Fatisbeautiful.com has a strong customer base and experts predict this site will soon dominate the web with its high-end technology and carefully placed filters that give users a sense of freedom and safety.
Montreal, QC, Canada, December 2, 2008 (PRESSbooth.ORG) -- A popular new cyber-community, dedicated to overweight people, has recently launched a section that gives users an opportunity to freely express themselves in a safe and accepting environment.
Web watchers are already talking about the newly launched www.Fatisbeautiful.com – a website devoted to giving the obese and overweight a secure atmosphere in which they can meet each other without harsh judgments or societal pressure to be thin. Taking it a step further, Fat is Beautiful Inc. has unleashed a section that also gives users a place to post video confessions without the negative remarks or teasing that often tailgates unregulated forums like YouTube or MySpace.
Experts are already touting the mental health and wellness benefits of “My Confessions.”
“When people talk, they feel better,” said Co-founder Serge Bensimon. “Like a computer’s hard drive, if you just pile more and more information on the system, it eventually crashes. You have to delete files once and awhile. That’s what ‘My Confessions’ is all about. It’s a place for people to come and unload – to tell their story.”
Co-founder Sidney Bitton holds a degree in psychology and has dedicated his career to self-esteem and self-acceptance issues. This site, he said, is a stepping stone for people dealing with a negative sense of worth that’s rooted in being overweight. The “My Confessions” section is an extremely important component of the healing process, he said, and it also gives members a chance to see deeper into the lives and minds of people just like them. This, according to Bitton, creates a sense of intimacy and personalization that just can’t be found on other dating sites.
“People can open up and be themselves,” Bitton said. “That is what the ‘My Confessions’ section is all about. Instead of sitting down in front of a costly psychologist, people can sit down in front of their cameras and express their feelings in a safe environment that filters out negativity.”
There are a lot of people who post “talking head” videos already. They certainly can be found on sites like YouTube but, because it is an unprotected forum, many negative comments get tagged onto people’s video, Bitton explained. People on the web, without any parameters, can be mean and hurtful. By providing a place where people can build profiles and post confessions, users can be a part of an accepting cyber-society while meeting potential soul mates, friends and lovers. This, he said, is all done in the comfort of a site that filters out the nasty critics who all too often embellish ad hominem responses to heart-felt videos.
According to a company brochure, there are many advantages to posting on “My Confessions.” Members are able to share minute details about themselves, secrets, dreams and goals. They can discuss encounters with nasty people or tell the tale of a pleasant memory. After a lifetime of suffering prejudice and misunderstanding, people can talk about times they’ve felt discriminated against at work, at school or on the street.
There is even a video section called “S.O.S,” the brochure states, that allows members to seek help from the community if anguish and depression becomes too much to bear or if they are experiencing immense physical pain. This section allows users to seek help from either other site members or The Fat is Beautiful team itself. Working to provide its members with a true sense of community, the team will supply the distraught user with whatever resources are called for.
“I can understand the problems in some of their lives,” Bitton said. “It’s hard to go to the beach or shopping for clothes. It’s hard to go out into public, where people sometimes stare or whisper to each other. This site provides a safe haven where they can share their problems; where they can vent. It’s a place where they can feel at ease.”
Often times, overweight people are shy or uncomfortable, Bitton said, but the goal of the website is to reach past that protective shell and help people emerge as the beautiful individuals that they are. The goal of Fatisbeautiful.com is to provide a place where people can plant personal seeds and safely grow into stronger, confident members of both the cyber and real world.
Right now, users can join the site with a silver membership for free as an introductory special, Bitton said. Users can post written entries, photos and videos and then control which friends can access their posted content. A chat room provides a space for live discussions and, of course, people can post personal ads.
With a targeted demographic that continues to increase, statistics put the number of Americans that are extremely obese at over nine million, according to Obesityinamerica.org. There are 60 million obese Americans and, with the count up over 127 million, 65% of American adults, ages 20 years and older, are overweight. Fatisbeautiful.com has a strong customer base and experts predict this site will soon dominate the web with its high-end technology and carefully placed filters that give users a sense of freedom and safety.
For more information visit http://www.fatisbeautiful.com
Contact:
Sidney Bitton, Fat is Beautiful Inc.
5555 Westminster Ave.
Montreal, Quebec H4W 2J2
(514) 299-7228
info @ fatisbeautiful.com
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