"Olympig", mascot forTokyo Olympics?

Hey, sports fans! Our National Sport (Especially Hockey) Editor, Poor Len Canayen, reminds us that the Tokyo Olympics are coming up. We're talking Summer Olympics here, not to be confused with the Winter Olympics, which will be held in the Peaceful and Democratic Republic of China. Or not.

The Olympic Games are a celebration of sports, athleticism and general fitness. So you'd expect that the people selected to appear in visuals promoting the games would be, errr... how to say this... somewhat more svelte than Naomi Watanable, seen here holding a sign encouraging people to book their tickets now, to avoid disappointment.

Ms Watanabe is a Japanese comedienne who might be described as "plus-sized" or "BBW" or "the kind of girl you could put your arms around... and around... and around..."

Those weren't the words used by Sasaki Hiroshi, the creative director for the event, who announced he would resign after suggesting Ms Watanabe (or at least her character) should be called the "Olympig".

According to the English-language Japan Times, Mr Hiroshi made the politically incorrect remark during a meeting with staff last yeare, floating the idea of Ms Watanabe, descending from the sky during the opening ceremonies, dressed in a "cute pink" costume, complete with pig ears.

Ms Watanabe didn't think much of the idea. She is known for her "body positivity" (read: "fat is fine") advocacy work. According to the BBC, "in recent years she has spearheaded a body positive movement called 'pochakawaii', which translates to 'chubby and cute'." In a statement released yesterday by her agent, the chubby and cute comedienne said she hopes "for a fun, more harmonious world in which we can all respect each other and our unique ways of thinking."

Japan has one of the thinnest of all the world's populations, with only about 20% percent of its women considered overweight and only 3.2% classified as obese. (Those, of course, are round figures.) Japan has government ordinances that require nutrition and exercise counselling for people whose waist size exceeds certain limits. All the same, there is a small (???) but passionate fat-acceptance movement. Ah, those inscrutable Orientals.

Which is healthier -- eating pizza or eating noodles?

You've probably figured out that not every item posted here on WWW is a Walt original. Sometimes Ed. just reposts something he or I have seen elsewhere on the Internet, with perhaps a little editing [Hey, I gotta justify my existence. Ed.] because it's bears repeating or is funny or Ed. is lazy... or all of the above. Here's one such item, which has been the subject of rants and raves on several sites today.

Tanuki, a Japanese restaurant chain popular in Russia, has apologized for a Facebook post which suggested that obese girls pig out on pizza while pinups nibble on udon (= noodles). Here's the meme.

"After going to Go-Go Pizza," says the text above the fattie, referring to a Russian pizza delivery chain. The slender brunette, on the other hand, is what young ladies apparently look like "after going to Tanuki." Who could argue with that?

Well, the usual gang of social justice wienies, that's who. They were quick to complain about fat-shaming, racism (???), and invasion of privacy, since it turns out the large lady is a real person, Whitney Thore, "a popular US television personality who suffers from a hormone disorder [of course. Ed.] and is a tireless campaigner against body shaming." The quote is from the story on rt.com.

Naturally the advertiser caved, and deleted the offensive (to some) meme. Political correctness rules... even in Russia!

Truth in advertising, Alabama style

Arentcha tired of seeing ads for gyms, spas and weight-loss programmes that tell you it's possible for you (Fatso!) to look ripped, fit, tanned and beautiful, just like those 20-somethings in their ads, with hardly any effort, but at the cost of megabucks? Dontcha think it would be nic if somebody told you the truth: that fitness comes only if you work at it, and even then won't make you sex-toy handsome or beautiful?

Today, from Alabama, comes a report that someone has dared to tell that stone truth. The speaker of truth to blubber is Scott Campbell, a former AL state trooper, now the owner of Pell City Fitness, in Pell City AL (duh!). In front of his gym, he put up this very truthful sign.

As you might expect, Mr Campbell's sign has drawn a lot of attention, including that of the SJWs who get their hair on fire about "body-shaming". Somebody -- probably someone with a body mass index of about 40 -- reported Mr Campbell to city hall, who told him to take down the sign or face a $500 fine. Ah, the cost of telling the truth!

Mr Campbell defended the message behind the sign in a personal Facebook video. "I'm not mean-spirited at all," he said, with the sign as a backdrop. "This sign was a playful jab; it's supposed to be an attention-grabber. I love people, I care about people, and you know what, I don't care if you're ugly or not. I can help you get in shape and that's kind of the attitude of the sign. When I started working out, I was 300 pounds and had to find somebody who could relate to me and understand how to help me lose weight. So that's what I wanted to do here."

Walt hopes that Mr Campbell's business will expand, just like the waistlines of those for whom the truth hurts!

Fat now in fashion as American women face reality

No more body-shaming, America! Double and triple chins, watermelon-sized boobs, 8-months-gone bellies, thunder thighs, and kankles are now not just acceptable but fashionable, as the "Body Positive" movement gains traction. Even New York Fashion Week is on board. Plus-size clothing brand Addition Elle (head office, Montréal!) is set to appear on the official Fashion Week calendar for the first time, as the label presenting its latest collection.

"We are so excited to be a part of the IMG Fashion Week schedule and to share the fashion forward collections that demonstrate there are no limits with regard to size," said (((Roslyn Griner))), Addition Elle's Vice President of Visual Planning and Marketing, in a press release. Walt wonders if Ms Griner means "no limits" to be taken literally. I've never seen (and never want to see) anything bigger than a G-cup bra. And I'm told that in the outlet malls on the Canadian side of the world's longest undefended border, clothing sizes on offer are S, M, L, XL, XXL, XXXL, XXXXL and "American".

Addition Elle's inclusion in the official Fashion Week lineup may well betoken a wider change within the New York fashion industry. Last February saw several brands use full(er)-figured models for their fall/winter 2017 shows. Brands now up-sizing or plus-sizing or out-sizing include Michael Kors, Prabal Gurung and Christian Siriano. This year also marked Prabal Gurung's collaboration with plus-size lingerie label Lane Bryant -- a brand that has previously teamed up with Siriano, in addition to Lela Rose, Sophie Theallet and Isabel Toledo.

So, ladies... don't let those mooing sounds men make as you walk down the street bother you. Fat is now fashionable. If any man body-shames you, just sit on him!

Note from Ed.: Addition Elle has been mentioned in WWW before. See "'Well-dressed fat lady' deemed offensive, clothing store clerk fired", WWW 6/4/16.

VIDEO: What's wrong with "fat-shaming"?

What was it, exactly, that The Donald called Rosie O'Donnell? A fat slob? A pig? A porker? Ed. has chased down the New York Times account of how the feud started.

According to the Times, in 2006 Mr Trump "unleashed a verbal fusillade on Entertainment Tonight, calling Ms. O’Donnell 'disgusting' and 'a slob' with 'a fat, ugly face'. He said he wanted to take her to court so he could 'take some money out of her fat-ass pockets' and wondered aloud why anyone would choose to be in a romantic relationship with her.

"'We’re all a little chubby, but Rosie is just worse than most of us,' he said. 'But it's not the chubbiness. Rosie is a very unattractive person, both inside and out.'

"Mr. Trump went on Late Show With David Letterman to talk about his dislike for Ms O'Donnell"...who had recently come out as a lesbian, calling her 'a degenerate'."

Yeah. "Degenerate". That was the part Walt had forgotten. Nowadays, the Times and their anointed candidate Shrillery Clinton would call that remark an example of Mr Trump's "homophobia". They've already labelled the rest "fat-shaming", which is yet another example of The Donald's persistent political incorrectness.

He did say that "we're all a little chubby" -- meaning all Americans, Walt presumes -- but that's something you just can't say any more, not even about yourself. Even as the American woman tips the scales at 166.2 lbs (in 2015), up from 140 lbs in 1960, the words "fat", "huuuuuge", "immense", "gargantuan", "enormous", [That's enough fat words. Ed.] have been banned from the language.

Political correctness was not always so pervasive. As recently as the 80s, fat jokes were a staple on Married With Children. Here's a mix. Hope you can enjoy them before the PC police have them removed from YouTube.

"Well-dressed fat lady" deemed offensive, clothing store clerk fired

Every now and then I rant about how fat is the new norm for the English-speaking peoples (in alphabetical order: Americans, Australians, Brits and Canadians). The AABC countries are facing an epidemic of not just fattitude but obesity. If you have any doubt about this, just watch a couple of episodes of Judge Judy or check out one of my favourite blogs, People of Walmart.

The females of our species seem more susceptible to the fat virus or gene or whatever it is. That's a fact of life, but not a fact you're supposed to state so plainly. Calling someone "fat" is now known as "body-shaming", an act of political incorrectness to which no decent slim person would ever stoop. (Fat people, of course, cannot stoop.) Just the other day, Scott "Dilbert" Adams wrote, "Most civilized people agree that so-called 'fat-shaming' has no place in our modern world. The unwritten rules of polite society say that a person’s appearance is out of bounds for criticism."

I disagree, because I believe most fat people could lose weight if they really wanted to, by eating less or exercising more or both. It's essentially a question of self-control and self-discipline, isn't it. But we can't say things like that. The PC thing to do is encourage fat people to feel good about themselves, no matter how gross they may look. Better they should think of themselves as "curvy" of "shapely" or "plus-sized". The last expression is that of a lady named Rebecca, pictured, who writes a blog called The Plus Side of Me.

Rebecca is the kind of BBW (Big Beautiful Woman) who shops at a "plus-size" retail chain called Addition Elle. (Geddit? -- Lots of pictures of BBWs on their website, if you're into that kind of thing.) They have an outlet in Edmonton, Canada, which has a vacancy at the moment for a saleslady/clerk/thingy. Why? Because they just fired one after she posted a comment online using the words "well-dressed fat lady".

Connie Levitsky, who only started working at Addition Elle in the West Edmonton Mall last week, said she was fired within days due to a Facebook post she made about the store's clientele. Her post read: "Conquering the world, one well-dressed fat lady at a time."

Ms Levitsky told CTV news her boss called that language unacceptable. "My manager specifically said 'fat' isn't a word that the company wants to associate themselves with," she said, noting that her manager said the company preferred words like "curvy" and "shapely". But Levitsky said those words are often associated with a certain highly-sexualized image of plus-sized women, like the ones featured in the company's lingerie ads. (Hey, I already gave you the link to the website!)

"If you go into any Addition Elle or Penningtons or Reitmans, you know that's not how all fat women look," she said. "So to use words like 'curvy' or 'shapely,' where you're essentially talking about a very specific type of fat woman, I think that's doing a disservice to the clientele that they were afraid I was going to drive away."

So let's have no more of this "fat-shaming". As an alternative to telling someone he/she is fat, Walt suggests asking politely, "Are you getting into the same elevator as I am? Perhaps I'd better wait for the next one." Or maybe just hold your tongue. You're welcome.

Another product for the fat of the land?

Mrs. Walt received, the other day, a promotional package of something called Herbacin. What's that? Could be a herbicide. I don't know. It was "her" stuff. Included as a little bonus was what I call an emery board -- something you use to file your nails. [I don't file mine. I just throw `em away. Ed.] It's the top one in this photo.

While Mrs. Walt was giving herself a manicure, I observed that she was struggling somewhat with the board. (It should be noted here that Mrs. Walt is petite, and not Born in the USA.) It seemed a bit bigger than necessary for her delicate fingertips. I got one of her "standard" emery boards for comparison -- the bottom one in the picture -- and found that the new one is a tad shorter but almost three times as thick as the old one.

Why so? My guess is that the Herbacin board -- I think it's just a promotional item, not the Herbacin product itself -- is yet another product designed for the hopelessly fat. By "hopelessly fat" I mean the average American. I first wrote about this trend to "fatten up" everyday products to match the expanding population almost five years ago. See "Fat and fatter", WWW 3/3/11.

Pens, cutlery, emery boards -- everything is getting super-sized, so as to be more easily managed by people with finers like sausages. There are curved shower curtain rods to accommodate those who bulge out over the edge of the tub. See "Showers for those who can't see their toes", WWW 29/4/11. Even coffins are being built bigger. See "FAT in life, FAT in death", WWW 14/1/12.

And the list goes on. Just this week we learn that Barbie has put on some weight. It's not that the new Barbie is "fat", you understand. That word is no longer politically correct. To call someone "fat" is "body-shaming". Tut tut! No, the new, bigger Barbie is "curvy", or you might say she has "a more realistic body shape". That's the official Mattel line, anyway. But the pix I've seen suggest that Barbie, like emery boards, has been redesigned for not-so-little fingers.

Does "body-shaming" really work?

Ed. here. In my footnote to Walt's post earlier this morning, I said I was looking for suitable pictures to go with the story on "body-shaming". Without searching hard, I found hundreds of pix of people whose appearance invites rude comments. Here's one, from the People of Walmart site.

What do you suppose the tattoos say? "Pass/Don't pass"? "Safe side/suicide"? Better not look too closely. Just be glad we're not seeing her from the front!

Honestly, I don't know how people can go out of the house (or mobile home, whatever) dressed like that. Do you really think people who look like this could be offended if someone looks sideways at them? Would they feel embarrassed enough to change the way they look or, at least, dress? By buying a t-shirt big enough to cover front and back, for instance? I doubt it.

Warning! "Body-shaming" latest form of political incorrectness

For decades -- centuries, even -- "fat jokes" were staples in the routines of every comedian and comedian wannabe, right up there with mother-in-law jokes. Walt remembers one alleged comedian, Leonard Libitsky, who made fun of his own fatitude, calling himself "Fat Jack Leonard". In 1964 he did a record called "How to Lose Weight with Fat Jack". The premise was that fat people could change if they wanted to, for instance if they got tired of being the butt of "fat jokes".

Walt also remembers a regular bit on the Garry Moore Show in which Garry's sidekick Durward Kirby, in the role of Senator Claghorn, did a half-dozen or so fat jokes, along the lines of:
"She's so fat that the post office is going to give her her own zip code!"
"She's so fat that when she gets into the same elevator you're in, you'd better be going down!"
"She's so fat that when she takes off her girdle, you'd better stand back or you'll get flabbed to death!"
Badabing, badaboom!

And then there was Married with Children, in which Al Bundy constantly made fat jokes about and at the expense of large ladies who came into his shoe store. Here's a video mix.



Yes, there's a "skinny joke" in there too. And an ageist "ugly joke". Bad, bad Al! Bad, bad writers! And bad, bad audiences, to laugh at other people's "challenges". How lucky we are to live in the enlightened 21st century, when that type of low humour is forbidden.

That's right, folks. It's now politically incorrect to make mooing sounds as fat women in yoga pants waddle down the street. Why, that's "body-shaming", a type of "bullying" which you can expect to be added to the ever-lengthening list of behaviours prohibited by our ultra-PC human rights codes.

Nowadays, thanks to the suffocating political correctness spread over the land like a wet blanket by our lamestream media and politicians, everyone (except old, straight, religious white guys like us here at WWW) is entitled to the protection of the nanny state from any form of insult, offence or embarrassment. So the next time you see someone who looks as if she/he/it belongs on the People of Walmart website -- I've got that one bookmarked! -- keep your mouth shut. Don't say you weren't warned.

Note from Ed.: While looking for a picture to go with this post, I stumbled on a website called Girls In Yoga Pants. Some of you may find it of interest. Some may find it indecent. Whatever your opinion, please keep it to yourself. Don't risk the wrath of the PC police!