Female 'Fat Talk' Mandatory, Study Finds

It?s almost inevitable: When women get together, the chatter eventually turns to whose skinny jeans don?t fit anymore and who weighs in heavier on the scale. And participation is socially mandatory, a new study finds.

http://www.livescience.com/humanbiology/07031 3_fat_talk.html

That's depressing :/

I thought this was going to say that parents should have a "Fat Talk" with girls (A discussion on what is and is not a healthy weight), like "The Talk" re: Sex.

It was an interesting thought.

    When my girlfriends and I get together we NEVER discuss weight. We love each other for who we are not what we look like.  I can honestly say that in the 20 years I have known these 6 wonderful women we have never discussed weight.  

I've never had those types of conversation... 

We talk about sex, it's a lot more fun!

    I AGREE!

Maybe this study needed more research ;0P

We just talk about other people....he he he!  Its the best part of getting together, goof on each other, and discuss who's not there!

I agree with gridirongoose.  And in my group, if anyone brings up the weight issue (usually the tall skinny ones who think they are fat) then we tell them to shut up and continue where the conversation left off.  :)

I actively choose to not engage in "fat talk".

My closest friends know I won't respond to comments like "I'm so fat" or anything like that ---  I just don't, or I'll say something along the lines of "It's too bad you feel that way". 

If it's someone I don't know well I usually just ignore the comment and the issue dies.

i've never seen this put into words before really, but have experienced that many places; school, work, church, friends and in family....

what has bothered me... is my thinner friend/relative/co-worker saying that to me, a heavier person....

and it has always felt uncomfortable... am i supposed to comfort reassure them or are they slamming me... ?

depends largely on the tone and the basis of our relationship and my mood, i suppose, on how I react to their statements...

within the immediate family and through church, we were taught not to be critical of other people... but have always heard the women in our family being very critical of themselves and their children... and in turn, that seems to pass on down through the generations

so how do we break the pattern?  in the family and in society...

especially the focus group of the study was middle-school children??? (if I read that right...)

that is sooooo very young.  it's no wonder these girls are becoming anorexic if this is part of the culture/identity talk they are doing as a part of conforming to the group....

:::shakes head:::

Things to avoid talking about if you want to have a good time

1) diet and personal health issues

2) politics

3) religion

Everyone has a different opinion and your opinion will never change anyone else's!  EVERYONE has aches and pains and personal health issues.....very boring to hear about yours; I have enough of my own to deal with, thank you!

I've never had one of those discussions with anyone.  The closest I've ever come to that is discussing nutrition or some new recipe with a friend.  But that's not our entire conversation.  There are so many interesting things in the world!

I'm going to go out on a limb here and go against the grain.......

My sister and I talk about this constantly!!! We are built very similarly and have similar interests. We exchange ideas, frustrations, and goals just like we all do here. We also joke about it. It can be a bit self-depricating, but don't tell me none of you ever make self-depricating jokes about yourself, whether its weight or intelligence, clumsiness, etc. We generally do not loathe ourselves; I would describe us as happy people that are happy with ourselves for the most part.

I talk to her about this stuff the same way that I talk to people on CC and the same way I hear people on CC talk about themselves. We all get frustrated with the way we look, feel, etc. That's why we are here, to change that. If I can't talk to the closest people in my life about that, who can I talk to?

I should also say that we are very careful about who we talk about this around. We actually mentioned that we have to cut it out in the family setting all together. She has an 11 month old daughter and we both promised we will never talk about our insecurities around her. I do think it is very important that mothers, sisters, reltatives and friends do not promote this type of conversation around young minds. However, if its a mutual concern you both have, whats wrong with a little healthy venting in private?

I did it plenty when I was younger, in high school particularly.  But once I really got fat I quit talking about it.  I mean, if you weigh 260 lbs and say "wow, I look so fat today" and no one disagrees, well that doesn't exactly feel good if you KWIM.  

I talk about it with some of the girls at work. One girl just joined Curves and another has lost a lot of weight in the past years. To me it's not depressing, it's rather uplifting, knowing there are others who try to live healthier.

I had a ball last week with the girl who goes to Curves. We both were like 'OMG I can see my collar bones, I haven't seen those since high school!' and we proceeded to run around like that. She even made my husband poke her collar bones XD

We're goof balls.

I suppose it depends on how this conversation goes. I cant stand the 'I'm so fat!' comments from stick figure girls while they're chowing down on a piece of cake o_O That just.. that's weird.

i will admit... i talk about fat and dieting a lot... probably because i'm so much more health concious right now. i'm not going to lie... i talk about fluffy guys more than anything... haha not so much myself or other girls.

I always say "if I have to work hard to look good... my guy must do the same". lets just say I've been single for a looong time w/ the occasional guy I'm dating.... haha Picky picky!

Guilty. And, ironically enough, I am even more guilty of this since I've lost weight.

Conversations generally go like this:

"you're looking good, you've lost a lot of weight...blah blah blah...i should start going to the gym my thighs are huge..."

to which I respond...

"oh man, but you should see my stomach it's like a saggy bum hanging from my belly button.."

It's almost as though I need to apologize for losing weight. A good friend gives me a really dirty look each time I play down this accomplishment and says to me, "Just take the compliment!!!" Then I laugh and say, "you're right...by the way doesn't my butt look great!"

edit: clarify

Wow so so far that study has totaly failed. I have only done that a few times, but that was going on how they look better than me, and were always drunk.

Meh.

I had conversations with 6 different women friends this week - we discussed our children, work or job hunting, retirement, health insurance, real estate, the stock market, decorating, politics, the arts, TV shows, the recent flower show, gardening, pets, a trip to the lake and mutal friends.

Nobody ever mentioned food, fat, looks, clothes, makeup or dieting. 

You know, I really hate it when some poll taker makes blanket statements like that, based on talking to a few people. 

You know, I really hate it when some poll taker makes blanket statements like that, based on talking to a few people. 

Agreed, 'specially if its a bunch of 16-23 year olds. I really dont thikn my mother would ever mention that to any of her friends.

No wait. She does.

Weird... It just doenst sound right though. Maybe its just a bunch of men who got mad about women knowing that they talk about how big their dicks are.

Just a thought.