Weight a second

I had a quart of lard and seven cheese pizzas.\nI look forward to the day when one of the women on those increasingly annoying Lean Cuisine commercials announces that was her dinner.\nDo you know what I'm talking about? It's those commercials that feature three or more women at a yoga class, spa or some other nauseatingly stereotypical feminine place, sharing what they'd had for the previous evening's dinner. Following meals consisting of stale marshmallows, or peanut butter and jelly on saltine crackers, the final (and very proud) woman says something -- supposedly appetizing - along the lines of "salmon with garlic rice in almond sauce." \nThus the endless, and seemingly hopeless, struggle between women and their weight is perpetuated. The well-fed U.S. culture demands that for women to be attractive (successful at all, even), they must appear in good shape. Surely this is demanded for men as well -- but I've yet to see an advertisement for a weight-loss program or product featuring, and targeting, them.\nFat women are basically unacceptable in the world of popular culture. When Kirstie Alley was photographed two years ago with a substantially larger girth than that of her well-remembered form in "Cheers," comedians and tabloids had a field day with new material and articles on the actress who "let herself go." \nBut everything's OK now, because she has lost weight. Last November, she was even a guest on the Oprah Winfrey show to share her "weight loss secrets," which was, essentially, following a program by Jenny Craig.\nEven Alley's Showtime disaster "Fat Actress" delivers a plot that reinforces the unacceptability of overweight women -- at least, in the entertainment industry. \nMost disconcerting to me is many women's preoccupation with weight.\nTwice in the past week, I've been among women discussing their calories, bodies, consumption, etc. Recently, a female peer admitted to encouraging her friends to eat more so they'll gain weight and so, I suppose, she'll seem thinner by comparison.\nI've heard even the strongest and most intelligent women I know voice concerns about staying, or getting, skinny. \nMore than 90 percent of those diagnosed with eating disorders in the United States are adolescent and young women, according to the Eating Disorders Coalition for Research, Policy and Action.\nIn popular culture, women are not encouraged to eat.\nCommercials for salads options at fast food restaurants always feature, and are targeted at, women. Meanwhile, Burger King's latest "Texas Double Whopper" commercial seems to target men and only men. Well, what if I'm in the mood for mass amounts of greasy meat in a bun?\nIt's not uncommon for ads for desserts to parallel consumption with sinfulness, reinforcing post-eating guilt. And when aren't these foods, especially chocolate, presumed to be a woman's preference?\nI can speak only for myself when I say I'll continue to eat what I want, when I want it -- a diet that has always seemed to work for me.\nMe, I don't want to be 20 pounds underweight. Now excuse me while I go bathe in cheese.