# Artistically done nude photos of obese women - NSFW **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 3, 2013, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artistically-done-nude-photos-of-obese-women-nsfw/645951 "2013-01-03T14:56:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Gestalt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/90ced4/32.png) [@Gestalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gestalt)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artistically-done-nude-photos-of-obese-women-nsfw/645951/81 "2013-01-07T04:31:29Z")
> [@keturah](#): > > No. Nor have I been severely underweight. I sympathize with both conditions and don’t think either is easily classified as more desirable. I agree that being a healthy BMI is preferable to either extreme. However I think most Americans, particularly women, in this day and age would prefer to have a BMI of 18 as opposed to a BMI of 30. ---
**Author:** ![keturah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e95f7d/32.png) [@keturah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/keturah)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artistically-done-nude-photos-of-obese-women-nsfw/645951/82 "2013-01-07T04:40:29Z")
> [@Gestalt](#): > > I agree that being a healthy BMI is preferable to either extreme. However I think most Americans, particularly women, in this day and age would prefer to have a BMI of 18 as opposed to a BMI of 30. Have you ever had a BMI of 18? ---
**Author:** ![Troppus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a587f6/32.png) [@Troppus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troppus)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artistically-done-nude-photos-of-obese-women-nsfw/645951/83 "2013-01-07T04:40:54Z")
> [@Gestalt](#): > > I agree that being a healthy BMI is preferable to either extreme. However I think most Americans, particularly women, in this day and age would prefer to have a BMI of 18 as opposed to a BMI of 30. So your bet is that most women would rather be slightly underweight than grossly overweight? Not a risky wager. ---
**Author:** ![Gestalt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/90ced4/32.png) [@Gestalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gestalt)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artistically-done-nude-photos-of-obese-women-nsfw/645951/84 "2013-01-07T04:51:28Z")
> [@Troppus](#): > > So your bet is that most women would rather be slightly underweight than grossly overweight? Not a risky wager. Your original post that I was replying to framed things in an obese vs. underweight dichotomy. ---
**Author:** ![Gestalt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/90ced4/32.png) [@Gestalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gestalt)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artistically-done-nude-photos-of-obese-women-nsfw/645951/85 "2013-01-07T04:53:25Z")
> [@keturah](#): > > Have you ever had a BMI of 18? nope. Never said I did. In fact, I imagine the number of people who have been both obese and underweight is very small. So for the most part all we can work with is conjecture based on what we see in the world around us. Not personal experience. ---
**Author:** ![voltaire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voltaire/32/313_2.png) [@voltaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voltaire)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artistically-done-nude-photos-of-obese-women-nsfw/645951/86 "2013-01-07T05:48:41Z")
Yeesh, if the photographer was really trying to show “a softness and beauty to an often ignored body type,” you’d think he’d have at least captured them smiling and looking happy. It’s no wonder that people are saying that the pictures make them feel sad - the models are all radiating that sadness. (And the lighting doesn’t help, either.) I call BS on the stated intent of this artist, and agree with others that it’s mostly pretense. Not that the addition of smiles would make any of them physically beautiful in my eyes, but at least their would be _some_ _inner beauty_ to be seen. ---
**Author:** ![scootergirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e99b99/32.png) [@scootergirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scootergirl)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 7:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artistically-done-nude-photos-of-obese-women-nsfw/645951/87 "2013-01-07T07:51:38Z")
Regardless of how good the photos may be they are horrifying and to be perfectly blunt - disgusting. How does that happen? These women are a heart attack waiting to happen, not to mention the rest of the health problems that they certainly must be experiencing. How do their knees support that weight? To be that large has to be physically and emotionally a pure living hell. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 9:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artistically-done-nude-photos-of-obese-women-nsfw/645951/88 "2013-01-07T09:31:03Z")
> [@phouka](#): > > On the contrary, the fat acceptance (no need for scare quotes, **cmyk** ) is based on the need of obese people to live their lives without facing constant degradation, judgment, and mockery. I consider the Straight Dope to be one of the most consistently enlightened and compassionate sites on the internet, but even here, I’m constantly reading comments about ‘putting lipstick on a pig’ or ‘they’re not beautiful by anyone’s standards’. The first comment, at least, got called out - easy because it was such an obvious insult. The second is accepted as axiomatic by most of the people who read it. > > Fat people spend their lives being told their ugly, disgusting, lazy, stupid, and worthless. We hear it in offhand remarks by our loved ones, we read it in comments on the Internet. It’s the subtext of doctor’s appointments, job interviews, class presentations, clothes shopping, and dating. We wilt with self-hatred under this constant barrage. If we want the space to live our lives without this, we have to find a way to cope with it. In many cases, it’s taking part in an outspoken cultural movement to challenge the prejudices many hold regarding us. > > You’re right. If the pictures had portrayed victims starvation and addiction as “beautiful”, there’d be a hell of a lot more compassion for them. No one would be explaining “calories in/calories” out to the anorexics or telling the addicts that no one in the world thinks they’re beautiful. Hardly anyone is immune from ignorant, prevailing, hurtful attitudes and remarks about something that’s incredibly hard or impossible to change about themselves. That’s life. There’s all _kinds_ of ugly in this world. I get that the modern world can be a very cruel place for the obese, but like you say, this isn’t a competition. Everybody wants to be accepted, loved and desired. So, find a way to give people a reason to do so—there’s plenty more ways than just being a size 1. Perhaps my previous post sounds a bit more pointed than intended, because anyone who knows me knows I don’t think negatively at all about fat or skinny people. There’s plenty of very attractive, overweight women everywhere. I was trying to comment as objectively as possible on the very subjective; something claiming to be art. Not just art, but something to challenge thoughts on beauty, yet as we all know, beauty’s in the eye of the beholder and not only skin deep. I used the quotes on fat acceptance not because I think the movement is appalling or any such thing, but because these photos don’t really _say_ anything about the movement itself. If anything, it’s unproductive, misleading rhetoric. It fails to challenge my thoughts on beauty because I (or others) don’t find someone at that size beautiful in the physically attractive sense. Either you do or you don’t. But put me in the same room with them, and I’ll treat them exactly the same as I would anyone else, everything else being equal. And they wouldn’t even need to strip nude to earn my respect or acceptance! ---
**Author:** ![usedtobe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ec9cab/32.png) [@usedtobe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/usedtobe)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 10:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artistically-done-nude-photos-of-obese-women-nsfw/645951/89 "2013-01-07T10:31:15Z")
Re Aesthetic quality of photos: Given that human skin is translucent, the photographer did an amazing job with lighting - that is undeniable. Some of the shots were ones, had I had them on the easel, I’d print - they do raise to art (the standee flanked by the table lamps is my fav). The shot of lump on lump on lump - can that thing even stand? That is obscene. And that is, for all my 63 years, I have EVER called a nude “obscene”. Congestive heart failure would be a blessing for a few of those. And who is feeding these people? Couldn’t they be held responsible for the medical care they are necessitating? ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 10:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artistically-done-nude-photos-of-obese-women-nsfw/645951/90 "2013-01-07T10:54:08Z")
Level III obesity = death ≠ beauty. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artistically-done-nude-photos-of-obese-women-nsfw/645951/91 "2013-01-07T13:14:29Z")
I’m one of your few\* who has been both underweight and Class III Obese. My BMI was 17 (110lbs) at its lowest, and 42 (258 pounds) at its highest (and I still wasn’t anywhere near as heavy as these women!) 17 was heaps better in terms of how people treated me. Tons. Oodles. I got compliments all the time. I got better treatment in stores. Clothes were easy to shop for. I felt (and was) beautiful. Yes, absolutely. Even given the increased health risks of a BMI of 17, I’d trade it in a second for the social pain of being even Class I Obese (which is where I’m at now), much less Class III. \*I think if you look at the numbers, you’ll find that there are more than a “few” of us. “Normal weight” is really a very small range. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGrenze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/dbc845/32.png) [@KarlGrenze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGrenze)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artistically-done-nude-photos-of-obese-women-nsfw/645951/92 "2013-01-07T13:45:08Z")
I find them beautiful, but then, I tend to think that almost anyone has some feature that is physically pleasant. The hair, the eye, the ears, the sparkle of their smile… something, no matter how tiny. So I do see them as pretty. That said, I do not find them healthy, and the pictures make me worry about their well-being. How are they? Do they hurt? Does it hurt? Are they out of breath? Are they doing something to be healthier, to improve? Do they have health problems? Joint pain? What are their regular clothes? Do they have trouble buying them? Are the clothes nice and make them look as pretty as they are? How do they feel? Are they getting the help they want? Also, seeing them reminds me “Do not eat the extra cookie, do not eat until overeat, go out and work out”. ---
**Author:** ![Rushgeekgirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rushgeekgirl/32/3715_2.png) [@Rushgeekgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rushgeekgirl)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artistically-done-nude-photos-of-obese-women-nsfw/645951/93 "2013-01-07T16:16:03Z")
All I can think of is how disgusted so many people are with these women’s bodies and I know I like like them. It’s breaking my heart to read such horrible things. Really, congestive heart failure would be a blessing? Well my mom died of congestive heart failure at 49 and it was not a fucking blessing. Reading all this, I’m just crying like a damned baby. ---
**Author:** ![Troppus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a587f6/32.png) [@Troppus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troppus)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artistically-done-nude-photos-of-obese-women-nsfw/645951/94 "2013-01-07T16:25:03Z")
> [@Rushgeekgirl](#): > > All I can think of is how disgusted so many people are with these women’s bodies and I know I like like them. It’s breaking my heart to read such horrible things. Really, congestive heart failure would be a blessing? Well my mom died of congestive heart failure at 49 and it was not a fucking blessing. Reading all this, I’m just crying like a damned baby. I’m sorry that people have said things like that. There isn’t any valid reason to pretend these women are healthy or have a good relationship with food, but they are human and deserve the same respect as everyone else. Surely the posters who have made such cruel statements are just young and unconcerned with anyone but themselves. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artistically-done-nude-photos-of-obese-women-nsfw/645951/95 "2013-01-07T16:34:04Z")
Not only not healthy, but at 600 lbs. (!) it’s debilitating and probably humiliating in a lot of circumstances. My MIL was over 400 lbs and with bad knees on top of it, she couldn’t go to the movies with us, since she couldn’t fit in the seats, and suggested we install a handrail in our bathroom, so she could get up off the toilet when she visited. And the list goes on, and all she would do was moan and complain how lonely, bored and jilted she felt, since the stuff we’d do as a family, she could rarely participate in because of her size. Eventually we stopped inviting her to stuff we knew she couldn’t do, but then she’d act offended for not asking her to come. The only thing she could do, and hell, enjoyed the most? Having us over for dinner. She’s since lost almost 200 lbs. since she had her stomach surgically reduced last year, and is beginning to rediscover doing stuff again, like being able to fit on a plane to visit her son and grandkids in AZ, or even taking my kids to the mall. When obesity gets to the level in these pics, it’s less about the stigma of being fat, or being indignant for being labled as unattractive or lazy, etc. (which is horribly cruel, and I feel for those who have to deal with such remarks), but more about the quality (and longevity) of life for not only that person, but those in your life. ---
**Author:** ![phouka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c5a1d2/32.png) [@phouka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phouka)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2013, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artistically-done-nude-photos-of-obese-women-nsfw/645951/96 "2013-01-08T02:00:13Z")
> [@usedtobe](#): > > The shot of lump on lump on lump - can that **thing** even stand? That is obscene. And that is, for all my 63 years, I have EVER called a nude “obscene”. The emphasis is mine. Did you miss the part where you’re talking about a human being, or do you just not care? Did you miss the part where multiple posters in this thread have talked about how they are obese, how they see themselves in the subjects of those pictures, or do you like throwing a little vitriol in people’s faces. That “thing” you refer to is a person. She had enough courage to disrobe and present her body for photography and dissemination, when she couldn’t possibly have doubted people would call her names and wave their hands in hysterical disgust. If you’re incapable of seeing how the artist may have intended portraying this woman’s self-possession and courage as a kind of beauty, you’re just as poor an artist as you are a human being. > [@](#): > > Congestive heart failure would be a blessing for a few of those. And who is feeding these people? Couldn’t they be held responsible for the medical care they are necessitating? Tell you what: _ **You first.** _ ---
**Author:** ![Absolute](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b2d939/32.png) [@Absolute](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Absolute)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2013, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artistically-done-nude-photos-of-obese-women-nsfw/645951/97 "2013-01-08T05:08:16Z")
> [@usedtobe](#): > > Re Aesthetic quality of photos: > > Given that human skin is translucent, the photographer did an amazing job with lighting - that is undeniable. Some of the shots were ones, had I had them on the easel, I’d print - they do raise to art (the standee flanked by the table lamps is my fav). The shot of lump on lump on lump - can that thing even stand? That is obscene. And that is, for all my 63 years, I have EVER called a nude “obscene”. > Congestive heart failure would be a blessing for a few of those. And who is feeding these people? Couldn’t they be held responsible for the medical care they are necessitating? Man, this is a really shitty thing to say. I think the “fat acceptance” movement is ridiculous, but we all have our problems. These people are just unlucky enough to have a problem that is visible for all the world to see, rather than something they can hide like most of us. ---
**Author:** ![colander](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e8c25b/32.png) [@colander](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/colander)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2013, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artistically-done-nude-photos-of-obese-women-nsfw/645951/98 "2013-01-08T06:02:00Z")
> [@Troppus](#): > > I’m sorry that people have said things like that. There isn’t any valid reason to pretend these women are healthy or have a good relationship with food, but they are human and deserve the same respect as everyone else. Surely the posters who have made such cruel statements are just young and unconcerned with anyone but themselves. Honestly, they probably aren’t young and they’ll probably never change their tune. Attitudes like this are far, far more common than you have had occasion to realize. ---
**Author:** ![usedtobe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ec9cab/32.png) [@usedtobe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/usedtobe)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2013, 6:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artistically-done-nude-photos-of-obese-women-nsfw/645951/99 "2013-01-08T06:53:49Z")
A few years ago, a girl died at 350 pounds - notice I said “girl” - she was 13 or 14. Her mother was single and poor - private healthcare was not an option. The discussion on this board was to condemn the mother for allowing her to get to that condition. Why is it now acceptable for adults to self-inflict this? I have no idea of what triggers these levels of obesity, or why some people do not die of congestive heart failure (which is what took out the girl (Richmond CA, if you want to search)). But, when you get to the point you need a crane to lift yourself, something should click and you decide that maybe you could cut out a dozen of the eggs, a pizza or two. Just to get to 350, that child’s daily diet was greater than my monthly caloric intake. How the mother paid for it was a Q that I never did see answered These people sure as hell aren’t going to the grocery (a couple couldn’t make it to the door to pay for the pizza) - who are the people supporting such obscene weight? I did not call anyone obscene - I called her appearance obscene - people should not look like cartoons - the only place I’ve seen such enormity. ---
**Author:** ![colander](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e8c25b/32.png) [@colander](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/colander)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2013, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artistically-done-nude-photos-of-obese-women-nsfw/645951/100 "2013-01-08T18:53:30Z")
> [@usedtobe](#): > > A few years ago, a girl died at 350 pounds - notice I said “girl” - she was 13 or 14. Her mother was single and poor - private healthcare was not an option. > The discussion on this board was to condemn the mother for allowing her to get to that condition. > > Why is it now acceptable for adults to self-inflict this? > > I have no idea of what triggers these levels of obesity, or why some people do not die of congestive heart failure (which is what took out the girl (Richmond CA, if you want to search)). > But, when you get to the point you need a crane to lift yourself, something should click and you decide that maybe you could cut out a dozen of the eggs, a pizza or two. > Just to get to 350, that child’s daily diet was greater than my monthly caloric intake. How the mother paid for it was a Q that I never did see answered > > These people sure as hell aren’t going to the grocery (a couple couldn’t make it to the door to pay for the pizza) - who are the people supporting such obscene weight? > I did not call anyone obscene - I called her appearance obscene - people should not look like cartoons - the only place I’ve seen such enormity. I vote we put them all into special camps. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artistically-done-nude-photos-of-obese-women-nsfw/645951.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artistically-done-nude-photos-of-obese-women-nsfw/645951.md?page=6)