As the alarm bells have grown louder and more piercing over the last several years, warning us that Obesity kills! and Fat is the devil!, a quieter voice has been breaking through the noise. If we can allow ourselves to turn down the volume on the anti-fat rhetoric for a moment – and I recognize that’s asking a lot – we learn from this voice that, oh… maybe, it’s possible, perhaps… we got it all wrong?

It’s one thing to challenge the diet and weight-loss industry, but to also rock the entire medical community’s entrenched belief system about what healthy means… Well, that’s a big job. Fortunately for us, there is another, strong community fighting this battle. The movement is called Health at Every Size, which I’ve told you about before here, and it’s founded on the idea that fat does not equate to unhealthy.

Even those of us for whom this concept doesn’t sound totally bizarre sometimes find ourselves falling into fat stigmatization, even in subtle ways. We accept the fact that our workplaces are hosting a weight-loss competition among employees or we complement a friend who’s slimmed down, often without even knowing the circumstances.

To do the work required of us – which is to fight and defeat these untrue assumptions about weight – we need resources. That’s why I was so thrilled when the Association for Size Diversity and Health launched the Health at Every Size Blog.

Since it’s first post last June, the blog continues to grow in the complexity and richness of ideas. It offers a space for a thorough look at some of the issues that crop up when thinking about weight and health (which we all too often think about in these days of disgusting and shaming campaigns).

One of the strengths of the site is that it is a collaborative effort of some of the most talented and brilliant minds in the HAES field. Deb Burgard, PhD, Linda Bacon, PhD, Jon Robison, PhD, and Michelle May, M.D. are all on my totally nerdy idols list (the list is nerdy, not them!), and they have each contributed incredibly thought-provoking pieces to the site.

Some of my favorite have included whether BMI is a good measure of health, if it’s possible to love your body and still want to lose weight, and whether we have it all wrong when it comes to treating binge eating.

If you haven’t had a chance to take a look, I urge you to check out what HAES is all about. Just remember that I warned you that it might turn your current paradigm on it’s ear. If you’re cool with that, click here.

{image credit :: haescommunity.org}

With the race to the Republican presidential candidate nomination well under way, iPad apps and news broadcasts are blowing up with commentary on where the candidates stand on issues of the economy, national defense, and immigration. What often gets too little airtime are the issues that affect women so intimately.

It’s easy to think that politics can exist outside of our interest and awareness, that it’s the thing over there that lives only when we turn on the news. But the personal and political and inextricably linked. Women’s bodies, our choices, rights, and ability to care for them, are subject to the decisions made hundreds or thousands of miles away in Washington. Scary, huh?

That’s why it’s so crucially important to understand where the candidates stand on issues that matter, or should matter, to us. We have an opportunity now to make our voices heard, and for women to use their collective power to ensure that our interests are being addressed.

Here are some of the top issues that concern women today, and where some of the candidates stand:

[Please note that this is not my attempt to sway anyone in any particular political direction. While my biases are, I’m quite sure, evident, I hope that you will use this information as a starting point for looking deeper into the issues, the candidates, and your own values.]

Reproductive Issues

Contrary to popular belief, reproductive issues do not focus solely on the whether a woman should be legally allowed to have an abortion, which all of the GOP candidates uniformly oppose. While all of the candidates are against giving women the right to choose in all cases, some, like Mitt Romney, would grant women this right in the case of incest, rape, or severe risk to the mother’s life. Others, like Ron Paul, an obstetrician for thirty years, believe that abortion is murder in all cases and has no place in our society.

Apart from abortion, the politicians are also heavy-hitters when it comes to decisions about whether insurance plans cover birth control (which Ron Paul opposes), whether contraception should be discussed in schools (which Rick Santorum opposes), and whether pharmacists should be able to dispense emergency contraception to rape victims (which Mitt Romney opposes). As senator, Santorum voted for measures to financially penalize low-income women for having children and penalize states for children born out of wedlock. Further, the issues of reproduction come up when talking about fertility concerns as well. Newt Gingrich recently stated that he wants to more closely investigate and impose rules on clinics where in-vitro fertilization occurs, seemingly ignoring the fact that these facilities are closely monitored and regulated by state government and various health organizations.

Relationships

The right of individuals to love whom the wish is not a uniquely female issue, but it’s one that certainly touches women deeply. Despite the 2011 Gallup poll that reported 53% of Americans support the legalization of gay marriage, all of the current GOP candidates oppose this and want to narrow the definition of marriage. Some of the candidates, such as Romney, support domestic partnerships for gay couples, but do not support marriage or even civil unions, stating that marriage should be preserved for a union between a man and a woman. Santorum recently stated that even a father who “is in jail and has abandoned” his family is better at raising a child than two gay parents. Gingrich believes this is an issue of “dignity” and also supports marriage being a one man, one woman event.

Relatedly, some of the candidates believe that sexual identity should be a factor in military service, an issue that is particularly relevant to women, in fact. While female service members make up about one in five troops, they make up  almost half of those discharged for their sexual orientation. Romney is against the idea of letting gays and lesbians serve actively in the U.S. Military. And when an openly gay soldier was recently booed at a debate, none of the candidates stood up for the man in uniform.

Further, the idea of fidelity in relationships is an issue that is close to many women’s hearts. While we can never know the intimate details of the candidate’s romantic lives, we do have on record Gingrich’s multiple acts of infidelity during multiple marriages, which he openly acknowledges as mistakes. Some voters, however, feel that these acts indicate a lack of ability to make sound, ethical, and non-impulsive decisions and to respect an institution (marriage) that he proclaims to hold with such, well, dignity.

Jobs & Health Coverage

While the economic recession has hit us all hard, it’s actually hit women a little less hard, in some ways. Women are, in fact, 50 percent more likely to be employed than men, today. There are many women, however, who are working part-time because they cannot find full-time employment. The current GOP candidates are all opposed to stimulus money, though they do support certain big corporate tax breaks. That’s interesting, as almost 100 percent of new (net) jobs created in this country are by small business. Part of Santorum’s solution to fix the economy is to drill for more oil. Okay. If you think that joining the military might be the answer to your financial woes, think again if you’re a woman. Santorum stated that he believes with women in combat, emotions could get in the way. Yes, you read that right.

With the cutbacks in jobs has come the loss of employer-provided health insurance for many Americans. Many women and families cannot afford COBRA or their company has stopped providing coverage because they can’t afford it either. In fact, working women are much less likely to have health benefits than working men, and they are more likely to be working for minimum wage (on which it’s nearly impossible to buy adequate health insurance).  As the surrogate doctors in most American homes, many women are faced with excruciating decisions when it comes to the health of themselves and their families. The GOP candidates all oppose Obama’s health care plan and want to cut both state and federal funds for Medicaid (of which poor women and children are the major recipients).

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This is certainly not an exhaustive list of issues. Other important ones to consider are things like the candidate’s take on education, social security, and immigration, issues that also tend disproportionately impact women. If you care about women – yourself, your mother, sister, daughter, or friends — educate yourself before going to the polls. This year, the personal is absolutely political.

Note: Lest you think that I believe President Obama does everything right, read this.

What is your take on the GOP candidates positions on these issues? Totally disagree with me? Tell us about it!

{image credit :: bdcoen}

{on bloglovin, via pinterest}

I’m beyond honored to get to share this guest post by Mara Glatzel, as she is the queen of self-love in my eyes. Without further ado…

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We’ve all seen the movies or TV shows – there she sits, all alone, without a date for Valentine’s Day, wallowing in a nest of chocolates and chick flicks, while her mascara runs all over her face as she cries.

Because she’s sad, right? Of course.

Because it’s Valentine’s Day and it is crucial to have a super romantic lovefest on Valentine’s Day.

Now, I love Valentine’s Day. I love an opportunity to skip around and hand out love letters. I love the permission to wear both pink and red, at the same time. However, the dark underbelly of such a holiday is the correlation between romantic love and happiness, as if you are only whole if you’ve got someone to love you. This is not going to be that kind of Valentine’s Day post.

This is the kind of post where we talk about you crazy awesome you are and all of the wonderful things that you can do today to celebrate your awesomeness. This is a call to action kind of blog post, designed to make you feel like jumping up out of your chair and running to do something that makes YOU feel loved and cared for.

Activities to Improve Feelings of Self-Love

1. Random act of kindness: Make a valentine, cover it in glitter, and magazine clippings. Collage to your hearts content. Make ten valentines if you are so inclined, and spend the rest of the day handing them out to strangers, putting them under windshields, and giving them them to the person bagging your groceries.

2. Treat yourself to a deluxe spa day, or whip up a DIY face mask out of stuff in your cabinets. Take a bath, luxuriate in the shower for an extra ten minutes, give yourself a mani/pedi, or buy yourself the brand new moisturizer that you’ve been pining after that smells like roses. The crucial aspect of this activity is carving out time in your day to treat yourself to something special, and to focus on not feeling remotely guilty about putting your phone on silent and spending time on YOU.

3. Move your body. I know that it’s February, and that for many of us that means it’s too cold to run around outside all afternoon. However, making an effort to get your blood pumping and endorphins circulating can make you feel all sparkly and new, despite the cold weather. Take it as an opportunity to go to that new yoga class, or try out something new, like Nia, which can be a great way to sweat a little and get comfortable in your skin.

4. Tell someone that you love them, without expecting anything in return. Give a present, without wanting to get one back. Do something kind for someone else, just for the sake of how it feels in YOUR heart to do it. Pay the toll for the car behind you. Call up your best friend and leave them a this is why you’re amazing and thank you so much for everything voicemail.  Write your favorite blogger/writer/artist a fan email. Thank your teacher profusely for how much they’ve taught you. Do it because of how it makes you feel.

The important element in all of these activities is the the emphasis on self-care and putting yourself first. Now, you might say, it makes me feel awesome to sit on my couch and eat chocolate while watching Bridget Jones Diary, which, well, is hard to argue with. However, I challenge you to think about how you feel during the activities that you do today – do you feel energized? excited? enthusiastic? Do you feel like you can accomplish anything that you put your mind to? Does it make you feel like you are worth loving? Does it make you feel happy to be in the skin that you’re in?

Because that’s the feeling that we’re shooting for today, and you are oh so worth it.

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Mara Glatzel is the highly caffeinated maven behind the body image + authentic living blog, Medicinal Marzipan. If you enjoyed this post, catch up with her (almost) daily body-loving antics and general rabble-rousing on facebook, twitter, or shoot her an email at medicinalmarzipan {at} gmail {dot} com.

If you’ve been following the apparent outbreak of a tic disorder in a New York high school, you know that investigators there have ruled out environmental causes linked to the school itself. Parents, outraged by the Tourette’s sydrome-like symptoms that have plagued twelve teenage girls in the past several month, are demanding answers. Unsatisfied by the lack of results from school investigators, public health officials, and the victim’s own doctors, they recently brought in the Erin Brokovich team to explore the test the ground water and more.

Health officials are now calling the illnesses with which the young women are presenting conversion disorders. Conversion disorders are psychiatric illnesses in which a person experiences physical symptoms without a physical cause. People with conversion disorder can demonstrate things like blindness, lack of muscle function, paralysis, or seizures.

Parents are reportedly not satisfied with this explanation for their daughters’ and community members’ illnesses. Indeed, watching video of the young women unable to talk, write, or function normally is disturbing, and it’s easy to see how the Le Roy High School community would be frustrated.

As I watched the Today Show’s interview with a few of the young women and their mother’s, you could see the visible vehemence when Dr. Nancy Snyderman suggested that the root of these issues could be psychological. The parents and teenagers quickly denied that this was possible, their justification that they weren’t under any stress and that their symptoms were real.

The thing is, the symptoms in a conversion disorder are real too. The person truly is experiencing tics, or muscle weakness, or difficulty walking. They really do seize – anyone can watch. These individuals are not making up their symptoms (that happens when someone malingers), and their development is not in the person’s conscious awareness.

This last piece is the rub, of course. If it’s not under conscious control, the person isn’t aware that there’s a psychological cause, and so there’s no way for them to deny or disprove it. Patients sometimes say things like, “But I just know something’s really wrong. I just know!” And the thing is, they’re right. There’s something wrong, really wrong. The only difference between the symptoms of conversion disorder and the symptoms of a physical illness is in the treatment. Conversion disorder symptoms are not going to respond, at least not long term, without psychological help.

I admittedly have no idea about the origin of the symptoms among these New York teenagers, and I would never purport to know. But what I am very aware of is the cultural backlash against the idea that our minds can produce physical symptoms.

It’s actually a bit dismaying to see how negatively people react to this idea, and how vehemently they deny it. I want to ask these individuals where they think all physical issues originate – in our brains! Why is it so unimaginable to think that psychological stress could create physical symptoms?

Our brains regulate our hormones and every function of our body, and yet we tend to see our minds as distinct from our bodies. The effects of this disconnect are far-reaching. I think that this contributes to everything from fertility issues to the flu to problems with our sexuality to distorted relationships with food. This is not to say that that all of these things have only psychological bases – certainly, that’s not the case. But we often fail to see how our psychological functioning influences these processes, and in doing so miss out on a real chance of improving our health.

My hope is that, regardless of what is determined to be the cause of these Tourette’s sydrome symptoms in New York, the parents will encourage their children to seek psychological treatment. Even if the cause is environmental, these young women could likely benefit from support around the trauma of the past several months.

you might be as outraged as the community.