Camryn Manheim -- SUPERSTAR!
Camryn Manheim -- SUPERSTAR!
Suzanne Somers' Get Skinny on Fabulous Food may be #1 on the Publisher's Weekly Best Seller list, but Manheim's "Wake Up! I'm Fat" -- hopefully will have more long-range ramifications. What's refreshing about this autobiography is how honest and real Manheim is. So many "star" books are inflated ego, self-congratulatory nonsense. Manheim isn't afraid to share her unadulterated experiences. Her mistakes as well has her triumphs.
One can't really avoid the books focus on how her size has affected her life.
"Wake Up! I'm Fat" illustrates our culture's pervasive obsession with thinness, and the prejudices people have about fat people, even if we're the fat person in question. She stopped talking to her father because he recommended that she start smoking again to take off some weight. The title of the book comes from a shopping incident with her mother. Manheim's mom brought her a size 16 instead of the requested 22, and when Camryn realized the mistake she yelled out "Wake Up! I'm Fat."
She shares how men continue to overlook her romantic partner potential and zoom in on her size 6 acquaintances. Why? Thankfully Manheim doesn't go into the psychological hidden-meanings about being overweight, and she points out that the subsects of society that glorify obesity (and think she's too thin) are just as screwed up as the majority at the other end of the scale.
Her message is more important than just highlighting public insensitivity about people of size. It's about self-acceptance and giving one's self permission to follow their dreams and living their life despite the world around them. I always wanted to be an actress, and I remember the girl in Junior High who told me "aren't all actresses tall and skinny?" Her name was Lori, and I don't remember anything else about her but I've been carrying that message in my head ever since. She probably didn't even mean anything by it.
We don't get another chance. Sure it would be nice to look like Michelle Pfeiffer and be able to eat Hamburgers and French Fries and Chocolate Shakes and still buy size 8 jeans off the rack, but that's just not how it is. I'm jealous as hell, but my jealousy is basically anger at myself. Anger for buying into the myth. For putting my life on hold. For blaming myself when other people acted inhumanely.
Manheim's successes are testaments that the world is slowly changing. I'm proud of her because she's a great actress and incredibly funny, and I'm grateful for her courage and perseverance. Read this book and give a copy to every narrow-minded man you ever met.
Suzanne Somers' Get Skinny on Fabulous Food may be #1 on the Publisher's Weekly Best Seller list, but Manheim's "Wake Up! I'm Fat" -- hopefully will have more long-range ramifications. What's refreshing about this autobiography is how honest and real Manheim is. So many "star" books are inflated ego, self-congratulatory nonsense. Manheim isn't afraid to share her unadulterated experiences. Her mistakes as well has her triumphs.
One can't really avoid the books focus on how her size has affected her life.
"Wake Up! I'm Fat" illustrates our culture's pervasive obsession with thinness, and the prejudices people have about fat people, even if we're the fat person in question. She stopped talking to her father because he recommended that she start smoking again to take off some weight. The title of the book comes from a shopping incident with her mother. Manheim's mom brought her a size 16 instead of the requested 22, and when Camryn realized the mistake she yelled out "Wake Up! I'm Fat."
She shares how men continue to overlook her romantic partner potential and zoom in on her size 6 acquaintances. Why? Thankfully Manheim doesn't go into the psychological hidden-meanings about being overweight, and she points out that the subsects of society that glorify obesity (and think she's too thin) are just as screwed up as the majority at the other end of the scale.
Her message is more important than just highlighting public insensitivity about people of size. It's about self-acceptance and giving one's self permission to follow their dreams and living their life despite the world around them. I always wanted to be an actress, and I remember the girl in Junior High who told me "aren't all actresses tall and skinny?" Her name was Lori, and I don't remember anything else about her but I've been carrying that message in my head ever since. She probably didn't even mean anything by it.
We don't get another chance. Sure it would be nice to look like Michelle Pfeiffer and be able to eat Hamburgers and French Fries and Chocolate Shakes and still buy size 8 jeans off the rack, but that's just not how it is. I'm jealous as hell, but my jealousy is basically anger at myself. Anger for buying into the myth. For putting my life on hold. For blaming myself when other people acted inhumanely.
Manheim's successes are testaments that the world is slowly changing. I'm proud of her because she's a great actress and incredibly funny, and I'm grateful for her courage and perseverance. Read this book and give a copy to every narrow-minded man you ever met.
posted by Badgrrl at 4:58 PM
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