Should "Fatties" Get a Voice?

The entire blogosphere is in an uproar over the recent article by Maura Kelly on Marie Claires website.

If you have not read it already, please take a few moments to do so.

A lot of people are quite upset with Ms. Kelly right now. I've read a number of blog entries, and subsequent comments, revealing her home address and phone number because people are so angry with her for voicing her opinion.

I will say right now that vilifying someone for their personal opinion is NOT okay. I'm not saying that I'm completely innocent in that regard, I've had my own moments of knee jerk reactions to certain topics and have lambasted someone for their opinion, but I will say that publicizing someones home address, and/or phone number, is not okay with me and if by some chance it is done via my blog, I will immediately delete your comment.

Now, on to my own personal diatribe....

I have never hidden the fact that I am overweight. By any standard I would be considered morbidly obese. I recognize this and I offer zero apologies for it. However, I do not expect every person on this planet to find my physical appearance to be "aesthetically pleasing." I have struggled with my own weight. When I've battled it, I've literally starved myself to get to a size 12 - and when I've accepted it, I've worked as a plus sized model in a size 14.

A persons weight is a personal issue. I may be the size that I am because of genetics, because of poor personal choices, or because of physical limitations. Does it really matter what the reason is? If I am the size I am because of a genetic disorder rather than poor personal choices does that have an affect upon how aesthetically pleasing someone finds me to be? No.

I want to clarify, in case I haven't already, that I feel no ill will towards Ms. Kelly. She has been open about her own issues of body dysmorphia, her own struggles with anorexia, her own challenges regarding her weight and body issues. While it may sound like she has her personal issue under control, and I say that with very little certainty since I don't know her, I believe that she is at least still projecting her feelings regarding weight onto others.

Where I feel contempt is towards the editors of Marie Claire magazine.

Many years ago I was the news editor for my college newspaper. I never went into that position jockeying for it, eyeing for a career in journalism. I simply turned in my assignments, unbiased, pre-edited, and was given the position because of my performance. However, I assumed the position of news editor and exercised it to the best of my ability. I edited the articles submitted by other writers. I corrected typos and blatant grammatical errors, and when an article came my way that was blatantly biased and prejudiced, I returned it to the writer and told them that it was unacceptable.

Editors hold a position of responsibility; not only of ensuring that their writers are completing their assignments, but also of ensuring that the articles published are of an acceptable material for their audience. Editors are in the position they are in because they, supposedly, have proven that they know their audience and what is expected of a writer of their genre. Ms Kelly's editor fell short of their duties. While Ms Kelly is entitled to her opinion, her editor is in the position to go back to her and say "The average American woman is at least overweight, if not obese. We can not alienate our market. Please rewrite."
This should have been an especially obvious revelation considering the public reaction to the nude photo of Lizzi Miller in Glamour magazine in 2009.

For those who do not know, Lizzi Miller was featured, practically nude!, in the September 2009 issue of Glamour magazine. Upon publication, Glamours editor-in-chief received emails saying things such as "I am gasping with delight...I love the woman on p 194!"

Lizzi Millers photo IS beautiful. Yes, she wears a size 12-14, BUT Glamours audience found her to be "Gorgeous!" and I agree. Lizzi IS gorgeous. Looking at her photo, she has what you could describe as "rolls," she has a stomach - a "pooch," she has stretch marks, and most importantly, she has a beautiful smile and a radiance about her.

Todays woman is many sizes. She is thin and waif like. She is athletic. She is curvy. She is voluptuous. And, yes, she can be obese; even morbidly so.
BUT, todays woman is also many other things. She is a mother. She is a professional. She is a homemaker. She is girlfriend, a wife, a lover. She is a sister. She is a cousin. She is an aunt. She is a reader and a consumer. She may very well be a subscriber to Marie Claire magazine.
It is because of this that the editors of Marie Claire hold the responsibility that their articles do not offend their audience.
Their audience is a that of a growingly large population - both literally, and figuratively. As we increasingly become a nation of diversity, products which depend upon us for success hold the responsibility of not alienating us - whether we're waif like, athletic, curvy, voluptuous, or obese.

To get back to Ms Kelly.
In short, I feel sorry for her. She projected her bias onto the general public, and now she will most likely feel the professional ramifications. I feel sorry for her because while it sounds like her personal demons regarding weight have been reigned in, it does not sound as though they have been silenced.
I feel sorry for her because she will, most likely, constantly feel the pull to go to the gym rather than to go for a night out with her girlfriends. I doubt that Ms Kelly will ever feel the freedom of enjoying who she is, regardless of those few extra pounds. I doubt that she will ever be nude with a man for the first time and not feel ashamed of that fold at her hip. I doubt that she will ever not be aware of the crease of her breast. I doubt that she will ever accept that dimple of cellulite on the back of her thigh.

It is because of that that I feel sorry for her.

There is a freedom that comes with accepting who you are, and who every woman is,... every single god forsaking pound of it.

When you accept that last pound, that last roll, that last fold, that last crease, and that last dimple, there is a liberation. A liberation that allows you to enjoy life. A liberation that allows you to take off for Italy rather than join a gym. A liberation that allows you to have another glass of wine with your friends instead of running around a track for an hour. A liberation that allows you to love yourself, and others, because of your flaws rather than in spite of them.

I hope that Ms Kelly is able to, one day, find that peace, acceptance, and love within herself. It took a LONG time, but I was eventually able to find it, and I have never ever ever been happier.

Vanessa

My First Attempt At Home Canning: FAIL

Last week I attempted to make persimmon jam. This is a project that I mentioned briefly last month, and once there were finally enough fruits on the tree that were ripe enough, I set to it.

Now, there are two varieties of persimmons. The variety that most people are familiar with are called Fuyu - they're crisp, similar to apples or pears. During the late fall and early winter it wouldn't be too uncommon to see these at local farmers markets.

This is not the variety of tree that I have.

The variety that I have are called Hachiya. It would be unlikely to be familiar with this variety of persimmon unless you, or a neighbor, have a tree in your yard. The reason why they're not well none is simple: they do NOT transport well.
When a Hachiya persimmon is ripe it is very very very soft - holding a ripe Hachiya persimmon feels a lot like you're holding a water balloon, and they squish incredibly easy. When squished, the fruit inside oozes everywhere - the pulp of a ripe persimmon has a bright orange jelly like consistency, and that bright orange pulp is a bear to get out of clothing!
An unripe Hachiya persimmon tastes disgusting. There is an astringent flavor to it that removes all moisture from your mouth. Hands down, biting into one has been one of the grossest tasting food experiences of my life. Seriously, I would rather eat blood pudding if I had to choose.
HOWEVER, when the Hachiya persimmon is ripe it is fantastic. It is sweet and smooth and has an apricot like flavor that is heavenly.
Since I have a tree FULL of fruit I decided to try making persimmon jam, figuring that since it already has a jelly like consistency it would be an easy first step into home canning. Last Saturday I picked some fruit and set out to make some jelly for Christmas gifts. I'd bought the jars and lids, sugar, everything I needed and had selected a recipe that looked very easy. All it called for was 2 quarts of persimmon pulp, 1 cup sugar, 1 cup orange juice and the zest from one orange.
I pulped the persimmons and took an initial taste test to ensure that I had not included any under ripe fruits - everything tasted fine so I mixed together all of the ingredients and started cooking the jam per the recipes instructions.
Once everything was looking like it was ready, I prepped the jars for filling and took one final taste test of the finished product. I am so glad that I took that final test before actually canning the jam.
The astringent taste was back with full force. It was disgusting. I spent several minutes spitting into the kitchen sink "I CAN'T GET THE TASTE OUT OF MY MOUTH!!!!!"

Why it was initially sweet and apricot like, then after cooking disgustingly astringent I did not know.

Since then I have done some research and found that Hachiya persimmons have high levels of tannins, which cause the initial astringency. Once they've been through at least one frost the tannins evaporate, leaving the sweet pulp. HOWEVER baking reintroduces the tannins, causing the astringent flavor to return.
A couple articles that I read said that when baking with Hachiyas, the use of baking soda will offset the reintroduction of the tannins and effectively prevent the astringent taste from returning. But, I'm wondering if baking soda could be used when making a jam or chutney (yes, I found a chutney recipe using persimmons that sounded amazing and that I planned on making after the jam).

So, I'm left with all of the canning supplies but no canned product. I'm considering another attempt at canning and have found a couple of recipes that sounds great:
1 - pomegranate jelly
2 - strawberry balsamic jam
3 - cranberry tangerine chutney

I will admit that I am incredibly frustrated by this initial canning failure. I am fairly adept in the kitchen and I am very crafty. I frequently experiment with different recipes and crafts with various levels of success - some are fantastic and some are just okay. I am not accustomed to a complete and total failure. Part of my wants to throw in the towel, but the stubborn as hell part of me wants to keep trying until I get it right.

I think the fact that I've already lined up some additional recipes tells me that I'm going to continue with my attempts at home canning.

I Need To Learn How To Follow Directions

I've never been big on directions... especially recipes.
I've always thought that recipes were a loose guideline, really just a set of suggestions, and I have always ventured off on my own. I've come up with some great meals this way.
However, I recently had an experience that made me think that following a recipe can be a very good thing. That sometimes, sometimes, recipes are the way they are for a reason and that diverting from them can result in an outcome that is not desired.

A couple of months ago I made my own powdered laundry detergent, read the details here.
I have been extremely satisfied with the detergent - it works FANTASTICALLY and I have used it on everything... including some VERY dirty loads of laundry (dog beds, towels used to clean up mud, all kinds of nastiness). The only thing that was a bit of a pain was that since it was a powdered detergent it had to be used in hot water so that it would dissolve. It wasn't too big of a pain, if I needed to do a load in a cold wash I just turned on the hot for about 20 seconds at first, then switched it to cold, then loaded in the items I was washing.
This dilema had me wanting to make my own liquid detergent (recipe here). The recipe for the liquid detergent essentially calls for the same ingredients that I used in the powdered version, just melt them together, pour into a 5 gallon bucket, add water and let sit overnight to gel, then use 1 cup per full load of laundry.
Thats what the recipe said. However, that is not what my insane mind said.
My thoughts went like this:
"What if I used double the ingredients so that you would only have to use 1/2 cup per full load?"
"Heck, if I'm going to make a concentrated version, then I could quadruple the ingredients so that you only use 1/4 cup per load. Thats even MORE environmentally friendly! Its conserving water, and since Northern California is practically always in a drought conserving water=GOOD!"
So, this past week I set about making my super concentrated laundry detergent. I did not end up with laundry detergent. What I ended up with was something closer to a super soft playdough. Now, I have to go buy a couple 5 gallon buckets so I can mix some of this stuff with hot water and try to thin it out to an actual detergent like consistency.