Where's the Beef? Here's the Skinny

So, I'm sitting in class today actively paying attention (if you can believe it!) and we are talking about food.  This may seem unproductive but the class is argumentative writing which may sound awesome but actually, it's not that great.  Here's why.  The professor chooses the topic and the topic is the same for the entire semester.  The topic for this semester is food and culture.  Admittedly, some of the discussions are okay, but mainly it's just boring.  But I'm off the topic.  Today we were talking about obesity and my professor called to our attention a billboard that you can see in downtown Atlanta and that luckily I was able to find a picture of.  Here it is.

Now, ignoring the question of where they got the kids to pose for this picture (did their parents know it was a childhood obesity ad? Some poor mom was probably telling her friends her little Hercules was going to be on a billboard in downtown Atlanta! Maybe she thought it was for Mac & Cheese, who knows.  Then it turns out to be this), talk about negative self-image.  First of all, how would you like to go to school knowing you're the poster child (children, really) for childhood obesity? Because childhood isn't traumatic enough, let's throw in a sign letting the whole city know that hey, you're a fat kid.  Horrible, really.  So horrible that it made me laugh.  I'm kidding.  They're paid actors, of course but still.  They're still getting paid for being fat kids.  And these kids look miserable, don't they? Well, it's not because they're fat.  It's because they're on a billboard for it.  We want you to grow up to look like Jaslene Gonzalez, children.

Speaking of Jaslene Gonzalez, I don't see any billboards about horrifyingly skinny kids or adults for that matter.  The fact that I can't see any of those kids' bones poking out through their skin makes me feel pretty good.  Unfortunately, the Georgia Children's Health Alliance doesn't see it that way.  Neither does the rest of society since Jaslene Gonzalez was on the cover of Seventeen magazine.  Though, to be fair, Whitney Thompson also graced the cover of Seventeen and I gotta say, she is much hotter than any of the toothpicks that pass as human beings that have won America's Top Model so far.  DISCLAIMER:  I DO NOT WATCH AMERICA'S TOP MODEL (I googled it so that I could find horrifyingly skinny women to use as examples to give substance to an otherwise meaningless blog post and I found pictures of Whitney Thompson, a plus size model who won.  Thank yoooou, Google).  Never have I ever thought to myself, "Mmm, look at her ribs poking out there.  I just wanna..." and I'm at a loss.  What do you do with someone's bones poking out of their skin? Honestly, curiosity may take over and I would just be poking at bones and say something like "Dude, you are so boney! Seriously, it's creepin' me out."  Though I suppose they are less of a burden on the agricultural industry since no one knows what they eat.  My guess is nothing at all.  Or maybe fingernail clippings. 

The POINT (and I do have one around here somewhere) is:  we are so obsessed with being thin! Ok, yes yes.  Obesity is a problem in America.  Probably worse in the south because we like to fry everything, dunk it in butter, and then fry it again just to make sure it's artery clogging properties aren't lost between the different frying stages.  But body image seems to be an issue as well.  People in general, women especially, feel horrible about how they look.  I came to terms (sort of) with my body because I enjoy eating and I eat on special occasions like Mondays and Tuesdays.  I like food.  So, if "beautiful" means me having bones protruding from my skin, then slap me on a billboard for obesity, bitches but serve me up a burger before you do that.