November 5, 2001

2:51 PM

Wow, I can'tbelieve they let people as fat as that one go to the Emmy's. It's just sick. [No need to accuse me of being insensitive]
posted by yevge (55 comments total)

Wow. Maybe it's just because I haven't watched TV in eight months, but I've never seen Ms. Flockhart so emaciated before. She's looks like nothing more than a thinly-covered skeleton and, while I can't say for certain the reason for her extreme thin-ness, she doesn't look healthy regardless.
posted by Danelope at 3:04 PM on November 5, 2001

Wow. I can't believe people care. And tell me again why I shouldn't accuse you of being insensitive?
posted by jpoulos at 3:10 PM on November 5, 2001

That's just gross. Her neck and shoulders belong in a Giger sketch.
posted by Su at 3:11 PM on November 5, 2001

As emaciated as Calista often is, I think the picture over does it. I had the misfortune of being dragged into a night of Emmy-viewing by my wife, and Ms. Flockhart was looking much healthier on TV than in the photo. Granted, it could be lighting and makeup, but I don't think it's all that bad.
posted by monju_bosatsu at 3:14 PM on November 5, 2001

That wasn't nearly as jarringly awful as the sidebar picture of Barbra Streisand in mid-song.

Not that it was a bad picture, but it was Barbra Streisand in mid-song.
posted by Skot at 3:15 PM on November 5, 2001

Its like she was trying to look skinny... you know, when you suck in but not let any air in your nose or mouth?
posted by tomplus2 at 3:17 PM on November 5, 2001

Ally needs to take a lick or two on Barbra. She's like buttah.
posted by hellinskira at 3:17 PM on November 5, 2001

Granted, it could be lighting and makeup, but I don't think it's all that bad.

There is a problem in our society when someone this emaciated is considered not that bad! I've seen Samolians with more body fat.
posted by MaddCutty at 3:24 PM on November 5, 2001

Samolians? Wow that's obscure.
'Big ones', eh?
Please don't include me in your "society".
I think she looks fine. It's just a body after all. Why are people so scared to have a little fun with their bodies? Human beings are pretty tough. Experiment.
posted by Catch at 3:49 PM on November 5, 2001

1. It's a bad photo.

2. She's really hot, in my opinion.

You all should stop bitching how all the skinny people must be unhealthy.
posted by Witold at 3:52 PM on November 5, 2001

That is unhealthy. She's not just 'skinny', she apparently has a problem...
posted by jessie at 3:58 PM on November 5, 2001

"Samolians"? Isn't that the currency of Toontown?
posted by donkeyschlong at 4:02 PM on November 5, 2001

something she did with her mouth made her neck look much worse than it really is, I think. compare with another picture from the same night.

(...not that I don't think she's alarmingly thin in either case.)
posted by rabi at 4:04 PM on November 5, 2001

It's just a body after all. Why are people so scared to have a little fun with their bodies? Human beings are pretty tough. Experiment.

Finally, some one with some sense. Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to gorge, then I'm going to induce vomiting. After that, I'm going to take a great deal of speed (both the illegal variety and the legal herbal stuff) and then not eat for 2 weeks. I'm going to be HOT and SEXY after I drop below 80 pounds. Yay!
posted by fuq at 4:07 PM on November 5, 2001

I've seen Samoans with more body fat, but what makes this worse is that camera adds ten pounds.
posted by shinybeast at 4:13 PM on November 5, 2001

"Now, if you don't mind..."
Why, no, go right ahead. Shouldn't what you do to your body be your business? And when you're done, try some stretching exercises for your tiny little mind.
posted by Catch at 4:14 PM on November 5, 2001

Actually, what someone does with their body might actually impact other people.
You know, when they die and all their friends/relatives grieve. Or if they become too ill and have to go to the hospital and people have to spend time and money to try and save them. Or if they are on tv and some little girl sees them and says "Gee, I wish I was that thin." and then kills herself either through trying or because she can't make herself that thin and becomes depressed.
But, generally, you're right Catch. Whatever a person wants to do with their body is their own business.
posted by Grum at 4:21 PM on November 5, 2001

She's not fat. She phat.
posted by Counselco at 4:23 PM on November 5, 2001

(Phat means something is chill.)
posted by Counselco at 4:26 PM on November 5, 2001

MaddCutty is perchance thinking of Somalians, most commonly known for unintended starvation.

It is a sad commentary on the entertainment business when the lead actress in a series that chooses actresses based on their 'sex appeal' is so, so skinny. I believe that adults have the right to have their bodies in whatever condition they choose. However, it gives me the eebies that she is considered presentably idolizable by the casting folk of Ally. Lead Actresses aren't chosen for anything less.
posted by dness2 at 4:28 PM on November 5, 2001

Oh, wow, Grum, you're so right: I didn't think about it that way before. That was great. I love how you care about other people being sad. And then you put in that bit about a little girl- I could just see here in a pink dress- perhaps she has a kitten? And now I am crying, really.
I tke it all back. A healthy body is the only body to have. Calista Flockhart is a selfish bitch.
posted by Catch at 4:30 PM on November 5, 2001

Um, tell me again how insulting someone for being overly thin is any different then insulting them for being overly fat?


I suppose it's possible that she's anorexic. But it's also possible that she's not. Just because the vast majority of Americans are fat turds [myself included :(] doesn't mean that not being a fat turn is a bad thing. As long as you're getting a balanced diet with enough calories to do whatever it is you need to be doing, being overly skinny is much more healthy then being overly fat.



How many Americans die from malnourishment as a result of anorexia/bulimea? Now, how many die from complications of a FAT ASS? (I'll give you a hint, Heart Disease is the number 1 natural killer in the US...)
posted by delmoi at 4:32 PM on November 5, 2001

That picture is only what Jack Black sees. In real life, she's 300 pounds.
posted by solistrato at 4:39 PM on November 5, 2001

:)
posted by donkeyschlong at 4:54 PM on November 5, 2001

Delmoi, whether it be from being obese and dying from heart disease, or being overly thin and dying from an eating disorder, it's still dying. And it's something that needs to be remedied. Calling someone emaciated or a FAT ASS does nothing to solve the problem.

Calista looks unhealthy. Granted, it may be bad lighting, something she did in the picture, or just a factor of her "high metabolism," but if it isn't, she desperately needs to get help.

We may be all pots calling the kettles black, but regardless, something needs to be done about the body image that Americans have today. When someone with Calista's body shape is considered a role model, there's something seriously wrong with mindsets today.
posted by KoPi_42 at 5:01 PM on November 5, 2001

SAUSAGE BISCUIT! STAT!!!!!!!
posted by bunnyfire at 5:09 PM on November 5, 2001

There's something wrong with mindsets/society blah blah blah when people pick TV actresses as "role models".
posted by Catch at 5:11 PM on November 5, 2001

Not sure what relevance obesity has to this. The fact that other people are fat doesn't negate Flockhart's eating disorder, if in fact she does have one. It's not like she is somehow balancing out some obese person somewhere, thus restoring the earth's delicate balance. Both illnesses need to be dealt with, regardless of which is rarer.
posted by Hildago at 5:52 PM on November 5, 2001

It amazes me that people are actually saying "It was just a bad photo. On TV she really looks normal.

So TV portrays a more honest look than candid photography? You should take a look at normal people on TV and in person. The phrase 'the camera adds ten pounds' isn't just a cliche.

Also, to the 'have a little fun with your body' comment, that's just great. If you're into making yourself skeleton-thin, or superfat, getting everything you can pierced, or shooting up heroin, more power to you, but when you do that and put yourself on a worldwide pedestal so that young people who don't know any better idolize you and endanger their lives inthe same fashion, that's no longer within the realm of a personal choice. It's a societal choice.

Okay, okay, scratch piercings off the list. They're not nearly so life-threatening as the other three.
posted by kfury at 5:53 PM on November 5, 2001

Heart Disease is the number 1 natural killer in the US

Yeah, I guess the high rate of smoking has nothing to do with it...
posted by Dark Messiah at 6:23 PM on November 5, 2001

JACK (V.O.)
Chloe looked the way Meryl Streep's skeleton would look if you made it smile and walk around a party being extra nice to everyone.
posted by grabbingsand at 6:25 PM on November 5, 2001

Um, tell me again how insulting someone for being overly thin is any different then insulting them for being overly fat?

different type of FUNNAY!
posted by jcterminal at 6:29 PM on November 5, 2001

You know, I have had an eating disorder for 12 years. At any given time I might weigh 92 lbs or 135 lbs, but that isn't what sucks. What sucks is that I never stop thinking about food--either eating it or not eating it. People who do not obsess about food, weight, and control may find eating disorders all very amusing, but the person who does suffer is not amused.

As long as you're getting a balanced diet with enough calories to do whatever it is you need to be doing, being overly skinny is much more healthy then being overly fat.

Excuse me, but I beg to disagree. From a web site about eating disorders, here are a few fun side effects of being "overly thin."

Loss of menstrual periods, chemical imbalances, dehydration. osteoporosis, mental confusion and concentration difficulties, low blood pressure, slow pulse, irregular heart beat, heart attack, kidney failure... oh, and death. It could be just me, but I consider those pretty serious.
posted by xyzzy at 7:42 PM on November 5, 2001

a place for the boney and vomitous.
posted by quonsar at 7:54 PM on November 5, 2001

Maybe I'm being idealistic again, but wouldn't the media of America be all over it if there was the slightest proof that Calista Flockhart actually has an eating disorder? Aren't there paparazzi all over her at all times just waiting to catch a shot of her vomiting in the restroom of a posh club somewhere? Isn't there a score of reporters following her around at bars and restaurants and counting her calorie intake? What are we paying these people for? Shouldn't my taxes be going to pay for this? If there was really some kinda proof it would show up on Entertainment Tonight. Wouldn't it? Did it? Did I miss it? Why didn't anyone call me? I'm always the last to know.

That said, isn't it physically impossible for anyone to get that way without at least half-assed trying? It would be more of a crime if this woman's just genetically prone to looking like a skeleton in a flesh-colored, hermetically-sealed ziplock bag. Or maybe she just jogs a lot?

I'd rather have consistent looking babe bodies like Calista Flockhart or Camryn Manheim on television than people who are thin in some places and thick in others. I don't have an eating disorder. I don't constantly think about food all the time. I eat when my stomach says its hungry. I got thin limbs, a small head, a beer belly and a fat ass. I look like a potato with toothpicks sticking out of it.

So I ask you. What's healthy? When we see the inevitable link on MeFi's front page in the future which announces the death of Calista Flockhart by an overdose of X while she was choking on her own vomit reaching for a cloves cigarette, then we can all do the I Told You So routine. When that day comes, everyone will realize that there was a reason Robert Downey Jr. got that job on Ally McBeal - we'll know where he got his stuff from. And ET will be all over it.

Until then, looks to me the woman still fogs up a mirror. She also still fogs up some libidoes, though I can't imagine any man successfully making love to Calista Flockhart without poking an eye out. If she ever elbowed somebody in the ribs, they'd start bleeding.
posted by ZachsMind at 8:49 PM on November 5, 2001

One of the problems with the original photo is that it's a fish-eye lens. Look at the people in the background, or compare the smeared faces in some of the same shutterbug's other photos (which at least proves she wasn't trying to take a photo specifically unflattering of Flockhart).
posted by dhartung at 8:53 PM on November 5, 2001

Hildago: Not sure what relevance obesity has to this.

Overweight, obese, and "very" skinny people are regularly judged on their appearance. Witness almost every comment in this thread.
posted by hijinx at 9:31 PM on November 5, 2001

dhartung: You must be right about that fish-eyed lens; look how fat it made slender comedian Martin Short look!

Actually, looking at those other photos you linked, I'm NOT seeing much distortion other than bad lighting. The C.F. picture is still disturbing: that's no fish-eye lens or blurriness, the woman is really that skinny.

posted by hincandenza at 11:27 PM on November 5, 2001

You guys got it all wrong... That's Mary Tyler Moore...
posted by fooljay at 2:25 AM on November 6, 2001

What interests me is that the various eating disorders enumerated within this thread are almost afflictions that strike --nearly exclusively--middle class adolescent females, starting in the USA and spreading outward to Europe and Japan; only in the last 20 odd years; which have no real historical precedent outside of the 'fasting girls' of the late 19th century and seem to be learned behaviors transmitted for the most part by televison talk shows like Oprah, (Who never has obsessed about her weight in public. Not ever.), oh, and that old standby, TV news. What really interests me, apart from the income threshold requirement, is how talking and talking about this transmits it. A condition communicated by communication, by paying horrified attention to it. Hmm....

As for Calista Flockhart, what if she's just on the edge of a bell curve? We do come in varieties of shape, size and color, or so it would seem.There are thin people out there. When I worked at the hell of the Amazon warehouse, there were a lot of Somalis there: I can't think think of a quicker way to lose money than open a Weight Watcher's franchise in Somalia was a standard joke. There are obvious historical reasons favoring the selection of lean humans in some situations. Eating disorders seem to be behaviors--I do not subscribe to the currently popular social construct of the 'disease' theory of addictions or behavior--available only to the affluent lucky.

The scapegoating, morally one upping, make oneself right by making somebody else wrong, witch hunting, demonizing
aspect of all this demonstrated herein is intriguing, too. Girard was onto something: we need a target for our collective umconscious hostilities.
posted by y2karl at 6:43 AM on November 6, 2001

hm. she has lost a lot of weight since i first saw her in "the birdcage". ironically, before she hit it big, she was in an hbo movie about a girl with eating disorders, too.

sure, it could be an eating disorder, but it could be a myriad of other health problems causing it as well. she may just be that teeny naturally i suppose too.
posted by jerseygirl at 7:29 AM on November 6, 2001

bunnyfire, that is the first funny thing i have ever seen you say. i congratulate you. keep it up!
posted by adampsyche at 7:32 AM on November 6, 2001

On a TV interview some months ago, I saw Calista Flockart say that she participated in a cover story about her, published by People Weekly. She had been told it would be on the subject of her weight, and if she did not participate, the story would be done without her input (read: it could get nasty, or nastier). So she had to deal. And I had read that article, and I think that's where one of her friends from years before said that Flockart has *always* been very skinny.

It's hard enough to be a human being, without other people judging you on your looks. Granted, the acting industry has always thrived on the superficial...
posted by datawrangler at 8:17 AM on November 6, 2001

Granted, the acting industry has always thrived on the superficial...

Makes the (relative) success of women like Dawn French and Camryn Manheim all that more amazing.
posted by tommasz at 8:30 AM on November 6, 2001

isn't it physically impossible for anyone to get that way without at least half-assed trying?

No, it's not. There's a genetic disorder called the Marfan syndrome that could easily make her that thin. In 1999 ABC reported that "intelligence officials" think that Bin Laden has it as well - ABC News Report . He's 6'6'' and weighs 160 lbs or so.

I don't think Ms. Flockhart is tall enough to have this, nor does she seem to have any of the other health problems associated with it. But I know what it's like to have everyone diagnosing you with an eating disorder when you don't have one.
posted by Cecilia at 8:33 AM on November 6, 2001

I call it Old Weird Harold Syndrome.

"It's a Cosby Sweatah! A Coooooosby Sweatah!"
posted by Kafkaesque at 9:12 AM on November 6, 2001

Healthy is, traditionally, considered sexy. But it's possible that someone can be healthy without looking it.

Just the other day, while chatting online, someone thought actor John Goodman looked on the verge of a heart attack. I disagreed, because I've been thinking that since he was on Rosanne, and he still seems to be going strong—it must be slow metabolism.

But it does show how we look upon others' health and eating habits. If you're going to be in the public eye and affect their thoughts, you're going to be scrutinized, regardless of shape.
posted by Down10 at 10:44 AM on November 6, 2001

Being a very thin person, I have to side with CF on this one. Granted, maybe she isn't 100% healthy (and then again, maybe she IS), but who is in this day and age? If I hear one more person tell me that I "need to eat some more" and/or "put some meat on my bones," I'm going to fucking rage. I eat A LOT. In fact, I probably eat more than my husband, and unless what's left on the plate is meat, I'm usually the one on clean-up duty. I've gotten 2" taller since 9th grade, and since 9th grade hadn't gained a pound until the past year (gained 2), but that's about it. On Halloween, I wore my girl scout costume from 4th grade. It was a little shorter, but still no major effort needed to put it on.

I am not a freak; I do not have an eating disorder, or any disorder of any kind. I hate that people think it's okay to comment on how thin a person is to their face. You wouldn't tell a fat person to "Lose some weight! You're so fat!!!" but people constantly tell thin people, like myself, that if we turn sideways we'll disappear, or that we can have some of their fat, or that we need to eat more.

In high school, I was given a lot of shit for being thin. In fact, one of the staff members at my high school pulled me aside and asked if I did "crank". --I had never even heard of it. On the days the kids saw me eat in class, they said I was "bulimic"; on the days they didn't see me eat, I was "anorexic." ...But the boys never failed to whistle when I wore a short skirt. What kind of sick double-standard is that? Also, in my high school math class, there was a girl who had a disease that made her look thin--I think it was the disease mentioned above, as she was very tall, and had "anorexic-looking" face and limbs. She was a model, but when she applied at Calvin Klein, they told her she needed to gain at least 15 lbs. because she didn't look--what's that word?--HEALTHY.

If you really look at Calista, it doesn't appear that she has an eating disorder. This site has some great pictures of her that show her arms, legs and so on. If she did have an eating disorder, her elbows and knees would bow out and have a very knobby appearance. But judging by those pictures, she looks plenty healthy to me. You also have to realize that she's in her thirties. Her face is beginning to thin out, sure, but that's what happens as you get older; if you don't realize that you, too, need a reality check. Thin people get thinner as they age and average/overweight people tend to gain more weight.

She is 5'5" and weighs 102 lbs. I am 5'6" and weigh between 98 and 100 lbs. depending on how many Big Macs I've just consumed. And here's the kicker: I'm HEALTHY. I have a fabulous immune system, and have won little awards for immaculate attendance in school (because I was never sick). I don't have any allergies of any kind. I've never broken a limb--though there were times I thought I would (take that osteoporosis!).

In conclusion, I just have to say: more power to Calista for being unafraid to be herself. Many girls in Hollywood who are built like her get breast implants, or other cosmetic enhancements to "beef up" their figures or change their hair or eye color. I'm glad to see there is one small-breasted, brown-haired, brown-eyed actress that is happy with her God-given appearance. For that, I feel, she is an excellent role model.
posted by Totally80sGirl at 7:11 AM on November 7, 2001

This is not me showing off that "I'm so thin" or whatever. I want to back up my point, so here is the halloween picture in question and another picture that shows that I'm NOT emaciated or sickly.

p.s. - My birthday is tomorrow, and the biggest drawback to being thin is that I don't look 21! ARGH! Might as well change my name to "Can I see your ID?" :)
posted by Totally80sGirl at 7:18 AM on November 7, 2001

Well there's one thing I can objectively say about that picture. Everyone else going to the Emmys wore black. Flockhart was one of the few people to break from that by wearing cream. For some strange reason that just seems cool.
posted by ZachsMind at 9:58 AM on November 7, 2001

She is 5'5" and weighs 102 lbs. I am 5'6" and weigh between 98 and 100 lbs. depending on how many Big Macs I've just consumed. And here's the kicker: I'm HEALTHY. I have a fabulous immune system, and have won little awards for immaculate attendance in school (because I was never sick). I don't have any allergies of any kind. I've never broken a limb--though there were times I thought I would (take that osteoporosis!).

I'm a 6 foot tall guy who weighs a mere 117 pounds. I can't go to a family reunion or to thanksgiving or christmas without being informed that I need to eat more. Do I need to eat more? I doubt it. I eat three big meals a day as it is.

The most amusing part of this is that I already weigh more than my father or uncles did at my age. I just happen to come from very thin genes.

Of course, this did nothing to prevent the teasing when I was growing up, and does nothing to convince my extended family that I'm fine.

I'm very happy with the way I look. What amuses me is the number of people who (for some reason) aren't satisfied with the way I look. I guess they've done such a good job with their own physique that they've decided to give their secrets away for free.
posted by iceberg273 at 12:37 PM on November 7, 2001

I'm very happy with the way I look.

Icy, didn't you even read the thread? The point is how others think you look. Wake up and eat some pork fat already.
posted by Skot at 12:42 PM on November 7, 2001

Wake up and eat some pork fat already.

*gains some weight to help America heal*
posted by iceberg273 at 1:44 PM on November 7, 2001

80sgirl: You wouldn't tell a fat person to "Lose some weight! You're so fat!!!"

People do, in fact, do that - your arguments aren't as far removed from some of the fat acceptance ones as you'd like to think.
posted by hijinx at 2:12 PM on November 7, 2001

I have never heard anyone tell a fat person to lose weight nor have I done so myself, and I've seen some disgustingly fat people that I wanted to totally bitch out (wearing spandex and a short shirt no less). Has someone told you this stuff, Hijinx, or have you overheard someone doing so to someone else? Because I just don't buy that.

The point is that people telling you that you're too thin or whatever to your face has gotta stop. It's rude, and just because someone is thin, that doesn't make it any less rude that telling a fat person that they're a total hog who needs to drop 200 lbs.

p.s. I forgot one of the quips people use earlier; if I may just state for the record that I don't have a tapeworm either.
posted by Totally80sGirl at 4:14 AM on November 8, 2001