Beth Ditto: Blame gay men for skinny ladies

Nascent lesbian icon and this month's NME cover star Beth Ditto has said that gay men who work on the fashion industry are totally to blame for the pressure on women to be thin.

Ditto, lead singer of The Gossip, said that Kate Moss was totally not to blame and is very understanding of what it is like to be a bigger girl.

"If there's anyone to blame for size zero, it's not women. Blame gay men who work in the fashion industry and want these women as dolls," Ditto told NME.

"Men don't know what it feels like to be a woman and be expected to look a particular way. The Beckhams are part of the machine, Paris Hilton is part of the machine."

Ditto is from Arkansas.

On Kate of Moss, she commented:

"I spent one night talking to Kate Moss and she said the most amazing things about bodies. I didn't think I was going to like her, but she said, 'Do you know what I hate, Beth? When people tell my big girlfriends, 'You have a beautiful face…' That's a really radical concept."

Discuss.

photo? its by the real janelle@flickr.com actually!

Comments

[ewe]

I think this girl needs to get onto another topic before gay mens claws come out. You heard it hear first Beth.

[Geraldine Mckavanagh]

This is the stupidest article I have ever read in my entire life. First of all it stereotypes gay men as fashion obssessed, and secondly she has NO facts. This woman is kind of like how I was last year, so pissed off that she would just find anyone to blame for her problems, even if those people are technically like her. Here is my response to her:
Why the hell would GAY men want to make WOMEN look b-e-a-utiful? Gay men just so happen to be the nicest group of people I know. They are not sexist, they support women's rights etc. You are a lesbian correct? Well then get this:
The GLBT community needs to work together in order to stregthen, if we fight against each other then we will end up weakening ourselves because we will be vulnerable, which homophobes are likely to see. Then the whole community will collapse. Do you really want to contribute to that? By the way, I am NOT a gay man, I'm not even a man - FULLSTOP.

[Geri Hewitt]

Why the hell would GAY men want to make WOMEN look b-e-a-utiful Geraldine?

Well if they are gay men who work in the women's fashion industry they should want to make women look beautiful because it's their job. Anyone in that industry who isn't interested in making women look beautiful should quit.

And where do you get the idea that Beth Ditto is stereotyping all gay men as fashion obsessed? She's talking specifically about gay men who work in fashion.

And if this isn't stereotyping gay men - "Gay men just so happen to be the nicest group of people I know. They are not sexist, they support women's rights etc." What is????

Beth is going to be featured in Vogue soon. I can't wait :)

I luv it when this fat lady sings!

[cccc]

why do you even have to say gay men then? its any men in the fashionindustry.. you dumb fatty... obviously whoever wrote this is overweight and cant control there eating urges.. it makes me sick .. fat people.. they dont take care of there bodies or health... its such a disgrace

[Stac]

Beth's disturbing nude cover shoot for NME magzine. http://collegecandy.com/buzz/3628 WARNING: Seriously view at your own risk... shes real fat

[belinda Shelton]

Go Beth. I am a lesbian and couldnt agree more with Beth. To be clear, this isnt about manhating..this is about women hating period. The gay community promotes diversity, but will not recognize the beauty/sexuality of a fat lesbian, unless she is kinky or high femme...hmmm. We seem to be at odds with trying to fit into the straight world and fighting for our rights to be ourselves. For Fucks sakes.

[molly02026@lycos.com]

jayd1313 says:
I am a heterosexual female.
I have just discovered Beth Ditto through Rosie's O'Donnell's blog.
Beth is being compared to Janis Joplin and other great artists.
I find this women to be sensational!
She is bold and beautiful!
Her voice is amazing. She is multitalented and magnetic.
Her naked photo on the cover of NME is incredibly beautiful.
She seems to be headed toward a brilliant future in the entertainment world.
I love her voice. I love her presence.
Go Beth!
Posted 1 second ago. ( permalink | delete | edit )

god wots the big deal,,everyone seems hung up on whether we are all gay or straight. just go wi the flo n c wot happens

[rfp]

i'm a gay man who couldn't agree more with beth ditto, and for that one comment about fat people being gross and that they "don't care about their bodies or health" - first off, someones size doesn't indicated their health and secondly, fuck off!

if any faction of people who have to deal with body issues besides women, it's gay men. and i agree that some designers are helping to perpetuate a typical body image in the media. Beth Ditto is blaming all gay men, but more so the gay men who have no idea whats going on around them politically and socially and are more concerned with the new Marc Jacobs line or a 100,000 dollar Louis Vitton bag. Being into fashion is fine, it's just disturbing that while gay people in general are kinda of in the middle or a revolution of sorts, most gay men are more concerned with fashion then making a change politically and socially.

I personally applaud Beth Ditto for the statement, and I totally understand why she would say it.

[Mcgill]

Busty women

[mike]

She's right. Who are most of the worlds fashion designers? Gay men. What do skinny small breasted woman resemble most? Men.

[Persson]

well thank u beth for getting more false arguments to homophobes. Now hate crimes will be more effective. And thanks for all lesbians who hate gays. Your misandry is just extraordinary. Promoting overweight is not too healthy mrs. ditto, just as anorexia. By the way in fashion industry works a lot of straight men and women. You can ask Prada, Ann Demeulemeester, Alexander Macqueen or Donatella Versace what do they think about it. So should Dolce and Gabbana commit suicide because they are gay? Congratulations for being smart, lesbian gay-haters...

[Geraldine Mckavanagh]

Then don't pick on gay men, pick on the fashion industry. It's not just gay men that are trying to perpetuate a certain look, its also the straight men and women and lesbians in the fashion industry. HECK, its the whole fashion industry. Instead of cherry-picking into specifics and picking specific people, why not look at the bigger issue? The issues that really matter? Instead of just saying things just to be controversial, why not pick up on the real reasons why there is this image being shown in the media of scantily clad women.

As for the fat thing, there is no excuse for being fat. I'm sorry if I sound like a bigot, but there isn't. God did not put us on this earth and intend for us to be that big, he just didn't. Religious beliefs aside, being fat is a health issue. Its not something that people should take lightly, there is always something you can do to improve your health, and a healthy diet and your weight is a huge part of a healthy lifestyle. To me saying that being fat is disgusting and there is no excuse for it is the equivalent of say, if someone were to smoke and I were to say something like "thats disgusting, there's really no excuse for it". It's the same thing as far as I am concerned. Not caring what society says about you is fine, but when it comes to health issues, its not about societal pressures anymore, its about living a healthy lifestyle and a lifestyle that God (bringing religion back into it) would want you to live. Greed is a big christian sin. However, not everyone is christian and I recognize that, however, if you are a thinking person then I am sure you'll get where I am coming from with this being a health issue.

[GeekGrrrl]

Beth: you are beautiful and so is your magazine cover!

To the ignorant people who raged hatefully about fat being disgusting, and to the self righteous christian who went on and on about fat being evil and disgusting and unhealthy: What a bizarre little worldview. Are you really telling us that the worth of our souls can be measured by a number on a scale?

Who gave you the right to try and make anyone feel like they are anything less than fabulous, first of all? Who in your life criticized you so badly that you need to treat others that way to feel good about yourselves? Have you considered therapy for your problem with passing inaccurate judgments on huge anonymous groups of total strangers? Too bad you can't get liposuction for all of that negativity you've bottled up inside.

It's so easy to fling uninformed prejudicial sweeping generalizations around if you don't have to look the person in the eye while you're saying it. Do you righteously march up to fat people and chastise them for being disgusting sinners in person, or just online, where you can do it anonymously?

I bet some of the nasty posters are the kind of people who like to drive down the street and scream things at fat people. Well, I'm that girl who always screams something back at people like you so you can see how it feels. Only I scream things like "I'd rather be fat than (stupid/mean/ugly/ignorant/insert word here)". And so does my skinny husband, because he's also a decent human being who thinks that ignorant loudmouthed bullies are disgusting.

It is absolutely possible to be fat and healthy. It is absolutely possible to be thin and unhealthy.

Personally, I think that anorexic models with no breasts who look like prepubescent boys because their bodies never matured because they were afraid of getting fat so they became malnourished, is very unhealthy and unattractive.

The truth is, companies have products to sell. Bad breath? It's a shame you're Fat but you have a pretty face? Chest too small? Lips not full and sensuous enough? Don't like your nose? unwanted body hair? frizzy hair? crows feet? laugh lines? receding hairline? beer belly? Feel like crap about yourself in general? Nobody will ever love you because you're disgusting! But wait - you can simply buy our great products designed to make you into an attractive and worthwhile person! Have some plastic surgery! Spend 2 hours each morning caking on lotions and makeup. Every night after work, binge drink your cares away and watch superficial fluff on TV until you only have 3 brain cells left. Now your life is worth living! Now you finally deserve to be happy!

What about people like the above posters, who presumably are just "ordinary" people? My theory is that they must feel pretty bad about themselves. They need to feel superior to someone else to feel good about themselves. So, they do their best to make other people feel inferior so they can feel superior. They make up all kinds of reasons to justify why they feel that way. "I'm so concerned about your physical health, that I am going to attack you emotionally for your own good". But in the end, your judgmental words speak volumes about your own souls, and absolutely nothing about your anonymous targets.

Everyone else: do you get it yet? If we don't all feel bad about ourselves, then product doesn't sell. Remember that nobody can make you feel inferior without your consent. They'll sure try though.

By the way, the christian said that to say "fat is disgusting" is the same as saying that "smoking is unhealthy", is bizarre. The word "disgusting" is a subjective judgment. What one person finds disgusting, another finds beautiful. "Unhealthy" on the other hand not a judgment call, but an actual physical state of being. So saying a fat person is disgusting is a mean, small minded, hurtful thing that only an ignorant person would say. On the other hand, saying that smoking is unhealthy is a medical fact that educated people like your doctor would say.

My grandma was a nonsmoker and died of lung cancer in her early 60's. Yet there are smokers that live into their 80's and more rarely, their 90's. And sometimes teenagers die of heart attacks while playing a game of football, or because they are born with terminal diseases.

Thin or fat, gay or straight, pretty or ugly - bad things happen to perfectly wonderful people every day and a great deal of these things are simply beyond our control. Life is unfair, unpredictable, and way too short, to waste our precious moments on this earth passing judgment about people you know less than nothing about.

As for the misconceptions that fat people are disgusting, lazy, greedy, stupid, etc: How superficial are you if you really believe that?

I own my own company and work 50 hours a week as a base standard. I also volunteer for 3 different nonprofit organizations. Wow, I am SO lazy and greedy!

Why not get loud and righteous and opinionated about child sex trafficking, or pollution, or political corruption, or hot lunch programs for inner city schools, or something that actually makes a *positive* difference in the world?

Yes, we should all watch what we put into our mouths for the sake of our physical health. But we should also watch what comes out of our mouths as well. Words might not break your bones, but in some ways they can be far more hurtful. Bones will heal, given time. Words stay with us for the rest of our lives.

Why don't you turn off the internet and go pray for a heart, a little humility, and to learn about empathy. There is always something you can do to improve the quality of your character. When you become a well rounded and happy person, your health naturally improves as a result.

[mrs. jesus]

gay men like boys.
skinny women's bodies usually resemble a boys.
women were made to have fat on them.
go back in history and look around, you'd see more thick than thin.