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Millions of full-figured women face discrimination and cruelty every day of their lives. Too many hopelessly struggle to conform to society's image of how a "real woman" should look. Now, one man offers a bold new direction with this powerful and sensitive affirmation of the beauty, desirability, and sexiness of big women. Real Women Don't Diet! will alter the way the women of America view themselves.How did Ken Mayer become such an outspoken and forceful advocate for the attractiveness of large women? He begins by revealing an intensely personal and intimate look at the realization of his own sexual fascination for big, beautiful women.Real Women Don't Diet! explores the unrealistic roles that are created by the media. Ken exposes the male insecurities and frustrations which lead to the abuse of power and documents the forces behind the manipulation of women. It becomes clear how the interests of the fashion, medical, and fitness industries are served by making females feel overweight, unhealthy, and undesirable.Real Women Don't Diet! is also a celebration of the triumphs of big women in their efforts to achieve a positive self-esteem. You'll hear the courageous stories of women who grew up "fat" by society's standards.The author, a large size fashion photographer, includes portraits of women that capture added dimensions of beauty, shattering the stereotyped image of feminine sexiness.Ken Mayer challenges women to take a stand and fight for the right to be themselves--regardless of their size; to refuse to be exploited. His message is simple, yet profound: large women are perfect, just as they are.Real Women Don't Diet! will convince you that big women are attractive to the kind of men who desire women with presence--women who achieve their mental, emotional, and physical potential.REVIEWS Mayer is in line with writers like Naomi Wolf (Beauty Myth , LJ 4/1/91) who severely criticize our society's standards of feminine beauty. He focuses on body size or weight, arguing that big is not only beautiful but also healthy and takes to task the fashion and diet industries and physicians for encouraging women literally to harm themselves in order to be thin. The early chapters take the form of a personal journal about Mayer's coming of age and attraction to big women. Later chapters critique society's values in general to show that our obsession with body shape is just another flawed value. Mayer is correct that big is beautiful, but he loses some credibility when he argues that only big is beautiful. Still, any big woman who needs encouragement to accept herself will find it here, and other readers may be sensitized to the issue. -- Library JournalThere have been books and magazine articles asserting that our society is dangerously obsessed with a single standard of female beauty, namely that of the thin body. Mayer's book stands out because it is written by a man and is a paean to what he regards as real beauty; strong, large women (preferably well over 200 pounds). Expressing heartfelt pain over tortures that overweight women endure (many were prescribed diet pills by alarmed doctors in their early teens), the book will offer comfort to any woman who falls outside the waif-like ideal. Mayer, a "large-size" fashion photographer and freelance writer, rallies facts and figures that verify that "overweight" women are not unhealthy and promotes the sensible idea that if a woman feels healthy, she probably is. With its arresting title and cover (a beautiful, 200 plus-pound woman, obviously pleased with herself and enjoying life), this book will have wide appeal. Photos. -- Publishers Weekly