Love at first tag?

This Valentine’s Day weekend I started thinking about the idea of a soul mate. What makes someone your soul mate? Shared interests were something that ranked high on my list of soul mate criteria, and while I may not have found a romantic soul mate this weekend, I did discover my bookmarking soul mate. I am always searching through tags and bookmarks, and I have found that this often leads me to sources I never would have found on my own. My bookmarking soul mate was iNvPlusStyle, and as we got to know each other better (by looking through their bookmarks and reading their articles, of course), I could tell that we would have a long relationship together.

iNvPlusStyle had over 300 pages bookmarked, and almost all 103 tags were topics that I was also interested in. I have currently been looking into how the media and entertainment, specifically reality TV shows, can positively or negatively affect the body image of viewers. iNvPlusStyle was also looking at how the media viewed weight. The focus seemed to be put on how overweight actresses were accepted in the media, and less on how this affected audiences, but by discussing the way these actresses and models are viewed, iNvPlusStyle is essentially pointing out how this acceptance, or lack thereof, is going to affect viewers. By focusing on media, there is definitely a large focus on reality TV shows that portray overweight contestants or characters.

Many of the articles iNvPlusStyle had bookmarked I could use for my own research. I was especially intrigued with an article discussing The Biggest Loser and the economic realities it sheds light on. Last week I discussed another blog about a similar topic. Geoff Williams was using saving money as a reason to lose weight. He calculated the savings on each meal and snack that he was able to resist. Tara takes this a step farther. While she calculates her saving by cutting out junk food, walking instead of taking a taxi, and meals she no longer indulges, she also gathers some seriously big savings from The Biggest Loser. Healthcare costs are something that many of us do not think about in our everyday lives. However, $147 billion dollars are spent on obesity related health issues each year, and an obese person earns on average $7,000 less than a non-obese person. These figures should not be ignored, and by bookmarking this page, iNvPlusStyle is bringing attention to these figures, and acknowledging the positive power and potential that reality TV shows hold to share information with the audience. Beyond that, these figures are significant enough to spark change in obese viewers.

Something that iNvPlusStyle does a good job of is focusing on positive plus-size influences in the media. Although most entertainment outlets are flooded with teeny tiny skinny girls, there has been an increase in positive plus size role models in the media. This blog focuses on how beautiful overweight girls can be. Many of these women are seen as role models, and they prove that you can be beautiful without being a size 2. Beyond that, many are trying to get healthy. They are not losing so much weight that they lose the curves that made them famous, but stars like Jennifer Hudson and eating healthier and working out, proving that it is possible, and inspiring others out there to do the same.

Without the discovery of iNvPlusStyle’s many tags, I would not have been able to find many of the resources I plan on using in future blogs. Although as far as romance goes, all I found this weekend was a box of chocolates, I was lucky enough to find my bookmarking soul mate.