Reactions to NYT Article: The Good, The Bad, The Funny

In case anyone's been out of town in the last few days, you've probably already heard about the fat-abulous article in the New York Times about FA bloggers. The buzz has spread, so I thought it would be interesting to do a quick round-up of reactions so far as everyone else scrambles to pick up the story. I'll try to do another round-up later in the day to see if this dies or explodes.

The Good:

The Boston Globe's Miss Conduct posted a very personal, heartwarming reaction to the article, talking about her own body issues and her concern over the hate mail she gets whenever she has the temerity to "suggest treating fat people with courtesy." There's a LOT of good stuff in this piece (my only wish is that it were longer). Amongst other profound bits of insight, she takes the cake when she says, "I cannot fathom what it must be like to have others take it upon themselves to hate my body for me." Looking forward to more good stuff from that quarter in the future.

The Chicago Tribune has picked up the NYT article wholesale. There's a few additional quotes, but it's otherwise the same article. The main difference is that comments are enabled. This may be a good opportunity for follow-up if the fatosphere keeps on the comments and respond appropriately, but they may need Sanity Watchers points.


The Bad:

Harriet from Feed Me! had a rough time on a shock-jock show that invited her on presumably to talk about the NYT article, but really just as a target for hate. She sounds like she kept her cool and cited good evidence in the face of their crap. I know from experience that radio interviews can be a cause for sweaty panic, especially live! Hopefully a few listeners were able to hear her over the obnoxious host.

ABC News has coverage on the story, interviewing Lesley Kinzel from Fashionista, Monique van den Berg from Big Fat Deal, and Lara Frater from Fat Chicks Rule. It starts out with fairly good coverage, but on the second page it devolves back to "OMGFATKILLS". So mixed reviews, but the condescending tone of the last few paragraphs puts this one in "The Bad" category. Comments are enabled here as well, so watch those sanity points.

Kate Harding from Shapely Prose was invited to New York to appear on the "Today Show," only to be canceled at the last minute so that they could cover Heath Ledger's death. Instead the show featured an outrageously commercial, overfluffed plug for bariatric surgery. So it goes.

The Funny:

Not to double-dip, but going back to the Boston Globe's Miss Conduct piece, the closing line almost made me snort apple bits:

"As I've said before, if you think fat people have no self-discipline, consider the fact that they haven't killed you yet."