I saw this quote from Tina Fey on Body Image on Facebook this week (it’s from Bossypants):
I wanted to share and ask your thoughts on this.
On one hand I totally agree that J Lo and Beyonce added another trait we need to have to be defined as beautiful.
Butt, it’s the one trait I have so I’m not gonna hate. I’m Spanish and despite my skin color – I’m shaped with some curves. And I’m a-okay with that. So, I welcome Beyonce Lo’s addition to the list.
This pic is from that day that random guy stopped me on a run to solicit a ‘personal’ personal training sesh. Remember that tragedy? 
Wouldn’t boobs just get in the way when I ran?
I have no idea why I took this picture:
Anyway, just LOVE yourself! 
Or find a guy who likes what you’re working with. Like Chuck Liddell? 
Ignore that last part most of this post I had that vodka spritzer thing with dinner.
Question: What are your thoughts on Tina Fey’s quote? Lemme know!
Did I just win the random post of the year award?
I’m late to the party, but this is a quote by Tina that will haunt her. She may not see it this way, but this is ‘White Feminism’ in a nutshell.
Reducing Beyonce/Jlo to this is remarkable. There are MILLIONS of women of color who have bodies like Bey and Jlo and who rarely saw themselves represented on screen. Somehow she didn’t think of them, or more accurately, doesn’t care because she knows all the basic chicks will cheer her on.
You white women seriously have issues with women of color.
Hi Frups, I’m not a white woman and am extremely proud of being Mexican-American and talk about it a lot on RER so you’re probably a new reader. You make a good point, I didn’t see it that way.
What page number of her book is this quote from?
I liked her comments, they made me laugh. I am simply trying to work with what I got. Since having a daughter 9 years ago, I realize that I have to really watch any obsession I have on self image as I don’t want to pass those fears/traits/obsessions on to her. I have sought to demonstrate to her that eating right and staying active is what she should focus on. There have been recent times where she’s commented that she has a little chunk in her belly. I divert her thinking to point out her strong legs that have carried her across a couple of 5K finish lines. We just gotta change the way we think and what we see. I can start wearing my half marathon medals everywhere I go if people want to be concerned with my chunk!
Totally not random! This is your BEST post yet!
Sorry, but am I the only person who doesn’t think you have a big butt? I’m not saying its flat, but big? Not really.
That guy sounds REALLY creepy. Do you carry mace or even a key (go for the eyes!!) with you on long runs?
Besides that, we may say that Beyonce and J-Lo have big legs and butts, but in reality, they are still VERY tiny women compared to REAL and average women. Those attributes are considered sexy only within limits. I don’t write this as my opinion, but as an observation of what pop culture deems sexy.
As for me? I wish I was as thin as I was back when I thought I was fat. Ha!
While I love Tina Fey, I’m still waiting for some celebrity to bring the tummy back. Yeah…that’s never going to happen. But my poor flat butt is yearning to steal the excess from my stomach as its own. Not anytime soon!
Random posts are just as fun 😉
Love Tina Fey’s quote…just not the bit on KK.
Yes, boobs do get in the way of running.
Given my Latino background, I don’t get why would be a woman be worried about having a big butt. Then again, I’m not a woman, so I wouldn’t hold the answer. In South American culture, women have flaunted their lower backs since the start of time. Curves have been considered healthy. Love your body and find somebody who loves it too! What do you think about this philosophy?
Missed the point of Tina’s comment…
Women are not worried about having a big butt. Thanks to a new media obsession with butts and ‘what men really want’ kind of stuff women are now encouraged to worry about NOT having a big butt or curved lower back (as the post above just mentioned) or whatever.
Loved the blog post and just want to encourage women everywhere to stop listening to what is ‘in’, men’s wish lists and general media junk . GIVE YOURSELVES A BREAK 🙂 !
If we take away trying to meet men’s sexual approval all women suddenly become lovely in the eyes of other women. Perhaps that is where we will experience more joy? Good, loving, wholesome female friends are a beautiful medicine for all this pressure on women.
One thing I do like is that it’s “ok” to have a butt. I’m small and not extremely curvy, but I build muscle pretty easily and have always had a bubble butt. It’s taken me a long time to realize that that’s totally ok!
If guys other than Sir Mix A Lot like big butts and cannot lie; I have no problem with that.
I agree with the part about Kim Kardashian… 😉
I think women will always seek out that which they don’t have. But I see guys do it, too. I think there’s nothing wrong with a little body envy, so long as everyone understands A) You can’ be upset that you’re not thin if you eat crap and don’t work out, B) Everyone has a strength they can accentuate, and C) You will always be your worst critic, but chances are that whatever you hate about yourself, someone else is envious of right now.
I love Tina Fey! I can’t stand Kim K though!
You just have to love yourself!!
Unrelated to Tina Fey, but Runs for Cookies blogged about finding a great chocolate chip cookie in Florida http://www.runsforcookies.com/2013/01/ragnar-relay-florida-keys-part-4.html
Maybe on your next trip, or have you tried this one already?
Thanks! I haven’t tried that already.
I LOVE Tina and this quote is great, but don’t aspire to look like Kim K, I think I’d rather just look like Tina :).
🙂
Haha I absolutely LOVE Tina Fey, and this quote is great. I do think that J-Lo and Beyonce made it more okay for shapelier women to be considered beautiful, however, as someone with a flat butt, I resent the fact that this attribute is now what is on everyones minds. I love the laundry-list of beauty traits Tina lists too, its so true and really discouraging that we’re all expected to look like this. (sigh)
I totally agree with Tina. Sometimes it’s so hard to resist the pressure to feel like we need to be “perfect.”
PS- My 4 year old calls Chuck Liddell: ” Chocolate Dale.”
I actually loved Tina’s observation. And I think that as a woman, she’s allowed to comment on the pressure we all feel (fat and thin, anonymous and famous alike). When I started losing weight, I thought, “If I could just get down to X lbs or Y jean size, I’d be happy,” and of course, once I got there, I was looking at the next milestone. I’ve found more things to strive for (guns, slimmer thighs, 6-pack, etc). I heard once that most women obsess over their weight because of OTHER women, not men. I think it’s true. I certainly started my weight-loss journey for myself and (to a lesser degree) for my husband, but now that I’m healthier, my goals are totally based on what I see other women accomplishing. I think it’s a fairly natural inclination, but one that we all have to try to rein in or we’ll NEVER be happy!
I think women believe the grass is always greener. If you’re stick thin, you want Scarlett Johanssen’s curves. If you’re curvy, you want the 9 year old hips haha. We’re a society bred to eternally be discontent with what we are and we have. We need to learn to accept ourselves. Society accepts everyone. There’s always someone who loves the curves or the bones or the butt or the lack thereof. So why can’t we be content with our own selves?
Great post, made me think! And anything from Tina Fey makes my day 🙂
“Kim Kardashian, who, as we know was made by Russian scientists to sabotage our athlete’s…” Tina Fey is one of the funniest women in American entertainment.
I have Bossy Pants but haven’t read it yet.
I had a guy stop me on a run from his car like you did too. I also thought he needed directions, but no he gave me his business card. He said he was new to the area and interested in getting into running and working out. I proceeded to tell him I wasn’t from the area (which was true) and run away. Who has ever had success picking up a woman while she is on a run?
Seriously!
Okay Bossypants is one of my favorite books. Tina Fey definitely had a point there. And the vodka spritzer reminded me of a few weeks ago when I was blogging and was actually told by someone sitting next to me, “You know, you should blog more with wine involved”. Yikes 🙂
Haa, that was funny, I love Tina!
The reason that JLo and B’s bodies are ‘accepted’ as hot is because they have the confidence to put it out there.
The way I see it is, if you embrace what you have and have the confidence that shows that you love your body, then any body is acceptable!
And you got a nice booty! I have a pancake butt, I would love to have some more junk in the trunk!!
This post mostly made me laugh! I totally agree with you about loving yourself – no matter what curves you do or don’t have!!!
You crack me up about ignoring the last or the whole post because of your vodka spritzer!!
Wish I had more back there…. too bad when I exercise more, the smaller mine gets. Guess I need to do some booty pumping or some’thin!
I love your randomness!
Keep drinking vodka spritzers.
LOL
Have a great day!
It took me a long time to accept what I’ve got to work with. But as soon as I did I felt sooo stupid for wasting so much time worrying about what I looked like in a bikini. Confidence is the best accessory a girl can have 🙂 And I love me some Tina Fey. She is fantastic.
I try not to think too much about what other people think or say is beautiful. I find strong/fit to be more attractive than thin/small. But a great smile can be the most beautiful thing.
I am not sure why Tina Fey is commenting on it at all. She is an actress/comedian and therefore part of the engine that drives body image. If she really wanted to make comments (maybe it is the rest of the book) she should talk about how sexy SMART is. So many girls now think they have to pretend not to be smart. Tina herself has to be incredibly smart. Most comedians are.
The Kidless Kronicles
“Like” this comment 🙂
It makes me want to read Bossypants!
I think body image is such a tough thing for so many people. It took me a long time to comfortable with what I’m working with (but still have days that all I can think is ‘why don’t I look like Marisa Miller?’). But eventually you just have to realize a flat butt isn’t the end of the world 🙂
For starters, Bossypants is amazing. Especially on audiobook with Tina herself narrating. It was the perfect accompaniment for a multiple hour car ride to visit family over the holidays.
I remember this part about body image and think it’s so totally true. Women feel overwhelming pressure to conform to a certain “look.” If you ask around at the gym that would most likely be why most of the women are there. It’s unfortunate that we set these high standards for ourselves and then feel disheartened when we can’t achieve them. I’ll admit I am guilty of this as well….I’m my own toughest critic. My goal for the future: aim to be the best possible version of myself, not a copycat of someone else.
HA! Your last line really did make me Laugh Out Loud…So CONGRATS on winning random post of the YEAR and to think its only the 11th day of the new year!!
You are so positive, upbeat, enjoying your food while keeping healthy I wish I had more of your genes….Keep up the Good Work girl! Then come visit MN …where the cold ho hum of January is putting the blah in my brain and MAKING me (yes, Making me) eat uncontrollably…UGH! 😉
What Tina says is so true, but then it’s us who buy in to this crap, too! I’ve felt much better about my body and self image since I stopped spending money on trashy magazines and started reading healthy living blogs. That’s been the biggest change for me. Of course, if I see someone else’s trashy magazine lying around, I might sneak a peak…
I love Tina Fey but since when did Kim Kardashian’s body become the new perfect?!!? I get that she’s curvy but she is not desirable to me, at all.
I just listened to Bossypants on audible and she says a LOT more about body image besides this quote. Her overall message is that eventually, at some point in their lives, women need to come to terms with what they’ve got. If you like Tina, read or listen to it! It was pretty funny.
Thanks! I do like her. I’ll check it out.
I love Tina Fey! I named my dog Liz Lemon. No joke.
Love!
LOVE yourself – tall/short/curvy/thin – whatever. I feel so so incredibly happy when I see women truly love and embrace themselves!
tiny’s quote is interesting – I never actually looked at it that way – that it’s another list of things women are trying to achieve. I LOVED when Jlo/Beyonce burst on the scene because I think there was a huge lack of women that were “curvier” on tv. Both of them , I think, have theeee sexiest bodies – girl crush!!