Not one of my most witty or subtle titles but in this case, bloody necessary.
Now, it’s not very often I get all angular and cross but recently my feathers have been ruffled by guardian journo Tanya Gold. Tanya has taken over Lucy Mangan’s column in London free weekly mag Stylist – which usually I am a big fan of, it does no end to easing my post-Tuesday club Wednesday morning hangover on my morning commute into the office (and not to mention pretty much keeps the economy booming and my bank account plummeting with the weekly ‘must have’ style list).
My issue with Tanya is that not only are her opinions self righteous and self important but FULL of contradictions as she continually undermines her arguments with her own (not so hidden) agendas. Ive read a few of her columns, and had a minor Twitter rant, then continued living my life and generally having a nice time.
This week’s column, however, got my goat so much that I felt the need to fight back. That’s right Tanya, you may never have met me (or even give a flying shit who I am) but you have pushed me too far this time. So here – HERE – are the reasons why Tanya gold GETS ON MY TITS.
Title of this week’s column; ‘can fat girls and thin girls ever be friends?‘
Right. Ok *seethes behind gritted teeth* So despite the initial and highly idiotic categorization of all women by their dress size, just to pull a ‘punchy’ and ‘controversial’ title: ‘ooooh Tanya you’re just soooooooooo outspoken’.
1st paragraph
I pretty much want to smash her round the face with an iPad. We have started well. Tanya has a tidy little soundbite dismissal of Twitter as ‘the medium that allows strangers to freely insult each other’.
Tanya wrote an article a month or so back about her hatred of Twitter – or rather her complete lack of understanding of the medium. Her ‘angle’ was that it was purely a popularity contest and a place for people to massage each other’s egos and attack those they don’t like from the safety of their computer screens.
Oh, and it is no better than when she was a fat kid being bullied at school. OH YAWN WOMAN, guess what, I was a skinny kid bullied at school but I don’t carry my agenda around in my Mulberry.
Twitter, like any subculture, can be dark, can be nasty, and can be offensive. Welcome to human nature, love. It can also be uplifting, empowering, funny, friendly, informative, UNCENSCORED (yes journo, UN-censorship RUN FOR THE HILLS!!!!!); it can unite people, speak the truth and start revolutions. Open your tiny mind, woman. And don’t ignorantly dismiss something because you don’t understand it *wags finger and shakes head*.
Double standards
My next , and main issue with Ms Gold, is that she seems completely oblivious to the fact that her article loops and winds through constant double standards. Her ‘point’ (or what I can only presume to be her point, it’s pretty hard whilst wading through all the agenda and ego) is attacking a Tweeter for judging her and her opinions based soley on her photograph.
‘She means that I am fat, and because I carry this fat, all my opinions must stem from it, she thinks this is my identity’.
Tanya then goes on to list the five thin women she can ‘tolerate’. OH COME ON. SERIOUSLY???!?!. YOUR identity is not based on YOUR appearance , but you’re happy to judge everyone elses based on theirs? Actually Tanya, I would suggest that fat IS your identity. Well you’ve certainly managed to carve yourself a career out of the agenda you carry along with those extra pounds.
OK then, I’m going to do it, I’m going to ‘go’ there. I’m going to address this whole ‘FAT’ agenda that Tanya is so bloody obsessed with. Let’s (for a moment, before I combust) put aside the fact that I have issues with the terms ‘fat’ and ‘thin’ (I find both terms equally offensive), I am just completely baffled as to WHAT she is trying to achieve with this divisive attitude.
She mentions that fat women often spout ‘unpopular feminism … because they have a greater genetic propensity for anger’ WHAT UTTER BULLSHIT. Firstly, I’m 10 stone and I’m PRETTY FUCKING ANGRY.
Secondly, unpopular feminism… yep, she’s right on this one. HER feminism spout IS unpopular. All she has done is exclude and divide, segregated women the world over based entirely on their dress size. WTF?!
SURELY feminism should be about sisterhood, about sticking together, about acknowledging and uniting, about new solutions, ideas and perspectives for a more INCLUSIVE society. All Gold has done is pit woman against woman in the battle of the bulge. Nice work. High five. Women everywhere salute you as they run to the scales to decide which side they are on. You must be so proud.
“Oh Tanya, fat IS a feminist issue, you’re just so controversial, so cutting edge, you say it like it is” BULLSHIT you do. Size should be irrelevant. Now, of COURSE it’s not. I work in the fashion industry I am fully aware of the contradictions and injustices of an industry that makes money by presenting an impossible ideal of feminine beauty, unattainable to 90% of the population.
However this has also opened my eyes. I am a healthy size 11 (healthy for me, not so healthy for my size 10 jeans. Oh.) and I am by far not the largest in our office, nor am I the smallest, or anywhere near the least nor most attractive. The fact is that behind the scenes the industry is run by women AND MEN TANYA (shock horror) of all ages, sizes, and appearances because it takes SKILLS to run a business.
YES, looks are imperative to get ahead in fashion, but not what size you are, how straight your nose is or your hip to waist ratio, but your STYLE. It’s how you CHOOSE to present yourself, how you demonstrate your personality and who you are in what you wear, and NOT AS A GREAT BIG FAT CHIP RESTING ON YOUR GREY ILL-FITIING SLUBBY JERSEY CLAD SHOULDER. Sorry. That just fell out. Oops.
We all come in different shapes and sizes, some work hard to sculpt their bodies into their ideal, others just accept their natural shape and size; some spend their lives loathing how they look, some loving it. Whichever is you, surely the message here is WE ARE MORE THAN HOW WE LOOK.
Is THIS then not the point, Tanya??? You hate being judged and dismissed because of your appearance, but GUESS WHAT. So do we all. And this should be acknowledged, sure, but there must be a better way to do so than banging on about how you can’t abide anyone below a size 12???? Hmmmmm???? *cross face*.
Comments
Maria
I have never read anything by the delightful Ms Gold and on the basis of this article I now have no desire to..Oh but isnt life easier now we can judge people purely on one aspect of their appearance? You know, perhaps we could even go as far as perhaps having seperate trains or shops or schools for fat and thin people?…I cant believe no-ones thought of it before….
Natalie
*round of applause* Amen to that, Amy Rycroft; amen to that! I originally didn’t bother reading Gold’s article when I saw the stupid title, but had a look when I saw so many outraged Tweets about it. Chip on shoulder much? She basically doesn’t like anyone who is not as rotund (ha!) as she is or anyone who has differing opinions. I would almost laugh at her artcile if I thought it’d been written with tongue firmly placed in cheek. But I fear it was written inbetween eating all the pies. And being cross…
Linda
Hear hear Amy. Another example by Ms Gold of why women are scorned in the workplace as whingeing whiners. Would a male jounalist have written such a bigotted, hornonal article?
When will ‘radical feminists’ realise that the rest of us are doing a much better job of equality by being good at our chosen careers and not whining about ‘positive ‘ discrimination, which is actually discrimination with nothing positive about it.
I was recently asked to consider standing as a local MP because less than 5% of MP’s are women . A compliment, you might think, until you realise that the people who asked me don’t know me or anything about me ! Just a token woman then !!!!! If I choose a career path, I want to succeed on my own merit, not because of gender, colour, size or ANY OTHER REASON. PS I am a size 16 (just like Marilyn Monroe was)and choose my friends for their personality not their size. I agree with Amy, style is much more important.
Emma
I’ve just got from holiday and whilst there I remembered a horrid article a horrid woman by the name of Tanya had written for the Guardian about why she hated fashion. It made me angry all over again, so angry (and I’m usually a rather calm and collected individual. Sort of…) but anyway, I got incredibly, unbelievably angry. On the beach. That silly woman made me angry on the beach.
I thought of how I would reblog about how angry she made me (I was sunbathing so anything seemed more exciting) and upon arriving home I saw this and I was so happy. My anger isn’t unwarranted. In fact, I think it deserves to be upped. I read her Playboy piece in Style before holiday and didn’t look at who’d written it, now all is explained. Because that made me angry as well. Oh shucks, my natural response is cream cake. O.course.
Dan Avenell
My gf first got me into hating Tanya Gold, and now I’m hooked. She is a truly terrible writer, as mentioned it’s the hypocrisy and double standards, and also the non-sequiters, all to make some vapid point that doesn’t usually make sense.
Natalie
So, a few weeks back she was slagging off Twitter and calling it the work of the Devil; I saw in last week’s Stylist she was suggesting people to follow… on… Twitter. ARGH! make up your mind, you stupid, annoying cow!
Sian
So now that Lucy M is back in the Outspoken driving seat of Stylist Mag, has anyone’s opinion changed? Eventually TG grew on me and now I miss her, especially as LM has come back from breeding and turned into a total bore. I am hoping Lucy’s powers return and that a year of nappies and lactating has not taken her spark entirely.
Natalie
I sort of know what you mean. Basically I’d like one of the Le Blow girls (OK, me) to write that column and give the nation WHAT THEY WANT.