Heavy Petting

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So Marie Claire (US) magazine are at it again, trying to counter their slide towards irrelevancy by publishing audience-baiting content. This time, "Should Fatties Get a Room? (Even on TV?)".

Sure the floods of outraged traffic will please their advertisers but I hope this is outweighed by lost sales and subscribers.

You know what I think we should do? You know how Jon Stewart is having his Rally for Sanity in Washington? I think we should have a rally of sorts too. All of us infidels who DARE to carry some extra padding should converge on Marie Claire's New York offices and have a mass make-out session right on their doorstep. The earth WILL MOVE!

Some great responses to the ridiculous article:

UPDATE: Wow. There is actually going to be a mass make-out session in New York today, Friday 29 October, for real!

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33 thoughts on “Heavy Petting”

  1. I really don’t understand what has got into MC recently – it appears they are deliberately posting inflammatory articles to cause a debate.

    I only ever read it occasionally anyway but wouldn’t waste my cash on it now.

  2. I've not read the UK version for awhile Jo, so I won't tar them with the same feather, but the US version seems to have lost the plot a wee bit!

  3. I was shocked that I unplugged for a couple of hours and when I logged back into twitter MC was being talked about.
    AGAIN.
    I thought (cringe for me :) ) it was the hunger diaries again and kind of rolled my eyes.

    then I read the piece and SERIOUSLY thought it was a spoof!
    that we were being PUNKED! ala Justin Kutcher.

  5. I completely gave up printed media a couple of years ago, and am much happier for it. I no longer yearn to be a size zero!

  6. Oh my. Hide away fatties, how did you feel love.

    What an absolute arsewipe of an article. And.. so poorly written. “Then again..”

  7. I agree with Carla. It was so outrageous that it seemed like a joke. Who would attach their name to that? Like, look at me! I’m small-minded and bigoted! Hate me now! I guess MC thinks any attention is a good thing. It’s really just sad to think that they must think their loyal readers will agree with the author, or that it would positively affect mag sales. Why would they publish it otherwise?

  9. Wow, what a great idea! I think I’ll write a bunch of ugly hate talk on my blog, perhaps targeting people of color or people with learning disabilities, and everyone will still read it because it’s “controversial” and then they’ll buy all the products I advertise, and I’ll become rich and powerful merely by adding more ill-will to the world!

    Nothing could go wrong with that plan, right?

  10. The article was just stupid. I cannot believe they would print that. It really does not even deserve an angry comment.
    good on you re the fitblogging conference!
    The mindfulness/uber expensive psychology is working well in Japan, was in the food court of takashimaya in Tokyo with many, many yummies but I just had dinner and was not hungry and walked on past the yummies (and drooled a bit), did not eat them and felt very little psychic discomfort…wahey!!!

  12. That article is just completely ridiculous. I’ve never read Marie Claire, and after this past month, I have no desire to do so.

    But, hey, make-out rally! I’m in. In spirit at least…

  15. I’m totally up for the mass makeout session, Shauna! Just give me enough warning as to find a special makeout friend ;)

  16. I’m totally up for a mass makeout session! Can I RSVP plus 1 with a skinny dude who had no problems with me being a total lard?

  17. They got an office in San Francisco? I’d be so there.

    Yeah, it’s hard for me to get worked up over this, even though my chia-crunching, triathlon-doing self would definitely be a target of the author’s disgust. (eyeroll) I usually read the source item before commenting, but based on quotes I’d seen (not to mention the timing vs. the near-opposite opinions shared in The Hunger Diaries article), I did not want to dignify them with a page hit.

    Like commenter Jen, I gave up on women-targeted mass media in favor of my blogroll, and it’s been great for my peace of mind.

  20. I would definitely be up for a mass make-out, but I’m in NZ and I don’t think US Marie Claire has an office here. Also, my bloke is in Australia, and I don’t really feel like snogging strangers!

    But apart from that, I’m *SO* there. :D

  21. @Staci – I've added Jen's link to the post, thanks!

    Thanks for your comments everyone. Knowing Maura's background makes it even more painful that her post passed through Marie Claire's editors and deemed publishable. I think that is what stuns me the most.

  25. After all this time I am finally visiting your blog!! I can’t believe I’ve never been here before…I’ve put it in my google reader :-)

    ANYHOO, this is a great post and I’m glad you acknowledged that “outraged traffic will please their advertisers” and I LOVE that your idea is actually going to happen!!

  26. This article angered me so much. I actually posted a rebuttal on my blog, but am glad to see so many others speaking out against MC. Thanks for supplying us with all of these links, Shauna. It was good to hear from so many who did a better job putting into words what I’ve been feeling.

  27. How comes everyone always have to fulfil some sort of ideal from an invisible person/organisation – who *ARE* these people to tell readers what is acceptable, what is not, one minute skinny bashing – “oh, clearly underweight, anorexic, etc.” next minute, fat bashing, “get a room etc” – what about HEALTH, what about HAPPINESS, and most importantly, being comfortable, in our OWN SKIN?

  28. DRIVE THRU LIBRARY RETURN-
    it is the most amazing thing you ever saw. A little door opens and reveals a motorized conveyor belt. an animated voice tells you to please put one item in at a time and the door will close automatically when done.

  31. So, Shauna, this is so relevant to what is going on right now with the whole diet industry and not listening to what your body needs or wants…apparently, weight watchers are no longer calculating their points in the same way as of this coming Monday, 7th, non of the leaders are allowed to say anything, so all this week, if you were a new member, you would be given the current plan, which is going to change on Monday and new literature and products, cook books, calculators etc. will be on sale. People go to weight watchers, at great expense, for guidance and support, and with this, will go to the “merch table” and buy the products to help them on their way, I am all for change, for things moving forward, the advent of mobile phones and lap tops is wonderful, but where listening to our bodies are concerned, is what we buy from the merch table, at great expense, listening to ourselves? Some of the weight watcherers are saying it’s just because slimming world have taken the lead….It’s our bodies, our lives, and we need to make the choice for ourselves, not just when a company decide they want to make money, because all the current weight watchers points values are no longer relevant.

  33. URGH! I love the idea of this rally

    I think Marie Claire is gross and lame, anyway – they always have some hideous articles thrown in there about violent crimes that seem less informative than tabloid.