I have been debating all night about whether I should comment on the Marie Claire article that was written about six of the bloggers in the healthy living community. I think I’m a little late in the game but I thought I’d respond anyways.
I feel very small compared to the bloggers in question and the other bloggers who have responded and I usually don’t get too involved with controversial issues in the blogging community but I guess this one just invoked something in me and I felt a few these things need to be said:
1. I only read a couple of the bloggers in question but from my perspective the ones I do read I do not feel like they are creating an un-realistic or bad perception for others.
2. I am not going to blindly defend everyone and say they are all perfect – I don’t read at least half the blogs in question so I can’t comment on those ones.
3. Maybe I feel this way because I am 30, feel more confident in myself and don’t feel like I get influenced as easily as others (if I had encountered this community 10 years ago I might feel differently then??)
4. I do feel that the article was mean-spirited and the author could have made some of the same points without attacking specific individuals. I also found the way the author presented herself to the bloggers (you can read what Meghann had to say about how she contacted them) a little questionable. She says she is writing an article about one thing then the article ends up being about something else (I guess you can say that’s journalism)
5. I think that the author has points about disordered eating, obsessions with exercise, eating and healthy living in general, destroying food, etc but just attacking 6 bloggers I do not feel is the way to discuss this. Writing an article about these topics in general might have been a better strategy. I think the way she went about it is now causing people to be more upset with the article then to bring light to some important topics.
6. I think that there are blogs out there that might have some over the above issues but I try to stay away from blogs that are negative or have unhealthy behaviours on them. The reason I joined this community was to help inspire me to lead a healthier lifestyle and blogs that don’t do that I tend to avoid.
7. I enjoy reading healthy living blogs not so I can see every single thing someone has eaten or to want to be that person but because it has become a resource for me for healthy living.
8. Blogging has helped me become a better cook and more willing to eat different things. I use to be extremely picky but after seeing some yummy recipes on blogs I’m more willing to try something I might not have been willing to try in the past.
9. I have found some of these ladies who are constantly training or running races more inspirational then anything else. I am not a runner and have found Caitlin’s mantra, ‘You can do anything for a minute’ exceptionally helpful when just trying to complete a 20 min run. Reading her blog does not make me feel incomplete or bad about myself for not being able to run 22 miles. I’m happy with my 20 min run on the treadmill and blogging has helped me realize this.
10. Finally, what I see, as far as I can tell no one else has pointed out, is how are these bloggers any different then a show like The Biggest Loser. If we feel that these bloggers are unhealthy for those with body image issues/disordered eating then a show like The Biggest Loser would be well (this is not an attack on the show – I love it and watch it every week). We can’t think that it is realistic for ‘most’ people to lose 30lbs a week like they do on The Biggest Loser. People need to be responsible for themselves. I agree that maybe a person with body issues/disordered eating shouldn’t be reading some healthy living blogs but they probably shouldn’t be watching The Biggest Loser either. As must as people need to be responsible for what they are writing, the people reading also to be accountable. If you feel it is creating unrealistic expectations then maybe you need to find a blog you find more inspiring. I think almost every healthy living blog that I read (especially the ‘big’ ones) always says something along the lines of this might not work for you but this is what works for me.
Well I guess that is more then just a few points. I didn’t think I would have so much to say but once I started typing I just wanted to get all my points across.
Please let me know what you think of my points.
Do you agree?
Disagree?
Comments below welcome!
~ Katie :)
