pardon my semi-conspiracy-theorist rant. We now return you to your regularly scheduled broadcast.

Fitness blogger: I'm a little torn. On the one hand, I agree that BMI is a total fiction that bears no connection to reality. On the other hand, it's frustrating that we have to have a thin person talking about it before people will listen. Grr, argh.

Wearing a bikini while fat: I completely applaud this lady! She does, in fact, look fantastic in it. And, as noted, the world did not end. I really have to wonder at her so-called 'friends' whose narrow reality couldn't even conceive that she would want to wear a bikini in public without first losing weight. Unthinking prejudices are probably the worst of all; it's hard to change someone's mind when they aren't even aware that there is something to change...

We live in a society where 'privacy' is an illusion. Worst of all, in many cases, nobody needs to spy on us, they have us do it for them (faceplant, twaddle, foursquare; most of the population of America lowjacks themselves every day).

The most infuriating part (to me) was the guy saying that marketers already do this, so wouldn't you like your doctor to have the information too? NO! No, I would not. I would like for the aforementioned marketers to take a short step off a tall cliff and leave my information alone, thankyouverymuch.

*deep breath* Apologies for the rant. My burn was not slow.

Nice to see a big company finally gets it, at least in one way.

The suit, and the wearer, are looking goooooood!

As are we all, my dear. As are we all.