Carrie, thank you for sharing that story - I know some chubby women who feel intense jealousy of thin friends - it's no fun in any direction.

I have never thought about this to be honest. I have my pictures plastered on my website but that's because of the nature of it (my weight loss story). I am looking at going to a few conferences this year and I'm chubby for sure. It all has to do with self confidence and if you feel good about yourself, you'll stand out and it won't matter if you are chubby or skinny. I don't pay attention to the looks of other bloggers so I'm not sure if they are skinny or chubby.

<abbr>Angie (Losing It and Loving It)´s last blog post..Healthy Living Tips: Healthbolt Carnival</abbr>

I'd never thought about this before you'd mentioned it. I don't think I would be put off going to any of the conferences because of weight. I love to see people of all shapes and sizes because they bring so many different personalities & perspectives with them... I think the cost to go to these events/conferences is what may put any of us off..lol.
I'm much happier to focus on what people say. Not bothered by how people look. I hope they feel that too.

<abbr>Melitsa´s last blog post..Teaching young children responsibility</abbr>

Interesting. I think much of it is self fulfilling prophecy. If a woman has issues with herself and her appearance, she isn't going to put herself out there as much. I've read about the many studies that have been done around attractiveness and success, and it's a mixed bag. Being more attractive may get your foot in the door, but it won't get you up the ladder. It also makes people expect more which may lead to disappointment. Another thing is, being more attractive gets you rejected because of jealousy.

In my own life with friends, I've experienced this a couple of times and it's been deeply painful. Growing up I was close to two women who (by their own standard anyway) were chubby. I thought they were beautiful and envied their curves which had yet to find me! But the jealousy over my thinness (genes) got in the way and led to both of them "dumping" me for no good reason. I still mourn the loss.

While the moms who are blogging about BlissDom may be (in your opinion) thin and beautiful, I saw a wide variety of women represented at the conference and also on the stage. There was thin, chubby, beautiful, sexy, average and everything inbetween.

<abbr>Carrie Lauth´s last blog post..Contact Me. No, Don’t.</abbr>

People are too concerned about how they look. I'm a 64 year old grandma and I gave up worrying about how I look a long time ago. What's in your heart is what matters. I happen to have an obese daughter-in-law with a heart of gold. We all have to live in our bodies and life is difficult enough without worrying about how we look. Hope this helps those with weight challenges, we all do the best we can and I say fergitaboutit! And, hey, I'm looking to make a little money online and am really looking forward to your info. Thanks for being there!

You know I really think it all boils down to self confidence. You could have the most beautiful and thin mom, but if she is not confident she'll be hiding out in the back. However, you could have a mom that is curvy and rockin' that is out going and will be at any event she can make it to. One person that comes to mind is @jennydecki as we all know and love. She is a wonderfully curvy mom, much like myself, and she is very outgoing and I can see her hitting up every conference!

<abbr>Alaina Frederick´s last blog post..It’s A Mission Of Writing But So Much More!</abbr>

i saw your question over on twitter and had to come over. love all the responses. i think being overweight/chubby/volumptious and our societys response to that, does affect us woman bloggers. i have been slim and i have been chubby, but my personality is still the same and i tend to be shy, serious and not that into my looks. after carrying extra weight for several years, i finally decided to put myself out there regardless. some people respond, and others don't. the ones that do, are usually mature, neat women. i also have learned to smile alot! amazing how that cuts thru the ice. i know i'll never be the popular cheerleader type, but i'm ok with that.

still i dont' know if i would go to a convention just cuz i don't like those groupie kind of events. tho i would love all the info and getting away for a few days.

i'm also an older blogger (mid 40's) tho i look younger and have an 11 yr old son, and wonder if i'm too old for this. i have a hard time relating to the 20 something bloggers with babies and toddlers. but i know not everyone relates to every blogger.

i do have a pic of myself on my blog and on facebook and twitter that is a good one of me, but i'm not very photogenic so don't put alot of pics up of myself. gotta try out those angles =)

<abbr>gail´s last blog post..There Is Still Time ...</abbr>

I'm still new to all of this but I hadn't noticed (yet). My own perception was that I seem to be older than everybody! Made me wonder if I'm too old to be doing this, LOL!

I definitely struggle with weight (though I am tall) and don't even like having my picture taken because of it.

It doesn't make a difference to me, I like to see people that I can identify with.

<abbr>Marya Mesa´s last blog post..St. Patrick’s Day Recipes & Ideas</abbr>

Interesting topic, Kelly. Now that you mention it I have been feeling somewhat frumpy after looking at those conference pictures. As a "a 5 foot nothing chubby chick" (LOVE that Christie!) who has birthed 4 babies I am NEVER going to be a size 4.

You won't find many pictures of my on my blog but that has more to do with LACK of pictures of me than because of my size. In fact, I've searched my archives for a avatar picture and can't find any where I'm not holding a child or withchild. lol. I think it's time for this momma to have a photo shoot! :)

<abbr>Stephanie'sMommyBrain´s last blog post..StartupNation, Are You In The Running?</abbr>

I have noticed that the thin and stylish moms definitely get center stage for lots of things. Even though I am a pretty confident person in most respects, I will admit that seeing some of the photos from blogging events has made me wonder if I would feel comfortable attending amidst a sea of size 4 mommy bloggers. :)

I think that women like to know that they aren't alone in their struggles with weight and appearance, but when it comes to marketing, most people will respond best to someone they consider to be attractive.

<abbr>Dollymama´s last blog post..Gathering Wool...</abbr>

Barbara, I agree with you. The issue isn't all about who gets picked for opportunities, it is also about who volunteers for them. Chubby moms are far less likely to step out. (Which led to my question in the first place - not seeing many of them in pictures at events.)

Linda, thanks for speaking plainly! (Why is that so hard to do?!)

Of course thin moms are going to get more opportunities. When it comes to picking a mom to help you promote your products, I don't know of many big companies that would pick a chubby mom.

A list mom bloggers are getting amazing opportunities - they're faces are showing up on company websites and national advertisements. And the faces I see are all slender and beautiful - none are chubby or plain.

I had never really thought about it, but now that you mention it, and I think about it, it does certainly seem that the most popular ones are the thinner ones. I guess it comes down to, the online world is just like the real world which is kinda sad really. It shouldn't matter, but apparently appearance does matter even virtually.

Maybe there is a self-confidence issue to though...maybe the thin mom bloggers have more of that confidence at least in putting themselves out there and don't worry so much about how they will be perceived since they feel comfortable with themselves and just by virtue of that fact...gain more popularity and it just snowballs. And the opposite for those with maybe less confidence in their appearance, so they hold back and it holds them back.

<abbr>Barbara´s last blog post..TMT The Fridge</abbr>

Kelly, in response to your recent tweet on the subject: "All things being equal (writing skill, personality and savvy) who's going to get more opportunities? Chubby mom or thin mom?"

I think it's the thin mom, because it's no different in the blogging world than it is in society in general. We still think thin people are more attractive than overweight people (especially women) and for the most part we hold on to stereotypes about overweight people.

Of course anyone can overcome the stereotypes and their own insecurities that result (and/or feed into them), but as you said, all other things being equal.....

It's been proven that in the workplace, overweight people have a harder time getting a job and less likely to be promoted. I think the same attitudes that contribute to those issues in the workplace, contribute towards attitudes in the blogging world.

It's kind of ironic though... in the US, where it's reported that as many as two-thirds of us are overweight and one-third obese, we still hold many of the stereotypes about weight.

<abbr>Linda Stacy´s last blog post..Fact Is: The 95% Failure Rate is a Myth</abbr>

April, you know I love your logo - and continue to be deeply honored that you used my likeness ;)

Ya know, I never even thought about it. But now that I do, I realized that my perception is that a lot of the pictures I see are of the "soccer Mom" types and my stereotype of the "soccer Mom" is thin & totally into appearance.

That's one of the reasons I am so in love with the logo for Bad Mommy Blogger, because he made her curvy instead of one of those typical skinny cartoon moms.

<abbr>April´s last blog post..Virtually Successful</abbr>

I have never been to a conference, have just seen the pics and definitely noticed the thin, tall, gorgeous attendees! As a 5 foot nothing chubby chick, I assume I would feel insecure there. In the beauty niche, lots of people post their pics on the blogs (sometimes called FOTD - Face of the Day), which I do often. I have learned which angles to take my pictures so the extra chins don't appear (camera above you, looking down). I also do videos on youtube and was concerned I would get negative comments, but in over a year, I have only received 5 comments (not that I am counting!! ha!) about my weight, and they were probably just kids being mean. I am also losing weight, and have learned I am inspiring others to do so to (which is so strange for me), but I think we need to see that moms and bloggers and women come in all shapes and sizes.

<abbr>Christie´s last blog post..Turning Your Hobby into a WAHM Business</abbr>

I see a lot of heavier successful mom-bloggers who put themselves out there. just sayin'. not gonna point out anyone but I can think of at least 5.
Expat you dont look chubby--that's a GREAT photo!

Thank you Genesis and Mary for your quick replies!

Mary, I had to smile at your 'good angle' comment - I am all about the good angles with my pictures too LOL!

I'm a chubby mom, and my picture's on my blog. But it's really just my face and one of the few pics that caught me at a good angle. :) I did feel at Blissdom like there were a lot of thin, fashionable bloggers, but I chalked it up to my own insecurities. Interesting that I'm not the only one thinking it, though...!

<abbr>Mary @ Giving Up On Perfect´s last blog post..What's the point of Lent, anyway?</abbr>

I rarely post photos of myself on my blogs, even my personal one, expatmom.info. I`ve gained a LOT of weight since I had my kids (more due to sitting at the computer than from actually giving birth, sadly enough) and yes, that makes me shy about putting my photo out there. It makes me think twice about the possibility of attending events, as well.

That being said . . . I do see a lot of "chubby" moms putting their photos up. They are really inspiring women, because they don`t mind being out there in the public eye. Unfortunately, I`m just not there yet!

<abbr>Genesis´s last blog post..When You Lose Your Childcare</abbr>