“Skinny Bitches” Skinned by Writer Julie Klausner on Salon

It never ceases to amuse me how clicking on one link leads you to another, more interesting item, which, of course, brings you to yet another. And sometimes, after going from one site to the next, you land on one that really piques your curiosity.

That’s what happened with me this week. First, Media Bistro — a fabulous, place where I’ve taken some great essay writing classes lately — informed me that Julie Klausner, a New York-based writer, actor and comedian, had a piece published in Modern Love, a popular section of the New York Times. Apparently, Julie’s essay appeared after taking a class from Liza Monroy, with whom I also took a class.

Next, I became curious about Julie, whose writing and humor appealed to me. (Hope it’s OK to use her first name.) So, off I went to her website where I learned about her recent book deal.

But what most caught my interest was Julie’s piece in Salon earlier this year (how did I miss it?!), in which she blasted the diet book, Skinny Bitch.

As you probably already know, the chick-lit-looking book has been selling briskly, even since Victoria Beckham was photographed looking at a copy.

This book, Julie insists, is simply "a vegan manifesto masquerading as a diet fad." What’s more, she deplores, "the only thing this weight-loss book will help you lose is self-esteem."

Julei’s skewering of authors Rory Freedman (a former agent for Ford Models) and Kim Barnouin (a former model) even drew the attention of prolific reporter Tara Parker-Pope, who blogged about it on The Well section of The New York Times.

Anyhow, you just have to read Julie’s provocative piece on Salon. For instance, she writes:

The relentless bullying peppered throughout the authors’ advice accounts for much of the book’s humor, including quips like "you need to exercise, you lazy shit," "coffee is for pussies" and "don’t be a fat pig anymore." It was a formerly anorexic friend of mine who nailed it when she read excerpts from the book. "When you have an eating disorder," she told me, "that’s the voice you hear in your head all the time."

Thanks to "Skinny Bitch," women who hate their bodies no longer need rely on their own self-loathing to stoke the flames of what seems like motivation but is actually self-flagellation — penance for the sin of being too fat. Now dieters can have the convenience of a former model (Barnouin) and a former modeling agent (Freedman) putting their transgressions in the black-and-white terms of right and wrong. "If you eat crap," they chirp, "you are crap."

Given that these days, I’ve been eating more red meat (always grass-fed, organic) than usual (one of my Lyme disease-triggered cravings), clearly the "skinny bitches" would tell me to "stop eating that crap."

Julie’s eloquent tirade made me again realize that I was way, way too nice when I interviewed Kim on my radio show a few months back, before I renamed it the Gab The Gurus Radio Show.

Perhaps I was sweet, because we the "skinny bitches" and I do agree on one important thing — it’s best to quit eating sugar. (But, FYI, I just do not use the same kind of brash, unfeminine language as Freedman and Barnouin.)

I did, however, admit on my radio show with Kim that a while back — long before Skinny Bitch came out — a working title for my book had been Sugar Bitch, not Sugar Shock! But I dropped that title for fear of alienating lots of readers. What do you think — was I right to change the name of my book?

Anyway, Julie one fascinating point about the book’s title. As she puts it, the authors "mischievously confide that they gave their book its title just to sell copies, which is why there are zero references to their veganism on the cover as well. (They’re deceptive, not stupid: They know that veganism sells hacky sacks, not blockbuster paperbacks.)"

Let’s face it, a catchy book title can work in your favor, but the question is, should you sacrifice your meaning for the sake of a misleading title and cover? Thoughts?

FYI, the "skinny bitches" are still very much in the news, because of their latest book, Skinny Bitch in the Kitch. And now, a "Bastard