BlogHer '08: Liveblogging

Now I'm here. I'm still totally fucking giddy from the video I did with Grover. Which once I have a clue how to translate a DVD to a iMovie file I will post (help?).

Body image? I am so there. Or here. Whatever.

Wow. What a compelling speaker this woman is. I mean, they all are, everyone on the panel, but the story she just told (about her white-looking son relating to his black grandfather) just blew me away.

The moderator is super awesome too. I have an unreasonable affection for women brave enough to shave their heads. DUDES: she has a book of nude photos of fat women. I have a girl-crush.

I can't stop eating this huge box of free chocolate I got. I'm going to make myself sick.

Also, while I am enjoying this panel, I am trying to make the video to post here. Sigh.

Someone just mentioned Barbie. You should see the hands shoot up. Including mine.

I got to speak! YEAH!

We're talking about whether or not "fat" is a rude bad word. I say no. I am in the minority.

Everyone is talking about how peers effect their kids. Making me more and more determined to homeschool.

Just because the panel is wrapping up: a photo of me with Stephanie Klein, the keynote speaker with Dooce on Saturday night. She was so incredibly sweet and supportive and gave me a lot of awesome feedback. And I felt like I was with a rock star, since her blog-to-book is now going to be a TV show. Sheesh.  And she introduced me to her husband as someone with a really interesting story.  *Gloat*.

Comments

[Sarah]

1.

I am now offically addicted to Stephanie Klein. I have her first book from the library, and her second on request. No wonder you were so star struck! Don't forget she sought you out at the 2nd party--you are a very compelling gal!

[Jessica]

2.

Hey lady, you are doing an AMAZING job with the live blogging. THanks!

[Jessica]

3.

Oh, and you look totally gorgeous too in those pics!

[Eliza]

4.

This is so exciting! I feel like my Inner Geek is getting to vicariously sniff butts at BlogHer! WOOT! Also, you DO look rather spiffy--somebody did the full hair and makeup to impress the other interesting people! Heee...

[Jo-Ann]

5.

You look as giddy as you sound!!

ENJOY and have a blast.

[ellen]

6.

You look pretty.

Why are you going to homeschool? Because kids can be mean??? Huh? Those kids are so deprived. I swear, you'll be surrounded by religious fundamentalists and control freaks. Keep her normal- put her in school.

[lynnie]

7.

Ellen- I homeschool my 15 year old son and 7 year old daughter. We're liberal, agnostic/atheist/pagan(depends which one of us you're with)city dwellers who let our over controlled son walk around the city all by himself (especially when we need him to run over to the store for us). My daughter has lots of friends and is part of two learning co-ops (also very much on the crunchy side and in which at least two of the members are teachers who decided to homeschool You'd be surprised how many teachers decide not to send their own children to school). My son is a member of two punk bands (his band mates go to school. When the whole group's together, you can't even tell which one is the "abnormal" one) and it'd be a lot easier for me to be a control freak with him if he was around a little more. Homeschooling is made of of lots of different kinds of people and it has more to do with the kind of lifestyle we prefer than being control freaks.

Cecily- I have a daughter who is on the round side. She looks like I did when I was a little girl. But when I was a little girl, there was no OMG! OBESITY EPIDEMIC!!!! and the constant emphasis everywhere on eating and being "healthy" -which any kid with a brain knows really means "Don't be fat!". I didn't worry about my body size at age 7. I thought I was lovely as I was, and like I said, I had a very similar body. Kids didn't start giving me a hard time about my body size until fourth grade. I don' remember kids teasing any kids much until about fourth grade. My daughter, on the other hand, refused to wear anything but dresses for two years (ages 4-6) because another little girl told her that her butt was big (it's not) -this was when she was attending Waldorf school, before we decided to homeschool her. At seven she's also been upset to be called "chunky" by a girl at the park (she tries to hide her stomach now), got upset that she weighed more than she did at age five (her grandmother weighed her, we don't own a scale), worries her face is too round and has told me not to photograph her when she's wearing a bathing suit. This is at seven! And just to be clear, she gets a pudgy stomach for a few months before a growth spurt and is more round than skinny, but she's not what anyone I know would consider fat. And this is a kid who isn't in school. I can't imagine what life would be like for her if she was being sent home with a fucking BMI report card.

[ellen]

8.

If you can't even handle Waldorf, then you do fall into the subset of total control freak. Its just that you are a hippie control freak (kids need freedom to be THEM! to the extreme degree) rather than a possessive control freak. The whole crunchy superiority thing is totally disturbing.

[Tudu]

9.

You are amazingly funny, you ooze excitement. I can't wait to read on.

[Glennia]

10.

Thanks for coming to the panel! It was great meeting and talking to you. Your blog is terrific.