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@thickdumplingskin
Dream team alert! Our friends, Angry Asian Man Phil Yu and Jeff Yang have teamed up to bring you a new feast for your ears: They Call Us Bruce. Give it a listen and yes, you too can not-so-secretly wish that they were your #squad too. Congratulations fellas and thanks for always representing.
For the first time ever this Women’s History Month, MuslimGirl.com is teaming up with dozens of partners to designate March 27 as #MuslimWomensDay. We’re calling on our allies to pass the mic to Muslim women by centering their voices and stories online.
We’re proud to partner with Tumblr and our friends at MTV, Refinery29, Teen Vogue, Huffington Post and many more to bring this day to life right on your dashboard!
How can anyone participate in #MuslimWomensDay?
Center Muslim women’s voices: With the power of social media, we can give space to those that are underrepresented. Make an effort to reblog, RT, and plug your favorite Muslim women online and what they have to say!
Share Muslim women’s experiences: We’re flooding the internet with dope content from our partners across the web highlighting Muslim women’s stories. If they come across your dash or newsfeed, share them with your network!
Celebrate Muslim women all day! Take part in the #MuslimWomensDay convo online and share thoughts and photos of the beautiful Muslim women in your lives, or even why you’re proud to be a Muslim woman yourself!
Click here to learn more and get ready for the biggest day for Muslim women’s representation like, ever.
I was 11 years old when I started struggling with my first eating disorder. I did not know what anorexia was, nor did I know that the pinching of skin folds between my fingers, under my arms, and on my stomach, was symptomatic. I did not know that it wasn’t healthy to obsess over my reflection in car windows or to hunch over to keep my waist “tucked in.” I thought it was normal. But I wasn’t always this way. A once-expansive childhood had, somehow, collapsed into a labyrinth of dietary rituals and superstitions.
This 220-pound comedian is trying to show women it’s okay to be big.
I Am More Than A Flat Belly
I was 17 years old when I first struggled with bulimia.
By then I had a boyfriend who used to be at the national swimming team and was, obviously, a very athletic person. I didn’t used to like doing any kind of physical activity: I avoided gym classes as much as I could in school, and never really liked any sport.
When I was a senior, my boyfriend began to encourage me to do exercises. I guess I felt kind of bad that he didn’t have a girlfriend as athletic as he was. I even got scared that he would dump me for being so lazy and not fitting into his lifestyle, so I got myself into a gym near my house.
During that year, I used to hang out with my group of school friends; there were five of us, all of us really pretty, but mostly really thin as well. I was the only one of of five who didn’t have a rocking body and I used to feel really uncomfortable when we went out. That year specifically, I found it a great idea to start dieting and doing a lot of exercise because it was THE year: senior trip, prom, and more.
One of the five friends used to run a lot. She apparently loved to exercise, and always paid a lot of attention to her body. We became really close that year and we would constantly talk about how much exercise we were doing, diets, ways to lose weight, laxatives, and so on. It was not until she stopped eating at school and started lying about it to us and her family that we talked about it and suspected something was wrong with her.
Simultaneously, I developed unhealthy habits, consisting of binging and purging myself to lose weight because, unlike her, I didn’t have the “strength” to stop eating.
Things got really bad for a few months after that. I had the pressure of our senior trip to Cancun on my shoulders, where there would be girls in bikinis everywhere and evil comments from others about each others’ bodies. In addition to the pressure of not gaining weight in order to look “stunning” on our small prom dresses, everything went down hill and it started to become obvious to everyone that both of us had an eating disorder.
By then, I had already bought my prom dress, but I still didn’t feel thin enough despite people’s comments. After we came back from Cancun, every kind of comments came up about our bodies. My parents and my boyfriend became aware of my disorder and I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t know how to confront people about it and was so scared of people judging me (specially because people tend to think that girls with eating disorders are just air heads who want to look skinny).
I was referred to a treating center for eating disorders. I had to go several times a week to talk with a psychiatrist, a psychologist and a nutritionist. It was really weird in the beginning to go there and see others who were clearly struggling with disorders as I was, and it was uncomfortable to sit in the meeting when they had to explain to my parents what bulimia was about, and what I was going through. I felt like I had disappointed them, because no parent would want a kid with such problems.
However, time by and I began to feel more comfortable about it. I was no longer in denial with those around me: my family, friends and boyfriend were aware of what was going on with me, and if it hadn’t been like that, I think I would have not been able to go through it by myself. Once I finished treatment, I referred my friend, who was dealing with anorexia, for her to get some help as well.
Eating disorders are not easy to deal with. Once you’re in it, and once you’ve reached bottom, it is when you realize how easy it was getting into it, but just how difficult it is to get out. The hardest part about the whole thing was the moment of accepting and deciding to get help. Once you’re able to do that, as wrong as everything might seem, there is nothing left but to get better and better step by step. No one says it will be easy, but it is an obstacle everyone can overcome.
Today, I’m 19 years old. I still hang out with my best friends from school. I have a boyfriend (not the same one). I’m in college. I live a pretty normal life. Two years after and looking back, looking pictures, and remembering everything that happened, I now know I’m a stronger person. I learned that sometimes our mind can play some ugly tricks on us, and most important of all, I learned to love myself. Today I’m sure that I don’t need to show my ribs, or torture myself with every bite with the foods I like in order for people to like me. I’m much more than a flat belly and an underweight girl.
It was not easy, but it was possible.
Ana Maria Hernandez | Miami, Fl | USA
Share your story
Considering the life-long issue I’ve had with my body and self-image, I decided to spend my journal period, listing the things that I’m grateful for about MY BODY.
Admittedly, some of these came quickly but others I had to think about. “Ample cleavage” was met with “yeah but what about how they’re too big and sagging, or the stretch marks…?”, and “gave life” was met with “what about the five miscarriages you had…?”
My point in telling you this is to demonstrate how important it is to power through the negative thoughts to find the beauty in it - to not focus on those harming thoughts about ourselves but reverse it and see the beauty in what our bodies are and can do. Because focusing on that really did help me love myself better….
The affirmation at the bottom is the affirmation for gratitude but I’ve tailored it to say “body” instead of life. Focusing on what I love about my body helps me to silence what I don’t.
And one day, hopefully one day soon, those voices won’t be so loud anymore. ❤️⭕️ - Mod Liz
Fellow body-positive podcaster and coach Katie Dalebout joins me to celebrate Food Psych's 4-year anniversary! We discuss how Katie's first appearance in episode 34 changed the direction of the podcast, how her recovery from orthorexia led her toward Health at Every Size and away from her or
A Q&A with the author and chef about everything from penis size to his new collaboration with MeUndies.
“I’ve never been that comfortable with how I look, or my body. When you’re a dude, you’re not really asked to talk about that. You hear women talk about their bodies, their appearances, and how they’re uncomfortable with it. I read a lot of feminist literature. My girl is a beauty director at Elle. I read her articles and her friends’ articles. I definitely had a lot of self-image stuff I dealt with personally, but I don’t think it’d be fair to compare to women’s body issues, since it’s a lot more complex for a number of reasons for them. But I don’t hear a lot of men write or talk about positive body image.”
Food Network Needs Better Asian Representation
Duh, right? There isn’t a single show on the Food Network hosted by someone Asian, unless you count Iron Chef (and we don’t). Why must we watch non-Asian cooks who can't pronounce "Sriracha" and don't have a chopstick drawer show us how to make our own dishes? And how come, when they do, we have to watch as their entire family mocks it - like in this episode of The Pioneer Woman?
Come on, Food Network. With chefs like David Chang, Roy Choi, Anita Lo and Niki Nakayama out there - you can do better than this.
Twitter Chat #NEDAwareness
Twitter chat w @NEDAstaff today! We will be tweeting @dumplingskin account 11am PST/2pm EST #NEDAwareness (image via @artbykriss)
“Let's be kind when talking about other people's bodies tonight! #Oscars (image via @sophieandlili)”
Snow Snow Snow
Landed in Boston and damn this snow storm is no joke. Just kidding. I’m from California and I think it’s beautiful! Freezing, yes, but beautiful nevertheless. Is it just me or do people become warmer as it gets colder? Oh and can someone teach me how to build a snowman?
I digress...
I am looking forward to sharing the Thick Dumpling Skin story this Wednesday during the Asian American Heritage Week. I’ll be joined by Deepica Mutyala to discuss Asian American beauty standards at 6:30 pm @ Mcleod Suites.
Got questions for me? Com’on don’t be shy. Leave them here and/or tweet at us @dumplingskin.
See you soon!
- Lisa
P.S. Lynn and I also just recorded another podcast. It has been a while so thanks for your patience. We talk about dealing with the present, and we get to answer a listener/reader question. Coming soon!
See this Instagram photo by @dumplingskin • 15 likes
Our co-founder Lisa Lee is coming to Northeastern!
Six-Word Memoirs from SMITH Magazine
Six-Word Memoirs is teaming up with ABC's acclaimed series Fresh Off the Boat for a new book, Six Words Fresh Off the Boat: Stories of Immigration, Identity, and Coming to America (Kingswell/Disney Publishing 2017).
The newest book in the Six-Word series is an exploration of one of the most personal and profound elements of the American experience—and we hope to hear from you. Share your or your family's coming to America story in Six Words and you could be in the book!
Deadline: February 15, 2017.
Little Ning Books creates and publishes illustrated children's books with diverse leading characters starting with the Pepper Zhang series.
[Fill in the Blank] List
HAPPY 2017!
For the last couple of weeks, I’ve self-prescribed a list of things that I am happily allowed to do. The list is simple: sleeping, eating, reading, and exercising. Maybe some TV here and there.
I’ve been able to stick to the list so far (and hopefully can try to stick to once I go back to work) and have been getting to the “activities” that I’ve been putting off for a long time.
It has been refreshing to do things just because, and to encourage my own sense of curiosity rather than reading/watching/listening because I have to/should do.
So far, I finally finished watching The Wire, read Ta-nehisi Coates’ The Case of Reparations (and more by the author), and caught up with many podcasts (ahem basically everything with comedian Hari Kondabolu). I listened/danced to Bruno Mars’ new album 24k & Frank Ocean’s Blond, and also finally finished a book! The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead was a painfully beautiful read and I couldn’t put it down. Please add it to your list.
By the way, did you know that if you shop on https://smile.amazon.com, your purchase will benefit a nonprofit of your choice? Given how much I’ve come to use Amazon, re-discovering this tidbit has made me want to shout it from the rooftop. If you don’t have a go-to nonprofit, yet, may I suggest Chinese for Affirmative Action, under the network of Asian Americans for Civil Rights & Equality? It’s a social justice organization that I serve on the board of and does some really important work to represent the most vulnerable in our communities.
Speaking of which, throughout December I made a goal to give to one organization every day for 31 days. Since Lynn and I spoke about the election a few weeks ago, I have arrived at the conclusion that more than ever, those of us who say that we care about equal rights have to put our money where our mouth is. To build resistance and proactively fight against institutional racism & sexism require resources such as money. Check out my giving thread on Twitter if you want some ideas of where to start, and please share organizations that do important work with us too.
About to crack open my next book... How have you taken care of yourself in the last few weeks?
- Lisa
Yes. Yes you are.
