Dara Torres-Amazing

There has been a lot in this "Dara" thread.... I agree that many public figures such as fashion models present unrealistically (and unhealthy) thin images of women. But obesity is a far larger and deadlier problem. Recent data says 30+% of Americans are obese. I found data that says there may be 10M women dealing with various eating disorders. That is a lot of women but far more are overweight. I don't suggest any less attention on eating disorders and healthy body images for girls and women. I am concerned about the growing number of "it's ok to be fat" messages and movements today. Rosie O'Donnell and Cameon Mannheim are not good body images for young girls. A teenage girl shouldn't over-react if she's 5'5 and 140 - but she absolutely must act if she is 200 lbs. And for Elise526 - I am almost 50. I do not believe for a second that women are less respected today than they were in the 50s. I don't think it means that people expect women to be like Dara or Oprah. There are many parts of the feminist community I disagree with but I am glad that women have the freedoms and choices that they do. I am far more interested in educated, active women like my wife. That doesn't mean they can't be stay at home moms, or schoolteachers. I don't think the Mayberry RFD lifestyle is something many Americans want. My mother, at 79 years old, is thrilled with what she can do today. The Mayberry days sure were much simpler! We didn't have a mortgage foreclosure crisis going on, obesity problems, identity theft, terrorist problems in our country, or shootings in the schools. Having grown up in the Washington, D.C. area, and having moved to take a job in the land of Mayberry, life sure does seem much easier whatever one chooses to do.

There has been a lot in this "Dara" thread.... I agree that many public figures such as fashion models present unrealistically (and unhealthy) thin images of women. But obesity is a far larger and deadlier problem. Recent data says 30+% of Americans are obese. I found data that says there may be 10M women dealing with various eating disorders. That is a lot of women but far more are overweight. I don't suggest any less attention on eating disorders and healthy body images for girls and women. I am concerned about the growing number of "it's ok to be fat" messages and movements today. Rosie O'Donnell and Cameon Mannheim are not good body images for young girls. A teenage girl shouldn't over-react if she's 5'5 and 140 - but she absolutely must act if she is 200 lbs. And for Elise526 - I am almost 50. I do not believe for a second that women are less respected today than they were in the 50s. I don't think it means that people expect women to be like Dara or Oprah. There are many parts of the feminist community I disagree with but I am glad that women have the freedoms and choices that they do. I am far more interested in educated, active women like my wife. That doesn't mean they can't be stay at home moms, or schoolteachers. I don't think the Mayberry RFD lifestyle is something many Americans want. My mother, at 79 years old, is thrilled with what she can do today. The Mayberry days sure were much simpler! We didn't have a mortgage foreclosure crisis going on, obesity problems, identity theft, terrorist problems in our country, or shootings in the schools. Having grown up in the Washington, D.C. area, and having moved to take a job in the land of Mayberry, life sure does seem much easier whatever one chooses to do.