I have to let you all know about two new fabulous boutiques for us larger gals.
The first is located in my own state but up in the great north woods in Hibbing Minnesota. Yes, that Hibbing. Childhood home of Mr. Bob Dylan. Gateway to the great Minnesota Iron Range (See movie North Country). Now, Hibbing is also home to the fabulous clothing boutique, Moxie! In an environment where the biggest fashion statement is wearing a PINK fleece jacket, Moxie is bringing a stylish new world to the plus size gals of "up north"!
I had the pleasure of meeting the owner, Suzanne, at a women's event at which I performed earlier this spring. She presented a fashion show featuring clothing by XCVI, Alice Berry and Rebel Green (featured at the Fred Segal boutique in Hollywood.) She is unabashedly passionate about putting stylish clothing into the hands of women who don't have as many choices as those of us with Nordstrom and Bloomingdales located in our back yards and for that I salute her. I will make a point to stop in whenever I head up that way to visit my parents and I encourage you all to check out her website at: http://www.moxieshoppe.com/.
Also just located, an adorable new boutique in Milwaukee, WI called Boutique Larrieux. From their website, Boutique Larrieux is dedicated to providing high quality fashion tailored specifically for the plus size woman. Lines they carry include Kiyonna, Brian Meester, Monif C., and eShakti. Another great Midwestern choice for curvy, chic clothing!! A road trip could be in the future for this woman. http://boutiquelarrieux.com/index.php
Friday, May 21, 2010
That's NOT Entertainment
Sometimes I burn out. I've been really burned out lately; tired of being a "Professional Fattie" if you will. It takes so much energy to put yourself out there every day and attempt to speak your truth and speak up for the injustice you witness in this looks-obsessed world. I get tired of trying to find the funny in a subject that is dead-serious. Sometimes I just want to sink into a bubble bath, lock the world out and simply "be" for awhile.
But then I saw and heard two news stories yesterday that re-lit the fire underneath my size 22 butt and I feel the passion rekindling both to speak to my truth but to also encourage others to do the same and make no apologies.
First of all, in Michigan, a 20 year old woman has been given notice by her employer, Hooters, that she needs to lose weight. According to Fox Detroit, the 20 year old wears a size XS shorts and tank top and Hooters is supposed to not have any weight requirements in their policies. Nonetheless, the girl has been told that she has 30 days in which to lose weight or she and company will be parting ways. Lucky her, they said they'd pay for a gym membership. The girl has found an attorney and I had the pleasure of hearing her mother on the radio yesterday and let's just say, mom is on a righteous war path and I totally salute her. (I did find it really wierd that she also said their family was super proud that one of their own was a Hooters girl..... really?) The mom was adamant in saying that this unrealistic judgement directed at women and their bodies was wrong and needed to stop and all I can say is that I hope she can continue speaking out with the passion I witnessed from her yesterday.
Then, last night while channel surfing, I happened to catch Entertainment Tonight and a "daring expose" on celebrities bikini bodies and the horrible cellulite on some of them (note sarcasm here). The story was tasteless and pointless and it makes me so sad that once again, people are sitting in absolute judgement on something so personal and for what? What is the purpose behind this? What is their intention? It's the reason I have let go of my celebrity-watching, People Magazine reading habits. I don't care who has cellulite....like the rest of the world, most of them probably have it. And so what? The fact that my thighs probably look similar to Meryl Streep's only means that I can relate to her as a real person, not some plastic-surgeried, botoxed, dieted-into-oblivion, robotic starlet.
We have so much work to do in order to simply let people be who they are without judgement and condemnation. Maybe it's like people who are super homophobic and public about their condemnation of gays, who subsequently are found to have five boy-toys stashed away in seedy motel rooms. In other words, maybe we keep pointing the finger of judgement at other people so that we ourselves can turn the attention away from our own feelings and how we look at ourselves?
To borrow from Oprah, here are some things I know for sure:
1. Judging other people's bodies is not entertainment.
2. Unrealistic expectations towards women's bodies will keep us in our place and obsessed with things that deny us full, joyful lives that are based on who we are as opposed to what we look like in a bikini or hooters tank top.
But then I saw and heard two news stories yesterday that re-lit the fire underneath my size 22 butt and I feel the passion rekindling both to speak to my truth but to also encourage others to do the same and make no apologies.
First of all, in Michigan, a 20 year old woman has been given notice by her employer, Hooters, that she needs to lose weight. According to Fox Detroit, the 20 year old wears a size XS shorts and tank top and Hooters is supposed to not have any weight requirements in their policies. Nonetheless, the girl has been told that she has 30 days in which to lose weight or she and company will be parting ways. Lucky her, they said they'd pay for a gym membership. The girl has found an attorney and I had the pleasure of hearing her mother on the radio yesterday and let's just say, mom is on a righteous war path and I totally salute her. (I did find it really wierd that she also said their family was super proud that one of their own was a Hooters girl..... really?) The mom was adamant in saying that this unrealistic judgement directed at women and their bodies was wrong and needed to stop and all I can say is that I hope she can continue speaking out with the passion I witnessed from her yesterday.
Then, last night while channel surfing, I happened to catch Entertainment Tonight and a "daring expose" on celebrities bikini bodies and the horrible cellulite on some of them (note sarcasm here). The story was tasteless and pointless and it makes me so sad that once again, people are sitting in absolute judgement on something so personal and for what? What is the purpose behind this? What is their intention? It's the reason I have let go of my celebrity-watching, People Magazine reading habits. I don't care who has cellulite....like the rest of the world, most of them probably have it. And so what? The fact that my thighs probably look similar to Meryl Streep's only means that I can relate to her as a real person, not some plastic-surgeried, botoxed, dieted-into-oblivion, robotic starlet.
We have so much work to do in order to simply let people be who they are without judgement and condemnation. Maybe it's like people who are super homophobic and public about their condemnation of gays, who subsequently are found to have five boy-toys stashed away in seedy motel rooms. In other words, maybe we keep pointing the finger of judgement at other people so that we ourselves can turn the attention away from our own feelings and how we look at ourselves?
To borrow from Oprah, here are some things I know for sure:
1. Judging other people's bodies is not entertainment.
2. Unrealistic expectations towards women's bodies will keep us in our place and obsessed with things that deny us full, joyful lives that are based on who we are as opposed to what we look like in a bikini or hooters tank top.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Laughter. It Does a Person Good
Laughter is the best medicine. If that doesn’t work, try pie.
Do you laugh every day? I grew up in a family with a lot of dysfunction, but we also had a lot of laughter. I take after the Maruska women and we have loud, hearty laughs. As such, I laugh often and I laugh loud and I laugh proud. What a shock to realize that not everyone does this. There are so many people who don't laugh on a regular basis and it breaks my heart. Don't they know that laughter is the best leveler and healer there is? What better than sharing a laugh to put some perspective around something painful and difficult. And I don’t mean cracking jokes during an inappropriate time or situation. But how's this? When I was 24 I had my tonsils out and nearly died. Tres embarassing! I ended up on a respirator in intensive care for a few days and was very sick. Through the highly-medicated purple haze in which I existed for a few days, my father, who is notoriously tight with money, told me he would purchase my plane ticket for an upcoming trip I had planned to Texas to visit a friend. When I was finally out of intensive care and the tubes were all removed from my mouth and nose, it's the first thing I had to tell mom. Excitedly I said “Dad told me he’d buy my plane ticket to Houston!" I paused and continued. “Wow mom. If my heart had stopped, I’ll bet I could’ve had that European vacation I’ve always dreamed of.”
Well, mom was none too pleased with this analogy, but I found it very amusing. After all, you don't nearly get done in by your tonsils and not have to enjoy some sense of absurdity about it all. My point is, it made what just happened to me more palatable and relatable. And it also lent it some levity which was much needed by that point. Humor saves me always and I encourage us all to bring it out when most needed. Life is an absurd journey - laugh along the way!
Do you laugh every day? I grew up in a family with a lot of dysfunction, but we also had a lot of laughter. I take after the Maruska women and we have loud, hearty laughs. As such, I laugh often and I laugh loud and I laugh proud. What a shock to realize that not everyone does this. There are so many people who don't laugh on a regular basis and it breaks my heart. Don't they know that laughter is the best leveler and healer there is? What better than sharing a laugh to put some perspective around something painful and difficult. And I don’t mean cracking jokes during an inappropriate time or situation. But how's this? When I was 24 I had my tonsils out and nearly died. Tres embarassing! I ended up on a respirator in intensive care for a few days and was very sick. Through the highly-medicated purple haze in which I existed for a few days, my father, who is notoriously tight with money, told me he would purchase my plane ticket for an upcoming trip I had planned to Texas to visit a friend. When I was finally out of intensive care and the tubes were all removed from my mouth and nose, it's the first thing I had to tell mom. Excitedly I said “Dad told me he’d buy my plane ticket to Houston!" I paused and continued. “Wow mom. If my heart had stopped, I’ll bet I could’ve had that European vacation I’ve always dreamed of.”
Well, mom was none too pleased with this analogy, but I found it very amusing. After all, you don't nearly get done in by your tonsils and not have to enjoy some sense of absurdity about it all. My point is, it made what just happened to me more palatable and relatable. And it also lent it some levity which was much needed by that point. Humor saves me always and I encourage us all to bring it out when most needed. Life is an absurd journey - laugh along the way!
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