MovieChat Forums > Real Women Have Curves (2002) Discussion > let's not celebrate bad health

let's not celebrate bad health


Ok, I really enjoyed the movie.It's funny, it doesnt have skinny women and expresses that you and others must accept you for who you are. Yes, real women have curves, don't look like supermodels nor have size 6. BUT the women from the film are not just curvy, they are quite overweight which is different. It is one thing having curves and another being obese. I have a friend who is overweight, probably less than the protagonist and her doctor keeps nagging her about losing weight for health reasons. Overweight people have problems with diabetes, heart diseases... or simply can not go up the stairs without going out of breath. Since we are talking about realistic individuals let me say that Ana might have a heart attack by the age of 40. It is one thing accepting who you are and another is celebrating a poor diet and bad health.

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I think you miss the point of the film. The message of the film is not to value a woman for her good skinny 'healthy' appearance but to see what the other values and positive things they have.
I come from South America and where families are always telling people to lose weight amd calling them 'gorditas'. It is a kind of annoying.

I loved that scene were they took off their clothes and show off themselves. It was simply great!

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There's a difference between "curves" and bad health. Let's not give people the impression that being obese is somehow a statement when one could easily do that in a healthy capacity.

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Isn't that what we (the western society) does all the time when we envy super skinny hollywood actors? Even though they're not over weight they are still unhealthy, following those strict diets. If there was a scale of "normal weight" both super skinny actors and slightly over weight dittos would fall of that scale, but on different sides, because both types are unhealthy. Dispite this we celebrate the under weight but dislike the over weight. Makes sense?!

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"Despite this, we celebrate the under weight but dislike the over weight. Makes sense?!"
I never thought of it that way, but I totally agree. It IS pretty hypocritical of us.

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yes, very hypocritical..look at renee zelwegger for instance...
I think she looked better in bridget jones with a bit of weight on her, now she looks like a scarecrow. super skinny is not beautiful.
I am tired of "curvy women" being called unhealthy. Furthermore, a doctor is not the be all and end all of knowledge. I have been to several doctors to talk about my weight, and one will tell me my ideal is 150, while another says 180. during my first pregnancy I saw an OB who told me not to gain any weight during my entre pg. I of course switched docs, and the other OB told me as long as I didn't gain too fast, i was fine. doctors have bias and prejudice just like everyone else. some accept a rounder version of health, others don't. th first ob told me it was a "miracle" I got pg at all, bc I was so fat.
didn't mean to go on a rabbit trail...but health is an individual thing.


Hey artist! got a dollar? hmm I thought not.

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I agree with you 100%. The Center for Disease Control reccently got in trouble because they "cooked up" stats linking extra weight to risk for disease. In fact, weight is a personal thing and some people may be technically "overweight" and still be healthy (low cholesterol, low blood glucose, etc.).

Additionally, some ethnic groups just can't ever achieve the broomstick look. Mediterranean types will never achieve the Scandinavian look. It is just a fact of life.

I just get heartbroken when I see girls starving themselves to achieve the model-look or, worse still, when girls start hating their looks and their bodies because they can't look like the models they see in Vogue or Cosmo.

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No, actually, according to most institutes, such as NHLBI (National Heart Lung & Blood Institute), CDC (Center for Disease Control & Prevention), etc., BMI (body mass index) standards are normally are that if a woman is 5'5" and weighs 110 lbs, she is considered "underweight." This may or may not mean she is unhealthy. BMI is sometimes an overly simplistic approach for healthy weight standards.

True, 110 is barely not "underweight" for a woman who is 5'4" (0.4 of a lb away) or 5'3" (1 lb away). You can definitely be healthy and be 110.

But the message here is that everybody is different (especially hormonal women!), BMI is not always the rigid standard, and having a few curves here and there is not a proven health risk.

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Dispite this we celebrate the under weight but dislike the over weight. Makes sense?!

NO.

i totally agree. both extremes are (potentially) unhealthy, but one is supposed to be attractive and a sign of self-control, while the other is supposedly unatractive and a sign of lacking self-control.
as a big woman i'm not asking for politically correct movies that turn the hollywood-standard around and claim fat to be beatiful. i'm way more interested in movies that tell girls to accept themselves the way they are, and just try to live healthy, without becoming a health-freak.

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Western society? Give me a break, I live in China where women have an even more unhealthy view of their bodies. Chinese girls are sticks or they are FAT, not just chubby or whatever, but they straight up call them FAT. It's not just a western thing, it's WORLDWIDE.

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I'm not sure why this movie was listed as a comedy - I don't remember laughing. I wanted to enjoy it - but there really wasn't anything to like about the character - she wasn't nice to anyone - except her grandfather.

One other thing - she got a scholarship - for what? I saw her sit down once at the computer to write an essay - why the scholarship? Of course you wanted it to turn out good for her - but there really wasn't any effort put in to develop the characters.

This really should have been better - there was a lot of potential in the story - it just fell flat. But then again, I'm not an overweight girl looking for validation in a movie.

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I don't think the movie was looking to validate fat girls, I think it was showing a strong female character really struggle to figure out who she was and what she wanted in a pretty rough environment. Ana says at one point that she'd like to loose weight, sure, but part of having the weight on was a big *beep* you" to the rest of the world (read: her mom) that she wasn't going to conform to their skinny standard. Which fit her character's attitude.

I think her character came a long way in the movie from being kind of an angry brat to understanding her family (ie her sister) and herself a whole lot better. I mean, it's a lot easier to have a healthy body once you have a healthy emotional life. And her mom was super manipulative and abusive, so I bet Ana was a whole lot less angry once she got to NY and got away from the destructive influence.

I've noticed that a lot of my friends who have a real problem with Ana's weight in this film miss the point of the plot because they are fixated on her weight. A woman that's not fixated on her weight can actually focus on helping others and her relationships instead of fixating on herself. Not to mention that giving critical people an obvious physical feature to focus on keeps them from picking you apart in other ways.

Plus, I'd like to add that even if Ana losses weight in NY, say down to a healthy weight, she'll still be curvy, and probably have stretch marks, but it's who she is, and it's the road map of her life on her body.

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According to society, NO!!! But according to me, IT IS!!! The average size female in America is a size 14, but still we see images of skinny supermodels and stuff like that!!! I don't think it's fair that the full figured female to look at these images that looks NOTHING like them!!

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thats the way it is with beauty u know, damaging, take desperate housewives, they are all in their fourties and they look glamourious, which puts more pressure on the everyday fourty year old woman to look ultra glamourious, but thats the way it seems with american tv, glamour

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To the posting that said it fell flat - I totally agree! There was no development of the characters and the only message that came across was them smashing us over the head with "its ok if you aren't skinny". Yeah, ok, got it ...

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The movie might have missed to inform you explicitly why she deserved a scholarship. The movie starts on her last day of HS, so, we never hear about her grades or whether she ever made the honor roll.

However, Mr. Guzman does mention that she was admitted into Beverly Hills High School, which is already an accomplishment. I think it is safe to assume that if she got a full ride to Columbia University, it is because she worked hard and deserved it.

You Is Kind, You Is Smart, You Is Important...

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i enjoyed the movie, even though i agree it could have been done better.

But i think everyone is missing something... being overweight does NOT lead to health issues. Its the sedentary lifestyle that most overweight people lead that causes health problems. You can be overweight and still be healthy. And did anyone else notice that Ana walked just about everywhere in the movie, except on her dates. So shes getting exersice and thats the most important thing in keeping healthy. The movie didnt condone or celebrate bad health, it tried to encourage people to keep a positive self esteem even if they dont look like a broomstick.

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[deleted]

AHA! Then you should talk, mariana! In your language there's a saying that goes ''Estas a falar com a boca cheia''... Does that ring a bell? Why would you bitx about big sized people because you have no idea of what it's like! Myself, after being teased for many years, I finally learned to adore my body because it wont change unless I change my attitudes. Well, my attitudes define who I am, and I don't want to be a different person! Besides... Why would I give away my favourite food: feijao preto e farofa? ;)

«And that's all I have to say 'bout that»

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electrictroy, my undergrad degree was in health science. It's funny that you said "you have to lose the fat"--that is too extreme and simplistic for many reasons. Women are not supposed to try to have 0% body fat--that type of goal can actually be considered "unhealthy" and lead to osteoporosis (aka "porous bone"), amenorrhea (absent menstration), etc. It is not unhealthy to have some body fat. Although being obese is unhealthy, there are many "curvy" women who lived well into their 90s with minimal health problems, especially curvy lower body, since they say stomach fat is linked more to cardiovascular disease. It IS enough to eat healthy foods and be physically active.

Women have more difficulties losing weight than men as they get older, partially due to hormones; ironically, society places a higher standard on women to be thin. That is what this movie is getting at. It is not worth living until you are 90 if you wake up in the mirror everyday and think you are a worthess, fat pig just for having curves. I'll take the heart attack instead, thank you. So how about we first encourage women to have confidence AND THEN maybe they will be able to think about getting on that tread mill...

Personally, I have a really hard time losing the lower body weight, a common problem for some women. I am annorexic-looking in my upper body and chunky-looking in my lower body. If I wear an outfit that covers the upper but reveals the lower, certain people will admit to me that I need to lose weight, but if I do the opposite (reveal the upper and cover the lower), certain people will tell me I need to eat a damn bowl of brownies.

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All I saw of this movie was some chunky women take off their clothes and parade around in their underwear and talk about feeling great about it... I then watched something better.

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I agree that being obese is not something to be celebrated. But Ana is no where near obesity. She is curvey and full-figured and beautiful, and it isn't like all she does is eat constantly.

Now as for the other women in the film, there is no evidence that they are completely unhealthy, just that they are bigger. There are many women who are that big and are very healthy because they exercise and have activities to do. For example, in the US, there is a women's swim team made up of overweight women who are all healthy AND overweight.

Ana walks excessive amounts in the film to get to the bus stops to and from school, as well as around her neighbourhood. Her mother only has one short-of-breath moment after she runs down the street chasing Ana. The other women, who can say? The women in the factory are not seen exercising, but that does not mean they don't. They do not appear to have health problems, but that doesn't mean they don't either. Basically, we have no proof as to what the health status of these women are. They could eat all the right things but they are still overweight as a result of genetics, a bad childhood diet, etc.

This movie is not a celebration of bad health. It is a celebration of beauty and equality between women that should allow us to look at each other and feel no envy because we are ALL beautiful in our own ways.


Don't you forget about me...

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I don't believe there is anything wrong with having something on yourself. Now sociaty is manly about losing weight and being fat is a diesese well info to the world it's not. It's not like being fat is like a cold it doesn't spread, people choose to be the way they want. I am overweight and i am not one of those women that lock themselves inside the house just because i have meat on my bones. I love the way i look and if someone has a problem with that to dang bad. This movie is about life and how one person is trying to live it to the fullest, even when that person is not a skinny super model.

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It's not like being fat is like a cold it doesn't spread
actually, the newest explanation(or excuse or whatever term you want to use) for obesitas is a virus. such a virus would cause the metabolism to slow down and the person to gain weight (to allow the body to make more virus i guess).

not that it matters that much, as far as i'm concerned. i'm very overweight and i don't like it when people suggest it's all my own fault, but i also don't like fat people who sit on their lazy butt all day, eating tons of food and feeling very sorry for themselves.

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i actually don't think ana was even close to being obese.

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What would give you any reason to believe Ana is not healthy? as it was pointed out, she walks everywhere and her mother is in muc hpoorer health./ Ana isn't even "obese" and barely what i'd call "fat". I am just as big, probably bigger than Ana yet my health is perfect, I do not have high blood pressure, my cholestoral is fine, and i'm in better health than my own mother who wears a size 2. It's all subjective.

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Exactly. Our society is obsessed with weight. My mother was 5'8" and 114 pounds, wore a size 5 and died at age 47 of heart disease. I am 6'1" - don't want to say how many lbs (that darn society) and wear size 18. My mother, bless her soul, did warn me about getting too "broad across the beam" when I was younger, and then I was a willowy size 10. In my 30s now I swim laps, I walk everywhere, I can keep up with my 3 year old plus my older kids, and I run my own business.
I have a 10 year old daughter who is skinny-mini, wearing slim sizes, and a 13 year old son who has a bit of a belly and full cheeks.

It bothers me when Ana's mother harps on her about weight when she herself is tubby and of course without the brazen 18 year old curves of Ana. Ana's older sister Estela is also overweight - why is Ana the one who is harassed? Oh wow I just got to the part where they strip down to their underwear. Bwahaahahahaa~

I have also heard about this in uneducated families - how they see their children past a certain age as another paycheck and hold them back from going out into the world and seeking their own destinies. It is not just urban poor families - it is farmers here in the Midwest. My own second cousins had no choice but to stay and work on the family farm. Wait - they aren't poor. But they still have no choice. I never believed parents would purposely hold their children back from success though. If you want a better life for your kids, you cannot hold them back. I am well educated but nevertheless poor because, well, I am manic depressive and can't hold a job so I run my own business which is feast and famine. I do want better for my kids and harass them all the time to study, even though I was great at school myself and it didn't get me anywhere.

It will be different for them. I push them to be all they can be.

This is all over the place I guess. Sorry.

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Their mother leaves Estella alone because she feels Estella is "too old" to find a husband and so she concentrates on Ana. She does say "the TWO of you should lose weight" tho

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I have also heard about this in uneducated families - how they see their children past a certain age as another paycheck

that's just wrong, but i do think most of these parents really don't know any better. don't understand that their child may (secretly) want to leave but doesn't do that out of love for his parents.
i also dislike the opposite: children who abandon their parents, send them some money perhaps, but never check in on them.
i believe that in a family people are responsible for each other (both financially and emotionally) but family members should also be supported in finding their own path and own succes.


I never believed parents would purposely hold their children back from success though.

that's something that seems to be to easily forgotten both in movies and in real life. parents that treat their children to harsh (like expecting to much of their looks or school-results) usually really DO want the best for their kids and just want to protect them from the mistake they're making. of course such parents should be corrected, but they should not immediatly be labeled as bad, unloving parents.

good luck with your business:).

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Alot of what people miss is that these parents are from another time. They were raised in another world.

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I think it's important to remember that there is more to this movie than simply a statement against the thin ideal; that is one of the main aspects, but the movie also deals with feminism in general. Ana rebels in thought and/or action against every factor in her life that is holding her down. For example, she thinks it is absurd to work in the factory because it is unfair to the workers, and she hates the way that her sister is treated by business executives. Ana breaks away from her culture, religion, and social class as well as the thin ideal, all of which were imposed upon her by her mother's interpretation of a necessarily patriachal society.

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