Whats up with the ISAA? The International Size Acceptance Association has just dropped membership fees and are looking for public donations. Unless they have a really good following I don't think that is going to work. I remember a time when NAAFA went through a financial crisis and to ask for money to keep them going. But at least you knew where to go to get information. One place to get their message.

The ISAA seems to have many sites now, ISAA Pods for podcasting, PODWOM for the audio version of their magazine, WithOut Measure non audio version, With Out Measure Beta, and their main site, ISAA.

I am all in favour of getting discussions going but is this too much?

Can you believe how hard it is to find a wheel chair to fit a large person? It has taken weeks and loads of phone calls just to find a suitable one. The reason we need one is that my wife’s back condition has become worse. Not only that but we have moved house, a place with no stairs! That is why I have not posted for a while.

So far we have been using the new wheel chair for about 2 weeks and so far so good. Except that, to get it in to the car we have to push down the rear seats which means the kids have to stay out until I have got the wheel chair in to it’s position in the boot. Once it’s there I can raise the seats again and everyone in. Does not leave much space for when you have gone shopping.

To be honest I thought there would be more people staring then there has been. After all most disabled people get treated differently when in a wheel chair, so how is a big person going to fair? The comments I have been anticipating have been along the lines of ‘wow she is so big she needs something to help her get around’. However, so far friends and family have responded well. But it is not the fact she is to big to move. Her weight is not the problem. Rapid onset arthritis is. Yeah well her weight won’t help but it is not the weight that is causing the problems. Thin people get it as well and when they can’t move they resort to a wheel chair. But for large people, it’s yet another obstacle to get over. Society’s pre-conceptions yet again colouring people’s views.

The lack of independence, well the almost removal of it has hit my wife hard. Some one who was use to going out, doing what she wanted when she wanted, now has to rely on someone to be there for getting out of bed, sometimes dressing and if she needs to go out even if it’s just the garden, some one must be on hand. The new wheel chair is not difficult to push around but it does mean she is reliant on the person pushing.

She has had to cope with all of this in such a short time and their have been tears and moments of sadness as to what has happened to her. BUT she has not given up. The wheel chair is looked on as a way to be with others when walking would have been a reason not to. To suffer pain when the medication can’t seem to stop it would make most stay in bed. She does have to sleep off the effects of the morphine away but she still finds time for her family. I think she is the most courageous person I know.

There is an article about Joss Stone on the Daily Mail, they say that...

‘A generous midriff has given way to a taut "six-pack" while her arms seem to be much more toned.’

The strange thing is that while the article itself seems to think it’s great she has lost weight, the title of it is ‘How a curvy singer turned into Joss Stick’

So what is it exactly, is she is thin as a stick? The media has been attacking female celebrities who go to far on their star diets. Or is she now a sexier because she has lost all that weight?

The Media is confused as ever, don’t be fat but then don’t be too thin.

Talking of confusion, have you seen that Batwoman is back in comic form and this time she is a lesbian? So we can now expect to see a larged size and well built superhero?

For anyone who is a True FA or not, there is a new film out that ought to worry you. From Australia, the land of good horror movies (such as picnic at Hanging Rock) comes 'Feed'. It is a story about a feeder and his feedee, it’s about weight gain, control and horror. Here is a quick overview of the plot line from Zreview.

"We open in Toledo, Ohio, with the charming Michael (O'Lachlan), singing along with Cherish as he buys bags of burgers to feed to Deirdre (Millgate), who celebrates hitting 600 pounds. Meanwhile, Australian cyber-crime investigator Phillip (Patrick Thompson) has just finished a ghastly cannibalism case in Hamburg (of course!). Back in Sydney, he finds Michael's website and realises something's not right in Toledo. So off he goes to pursue the case, which gets far grislier than he could have imagined. "

So there is this man who all will identify as being a Fat Admirer. He is feeding a woman and she weights over 600 pounds. Of course the woman looks extremely fat, she is also semi naked lying on a bed unable to move.

So what am I worrying about? Fat admirers are already perceived at being abnormal because they like the extra weight on person. Fat Admirers are seen as lonely sad figures who can’t get a date with a ‘normal’ stick like women. Are all FA’s failures?

Well you could ask Lenny Henry (husband to Dawn French) but in my opinion we are no different than people who prefer blonds, big breasts or big bums. The problem is the view held by society that fat is wrong. So if you like fat you must be wrong too. So now here comes a movie with a guy who not only likes VERY fat women but he is feeding one as well. Are all FA like that? For all those who have no idea what a FA is they are going to learn via this movie.

But that is not the movies fault, it’s societies fault and it’s not about to change any time soon. This film is going to open up the whole feeder/feedee thing. I am going to watch it when it available in my neck of the woods as I like a good horror.

Now either this thing will pass and no one will say a word or it will cause a right old fuss and put back the understanding of what an FA is all about.

NAAFA has a stance on the Feederism which can be found here and its seems strange that the ISAA and NAAFA have not picked up on this film yet.

Film reviews can be found here, here, here and here.

Offical movie site is here.

If anyone does get to see this film then please let me know what you think.

Girls, do not cohabitate with you boyfriend because you are going to get fat. Move in with him and you are going to put on the pounds. New research at Newcastle University's Health Nutrition Research Centre, says women who move in with their partners tend to put on weight, however men will fair better and eat really healthily in the short term.

So now I am waiting for some real research that proves the following,

• Alligators exist in the sewers
• The Yeti eats marmite
• Aliens have landed and have taken over Grimsby
• Researchers do not waste money on pointless research

I have nothing against women putting on weight , in many cases it is more healthy for you than losing excessive amounts. Money has been spent on a shallow and pointless exercise in the name of obesity research when it could have been spent on life threatening diseases such as cancer etc.

Link to source article

I have been reading a report on MSNBC that the Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis is spending money on bigger beds, bigger slippers and bigger gowns. It seems they have realized the at bigger people need proper care in hospital just like everyone else!

It has always been astonishing that hospitals have never been properly geared up for large patients. When my wife has been in for check ups and for stays at a hospital, the gowns has never completely covered her up. It is really embarrassing to have the whole of your back and behind exposed, no dignity!

But it does not stop with just the small stuff, how about an MRI scan or even an X-ray? Does your local hospital have the ability to take large people?

My wife needs an MRI scan to see how the rapid onset arthritis is progressing up her spine and along her hips. It seems that in France, if you are too big then it’s off to a veterinary hospital to be scanned by the same machines used for horses and cows!

There is a supposed obesity epidemic on the loose at the moment and if current figures are to be believed, obese people are in the majority. So why is society not adapting to this? There are big people NOW! They are everywhere so why are they being ignored? They pay taxes just like everyone else.

There are so many reasons why people are obese, to many to list (and I won’t even mention the virus that makes you fat!). Great if it’s curable or even preventable but what about those who are big today? Do they not get a fair deal?

I saw on SizeNet a news item about how the Women XL show has been cancelled. We were thinking of going and it was going to cost a bit for us because we are in France and the show is in the UK.

The reason given is the lack of commitment from retailers, what shame that a showcase with such grand ideas is no longer happening. I am not sure what state the UK fashion industry is in but any event that can promote plus size clothing has to be a good idea.

I think we are all mistaken when we think there is a single movement pushing forward size and self acceptance in the UK. There are many groups doing what they can but there is no coordination, it’s a messy situation leaving many people confused. How can we tell society there is a problem when there is no agreement on what the problem is!

Some FA’s would say I had just spent last weekend in heaven, I would say I was in good company. Let me explain a little...

We have a friend in Paris who we stay with now and again, makes it easier to visit the club that she organizers. She is a big lady who runs a night club for big ladies and men or those who just appreciate big bodies. No one who attends has any problems with size, after all it’s the reason they are there. Like many clubs and parties that are organized by and for fuller figured people, every one is comfortable because every one is big. No sarcasm or judgments or stupid cutting remarks, like those you would experience at normal clubs. Which is a shame, why can’t bigger people mix in normal clubs? Why can’t they dance with out fear of jeering or nasty comments? Don’t worry, it’s a rhetorical question, society is just not made that way.

My wife has a rather serious back problem so dancing was out of the question but that did mean we could sit with our friends for some good conversation. Now this may surprise many especially those looking in from the outside of size acceptance, we did not sit there all night discussing just how bad society treats large people. I mean we did chat about it but not all night! Too many other things to discuss, like who is with who and who left who and all that standard gossip. It was a social occasion, a safe place to talk and dance till the early hours, we left the club at about 6.30am!

One thing that I did find fascinating was watching the FA’s and TRUE FA’s. Most of the men arrived with a partner, those without sat at the bar watching the proceedings and chatting with friends. And of course there were the few who just ogled, a few single men but worryingly for me were the married men, a few of them just could not keep their eyes of the ladies on the dance floor. Well let’s face it, big women with big chests dancing around and having fun will get looked at. However, a married man sitting with his wife or partner/girlfriend and staring at the jiggling ladies and not paying any attention to his beloved! CRIME. Show some respect! Not just her though, what sort of impression does that leave any one catching him at it! Would this be acceptable for ‘thin’ people to do? Well everyone does it but it is some much more visible when it involves the large and lovely.

I am sure this all sounds high and mighty; I did look, for a moment but then I am sitting with my wife and chatting with friends. It comes down to a matter of self control, just because you may have a preference for a larger figure, doesn’t mean you can sit there with your tongue hanging out, there is a time and place for everything. I know what you are going to say, ‘human nature’ and all that but while society still views that liking big women is a ‘fetish’ so we have to lead the way.

Sorry if this has turned in to a bit of a rant but I would love to change the views of society, that an FA is not some one who chases ‘fat’ women or obsesses about them (who made up that terrible term – cubby chaser!). I have seen too many FA websites with pornographic pictures on them, spoiling it for other FA’s who truly support BBW’s and SSBBW’s. So if anyone else has any ideas then please let me know!

If any FA’s have a website with NO pornographic pictures and positively supports size and self acceptance then please let me know. I will take a look and list you on this site.

An interesting article has just popped up on SizeNet. It discusses the idea of preferring larger women as a fetish. To be honest I never thought I had a fetish. I considered larger ladies as more desirable than thin ones. As a true FA, I can say it is a preference and that’s it. I guess if you are the sort of Fat Admirer that downloads pictures and keep your desires secret then it would be a fetish. True FA’s share their lives with the big partners, nothing fetishist about that, no more than sharing your life with a brunette or a some one who is tall.

However as long as FA’s keep it secret and feed the websites by paying for the content I guess it will remain a fetish. And I guess if the words fetish appears then it appeals more because it does sound secretive and obsessive. Human nature I guess.

Link:Do I have a fetish?

I have always admired Fern Britton, she was the only reason I would ever watch TV in the mornings. Now I have recieved some good news about her. A poll conducted by Boots (a rather large UK shop) coincide with a campaign about motivation behind New Year's resolutions.

The poll asked amoungst other questions, which celebrity people would most like to switch lives with. Most women responded that Fren Britton was the most envied celebrity over the likes of Victoria Beckham and Madonna. She actually came out top!

Here is an article all about it.