After having a baby 11 years ago, I went from a size 6 to a size 16. Thanks to the South Beach Diet, I am a size 10 and my goal is a size 8. About a third of black women in this country are obese, and it's ruining our health. Many of us suffer from hypertension, diabetes and are at great risk of having strokes and heart attacks. Every day I see overweight women who cannot walk a city block or up a flight of stairs without huffing and puffing. Many of us have very poor eating habits and diets. Greasy, high-carb, starchy diets are contributing to the obesity and contributing health problems. I would love to shoot the person who coined the term, 'big and beautiful', because it's a big lie. There is NOTHING beautiful about a woman who's 50, 100 or more pounds overweight. Obesity is unattractive. Yes, I tried to fool myself with that 'I'm big and beautiful' nonsense...right up til the second I broke the zipper out of a pair of size 14 pants I was trying on last summer. And as I looked at myself in that mirror, my heart broke. It was that day that I resolved to stop lying to myself, and lose the weight. Using cute terms will not erase the truth that too many of us are just too damn big. And there's nothing beautiful about it. And trust me; the majority of overweight sistas are not feeling the confidence they exude.
User Detail :
Name : RhondaOutlaw, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Lutheran, Age : 41, City : New York, State : NY Country : United States, Occupation : Account Representative, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, When I see a very overweight person, the first thing I think is 'Thank goodness that isn't me'. Most people think that way, but they won't admit it. Everytime a thin or average-size woman or man looks at an overweight person, they secretly fear becoming that person someday. I know I do. Also, we've taken the phrase 'big and beautiful' to an unacceptable level. There is nothing beautiful about a 300-pound woman. Likewise, there is nothing attractive about a 300-pound man. Fat is not pretty. Sorry.
User Detail :
Name : RhondaOutlaw, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Lutheran, Age : 41, City : New York, State : NY Country : United States, Occupation : Account Representative, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, Lee, the average age of female anchors in New York is 35 and up. It is actually the reverse here; it is rare to see a very young anchor woman.
User Detail :
Name : RhondaOutlaw, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Lutheran, Age : 41, City : New York, State : NY Country : United States, Occupation : Account Representative, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, William, your 'theory' is just plain silly. There are many black women who wear their hair natural, myself included. Prior to this, I wore my hair in a shoulder length, chemically relaxed style, because I was repeatedly told that my natural hair was not 'acceptable' to White Corporate America. Well, in year 2000, I decided to tell White Corporate America to take a flying leap, because I cut off all of my relaxed hair, and wore a close cut 'fro' until it began to grow. Today, I have a headful of beautiful, crinkly, curly healthy hair, no more scalp burns, dandruff and excessively dry hair. And I am no longer interested in changing who I am in order to 'fit in'. White Corporate America, and everybody else, must now accept me as I am, and that includes my hair.
User Detail :
Name : RhondaOutlaw, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Lutheran, Age : 41, City : New York, State : NY Country : United States, Occupation : Account Representative, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, Sorry, white folks, but some of the most beautiful, classy-looking women, past and present, have been and are brunettes. Think Liz Taylor and Ava Gardner, for example - breathtakingly beautiful women who oozed class and style. Now compare them to Pamela Anderson and the wannabees. Blondes may have more fun, but brunettes are more beautiful.
User Detail :
Name : RhondaOutlaw, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Lutheran, Age : 41, City : New York, State : NY Country : United States, Occupation : Account Representative, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, The question asked was no more narrow-minded and racist than the stupid assed, idiotic questions about black people I read on Y? Forum on a daily basis. So you got a dose of your own medicine ... leaves a nasty taste in your mouth, doesn't it?
User Detail :
Name : RhondaOutlaw, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Lutheran, Age : 41, City : New York, State : NY Country : United States, Occupation : Account Representative, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, I don't mean to be a smart ass - well actually, I do - but perhaps if you weren't so busy looking around to see who's looking at you, then you wouldn't actually see anyone looking up and down at you. People look at people all the time. If I happen to look up and see someone looking at me, unstead of getting all huffy about it, I take their looking at me as a compliment - and smile. Nine times out of 10, they smile back at me, we have a nice exchange of words, and guess what? Turns out that the person who was staring was admiring something I was wearing, or admiring my hair or whatever. Do yourself a favor: take a deep breath, exhale slowly, get over yourself and stop being so damned childish and petty. You're making not only a sexist issue out of this, but a racial one. Are you sure you're 32? Humph ... from the sound of your silly question, I thought you might be 13.
User Detail :
Name : RhondaOutlaw, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Lutheran, Age : 41, City : New York, State : NY Country : United States, Occupation : Account Representative, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, Spitting is a filthy, disgusting habit that only ignorant, nasty people engage in...Black, white or otherwise. Here's a solution to your spitting problem. Try using a napkin or a paper towel.
User Detail :
Name : RhondaOutlaw, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Lutheran, Age : 41, City : New York, State : NY Country : United States, Occupation : Account Representative, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, Gee, I guess those white folks step outside to smoke and who toss their cigarette butts on the ground, in lieu of using the astray, are a figment of my imagination. The white folks I see tossing garbage out of their car windows...guess I imagined that, too.
User Detail :
Name : RhondaOutlaw, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Lutheran, Age : 41, City : New York, State : NY Country : United States, Occupation : Account Representative, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, What's 'convenient' about having to put harsh chemicals in your hair every six to eight weeks, having to rinse the chemicals out, use a 'special' shampoo to 'lock' the straightness in, having to set your hair on rollers or use a hot curling iron, praying that it doesn't rain, or that it won't get humid, or that the wind won't blow and ruin your 'do'; what's convenient about going to a pool party and not being able to swim for fear of wetting your hair? I wash, twist my hair, and go. I can walk in the rain, I don't care how high the humidity gets, I can swim, and I don't duck and dodge the wind. Best of all, I'm not being ripped off by salons for $100 or more every visit. Best of all, there are no chemicals eating up my hair. Now THAT'S convenience.
User Detail :
Name : RhondaOutlaw, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Lutheran, Age : 41, City : New York, State : NY Country : United States, Occupation : Account Representative, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, You are free to wear your hair as you like. But we both know why you don't like 'NATURAL' hair. And trust me...your hair is NOT more manageable than mine. Your hair in it's relaxed state requires alot more maintainence than mine, and I've got about eight inches of natural hair that I maintain. For those women who are in denial about WHY they relax their hair, there is an excellent book called 'Nappy Hair...Taming the Roots of African Hair in America'. The author doesn't lie, and the truth about the self hate that many Black women feel towards themselves and their hair is in the book. So Cocoa I know why you don't 'like' nappy hair...you've been taught that your hair is ugly. But I'll say this...there is nothing uglier, or sadder, than a Black woman with a perm...I screams I HATE MYSELF.
User Detail :
Name : RhondaOutlaw, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Lutheran, Age : 41, City : New York, State : NY Country : United States, Occupation : Account Representative, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, Hermann, I've worn my hair natural for almost four years now, I've been with this company for more than eight years now, but still spruce up my resume and cover letter 'just in case'. Would you believe there are African American people who ask me what am I going to 'do' with my hair, if I have to ever look for another job?? There are people who think this is still a 'phase' I'm going through. I almost feel sorry for them and their ignorance.
User Detail :
Name : RhondaOutlaw, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Lutheran, Age : 41, City : New York, State : NY Country : United States, Occupation : Account Representative, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, Black women have been told since our forced arrival to this country that there is something wrong with our hair, and like fools, we bought into it. Add to that the fact that the black hair care industry has made a killing off our foolishness. This industry has made billions of dollars off the shame and embarrassment black women have been taught to feel about their own hair. Thing is, many black women's hair, frankly, looks like stir-fried crap; not because of its natural texture, but because they've destroyed their hair with chemicals. The relaxed hair of the average black woman is thin, stiff, brittle, broken and uneven; in short, it is a mess. But these women would rather lose a limb than go and cut that awful hair off their heads and go natural. And someone should introduce legislation to ban those ridiculous ponytails and weaves. Sorry, ladies, but most of you look awful wearing this mess. I don't understand why some women would rather look ridiculous with some fake-ass hair when they would look great with their own, natural hair.
User Detail :
Name : RhondaOutlaw, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Lutheran, Age : 41, City : New York, State : NY Country : United States, Occupation : Account Representative, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, I'm wondering where exactly are you 'seeing' all this abuse going, because I don't see it. Do you live in a Black community, or did you get your information from other male caucasians, or did you get it from watching television? and as for your assumption that Asian and Latino people don't 'rough up' their kids, I'll have you know that in my 42 years on earth, I've never seen a Black kid get slapped in the face or smacked in the back of the head...but I've seen plenty of Asian and Latino mothers slap their children's faces, as well as slap them in the back of the head. Perhaps you need to get out and meet more Black folks...otherwise, keep your stupid stereotypes to yourself.
User Detail :
Name : RhondaOutlaw, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Lutheran, Age : 41, City : New York, State : NY Country : United States, Occupation : Account Representative, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, Gee, I didn't realize there were so many people, Black and White, who were afraid of Black People. I'm a Black woman. I fear no one, Black or White or otherwise. I'm out all the time. No one bothers me; most people are nice to me. So I don't know what all the 'fear' is about. I live in a Black community, my son attends an all Black private school, my friends are Black, my man is Black, my neighbors are Black, and I'm not scared. I'm not surprised at white folks whining about being 'scared' of us, but I am truly surprised at Black people...or should I say, 'negroes' perpetuating the stereotype that we are somehow scary. So tell me, what do we Black folks have to do to not seem so 'scary' to you all--perhaps we should grin a little more? Tapdance for you? Do the hambone for you? Put on a minstrel show? Shine your shoes for free? Be happy, grinning, docile darkies to ease your 'apprehension'? Well, on behalf of 'scary' Black folks everywhere, to all those who are 'scared' of us, all I have to say is...BOO!!!!!!! So there.
User Detail :
Name : RhondaOutlaw, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Lutheran, Age : 41, City : New York, State : NY Country : United States, Occupation : Account Representative, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 
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