Adele

[GOALdigger]

She will lose the weight when she is ready
Didn't Jennifer Hudson proclaim to love her curves too at one point?

Yes. I'm so overher skinny tail. I forgot she a singer all they do is talk about her weight loss. I 'm like doesn't she do something else like sing and ish. I know she's a spokeswoman but geesh.

 

[.:Sprigged:.]

Being rude does not equal being honest...there seems to be a perception that being loud mouthed and ignorant is honest. Sorry but that's just an excuse people use to get away with rudeness.

+1000000000

I hate when people use "being honest" as a BS excuse for being rude.

 

[.:Sprigged:.]

Umm... there seem to be 2 camps here:


- One camp says people shouldn't always say what they think (even if it's as obvious as "Adele is fat") because it's unnecessary and it might be hurtful, and it would generate a lot of drama.

- The other camp says people should be able to say whatever they think, and a dramatic response would be unnecessary.


I tend to think (I know I'm making a generalization here) most Americans are from the first camp, and most Europeans are from the other.
Maybe it's a cultural thing?
I know the word "fat" is perceived much more dramatically in the US. Its (underlying) meaning might even be a little different.

I am caught in between, having lived extensively in both places. I have already posted my thoughts, but I will add this -

I imagine Karl would not be amused at someone poking fun at his weight when he was the overweight one. And he does NOT care about health, it is fashion. Do we really think it was healthy for a man in his 70's to go on a diet of chew & spit (which he freely admits in his diet book)?

 

[exotikittenx]

Ain't that the truth.

Really? I disagree. It is equally hurtful. I speak from personal experience and no one can tell me being called skinny didn't hurt, didn't make me feel bad about myself, and didn't make me feel like I wasn't good enough when people used it as an insult.


Regarding this subject, yes, his comment was insensitive, but that's about it. I dont think this big a deal needs to be made. He is fixated on weight, and it sounded more like an observation than something hateful. It could have been left out, but he said it observingly and no need to read into it so much. It was not necessary, but something that people can and should just move on from. It doesn't sound hateful to me.

 

[Lilarose]

We need to get really honest about this. It's not a vanity issue at all, but we've made it one to avoid addressing the public health issue that it really is.

Yes, but who appointed Karl the spokesman for public health issues?

Until he's appointed Surgeon General I'd prefer he stick to fashion.

 

[Alexenjie]

I see it addressed as a public health issue all the time. People who are overweight are well aware of the dangers to more than their appearance.

 

[AChanelADay]

Yes, but who appointed Karl the spokesman for public health issues?

Until he's appointed Surgeon General I'd prefer he stick to fashion.

She isn't even skinny!

 

[ByeKitty]

You are right imo.
In the US, people are more tolerant of sizes differences and are more sensitive to criticism regarding sizes.

Honestly though, I don't think there's a big difference in the tolerance of overweight people between Europe and America, but there's a difference in how sensitive they are when it comes to the terms we use to define something that is or has been controversial(?).

For instance, where I live, a dark skinned person is usually referred to as a "neger", which literally is the same word as "n!gger" (it's even censored here). They both stem from "negro", I think. It's a normal, non-offensive word here, while if you call a dark person a "n!gger" in the US, people would be really offended because the world has a loaded history there. There are many politically correct words now to refer to dark skinned people in America. Same with "fat" people. Fat is only to be used in a humorous context it seems..? Otherwise, "fat" people are referred to as plus size, full figured, or even curvy...

 

[AChanelADay]

Honestly though, I don't think there's a big difference in the tolerance of overweight people between Europe and America, but there's a difference in how sensitive they are when it comes to the terms we use to define something that is or has been controversial(?).

For instance, where I live, a dark skinned person is usually referred to as a "neger", which literally is the same word as "n!gger" (it's even censored here). They both stem from "negro", I think. It's a normal, non-offensive word here, while if you call a dark person a "n!gger" in the US, people would be really offended because the world has a loaded history there. There are many politically correct words now to refer to dark skinned people in America. Same with "fat" people. Fat is only to be used in a humorous context it seems..? Otherwise, "fat" people are referred to as plus size, full figured, or even curvy...

non-offensive to whom? the person you're calling the N word or the person saying it? where are you from?

i know in spanish speaking countries i am identified as 'negrita' which does not offend me but they have a history with colored people. that's why i am wondering where you're from.

 

[limom]

^^
there are many more overweight people in the US than in France for instance.
I am regular size in the US, in France I am large.
I think that because so many people are chunky in America, size is a very, very touchy subject.

 

[ByeKitty]

non-offensive to whom? the person you're calling the N word or the person saying it? where are you from?

i know in spanish speaking countries i am identified as 'negrita' which does not offend me but they have a history with colored people. that's why i am wondering where you're from.

I was trying to say, the N-word here (Netherlands), is nothing compared to the N-word in America (as in, it isn't considered as offensive), because we don't have a history with racial differences that's nearly as painful as the history in America.

I know the topics and their stories are nothing alike, but I'm using it as a way to kind of understand how American people would interpret this particular case so differently from Europeans.

 

[limom]

non-offensive to whom? the person you're calling the N word or the person saying it? where are you from?

i know in spanish speaking countries i am identified as 'negrita' which does not offend me but they have a history with colored people. that's why i am wondering where you're from.

I don't think weight issue and racial issues have anything to do with one another.

 

[ByeKitty]

I don't think weight issue and racial issues have anything to do with one another.

No they don't, but I took that as an example of touchy subjects with a wide range of synonyms in America, that don't exist in Europe. That's why translation issues could occur and the Europeans could come off as insensitive.

In this particular case, I take anything Karl says with a grain of salt. I surely don't need his diet advice

 

[AChanelADay]

No they don't, but I took that as an example of touchy subjects with a wide range of synonyms in America, that don't exist in Europe. That's why translation issues could occur and the Europeans could come off as insensitive.

In this particular case, I take anything Karl says with a grain of salt. I surely don't need his diet advice

i would venture to say the people to whom this term is addressed might see it a bit different but ok

 

[ByeKitty]

i would venture to say the people to whom this term is addressed might see it a bit different but ok

A bit different - perhaps.. I don't know, I never use the word so I haven't tested it.
But I do know I'm the biggest language purist of them all I could tell you anything about a number of languages, especially my mother tongue. The way words are perceived, to me, is a really interesting topic, and it seems feelings attached to certain words are by far the strongest in the United States.