[Cyclopea]

She's a model. Period. Because models are marketing their physical body they may do any number of things the average person would not do (some of which are unhealthy) to modify their asset and enhance its profitability. Same with anyone else whose body is their business- athletes, bodybuilders, laborers, etc. Laborers who work in hot environments may pop sodium tablets like candy. Professional wrestlers may take narcotics to enable them to work when badly injured. Bodybuilders may inject steroids. Athletes- all of the above and more. Should a Barry Bonds have his children removed from him because his steroid cocktails may eventually render him disabled?

Obese women working as models -and making a very nice living doing so- is nothing new and has been going on for hundreds, if not thousands of years. And there has always been a sexualized aspect to the marketability of fat women. There is no equivalent history of fat men being marketable.

What happened here is that an offhand comment Donna made -part of her sales pitch/fantasy creation- was reported and took off like wildfire. The reason is that the meme of "willfully fat" is one that provokes pleasing self-righteous outrage from not only thin people, but "less fat" people, and "struggling to lose weight" people who can all enjoy a nice round of bonding and reassurance over putting down the willfully fat addict gluttonous "not like us" freak.
Ms. Simpson just so happens to be astute enough to know how to cash in on this widespread social fantasy of "Not Fat Like Us". And people are willing to pay for this modeling of otherness. Big time. If society wasn't extremely invested in this fantasy, this meme would die a quick death in the "Guy In Indiana Smokes Four Packs A Day" file.

The funny thing is that Ms. Simpson's statements and her truth no longer matters, because the meme of "willful fatty" is much more marketable than her little truth. Millions will be made off it. I only hope she is smart enough to play along and get a few pennies herself for her troubles.
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600-pound NJ mom Donna Simpson's quest to be heaviest woman on Earth just 'a fantasy for fans'

BY Maria Fugate
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Wednesday, March 17th 2010, 7:50 PM

Hungry size 4 fashion models, eat your hearts out.

Six-hundred-pound Donna Simpson, 42, isn't what most people picture when they think of modeling, but that's exactly how the New Jersey mom makes
big money these days, according to ABC News.

The pale brunette with curly slicked-back hair is a successful model on Supersizedbombsells.com, a Web site for men who worship big women, ABC
News reports.

"I have fans who send me baklava and cheesecake and everything else you can imagine," says Simpson . "I'm heavy, and I wouldn't mind being heavier."

Simpson made headlines this week after the British newspaper Daily Mail reported that she was on a quest to gain 400 pounds and be named Guinness
World Records' fattest woman on Earth.

But Simpson, stay-at-home mom of a 3-year-old girl, says the Mail got it twisted, ABC News reported.

"The whole thing about the 1,000 pounds is a fantasy I provide to my fans," she tells ABCNews.com, irked about the story.

Still, at more than a quarter of a ton, she's a heavyweight any way you slice it — and her husband, Phillippe Gouamba, told ABC News.com he
stands behind her.

"I support her because I enjoy it," he said.

He's hardly alone. Plus-size models all around the world are getting a noticably bigger share of the pie these days — proudly appearing everywhere from designer rundays to print and TV ads and proving there's a market for much more than one skinny size fits all.

And you only have to look up BBW -- big beautiful women -- online to find a wide range of sites celebrating curvier examples of female beauty.

Though Simpson is not shooting for a record and insists she's healthy as she is, many plus-size women acknowledge they face health significant risks, ABC News.com reports.

Obesity increases the likelihood of heart disease, diabetes, hypertension and some types of cancers, the government says; First Lady Michelle Obama
recently announced she will make a battle against childhood obesity in the nation her top priority this year.

But Mikey Garcia, who owns Mikey's BBW (Big Beautiful Women) Club in Waterford, Mich., notes there are many unhealthy thin women too because
they are constantly dieting or smoking.

"Just because a woman is a bigger size doesn't mean she's not healthy," Garcia said, according to ABC News.com.

The women of Supersized Bombshells, many of whom were mercilessly ridiculed as children in school and still shunned by some, bask in the positive attention.

Priscilla Bell, 26, who tips the scales at a hearty 355 pounds, says modeling for men lets her to be herself — a self-confident young mom, ABC News.
com reported.

She says she gets hundreds of e-mails from appreciative fans every day, and makes about $600 a month from her postings.

"There are men who look at me and say I'm as beautiful as Tyra Banks or Heidi Klum," says Bell, whose best-selling video shows her cooking in the
buff.

Sounds like a lot more fun than a daily diet of spring water and undressed salad.