A few years ago at a flea market in Chelsea, I found a pile of 1960s-era inspirational posters for GM factory workers. They were five bucks each, so I bought two. They're colorfully-illustrated mod delights. One says "Who wants reliable products? EVERYBODY!" and shows a crowd of big-headed people in suits raising their hands. The other features bees with sideburns buzzing a feminine-faced daisy, and says "Quality attracts customers - and keeps them coming back." They hang in my living room, urging me to strive for perfection and productivity.

A couple of days ago our corporate overlords sent us a couple of inspirational posters for our office. To my horror, the office manager hung them up. They are a far, far cry from the quality of my GM posters. In one, three people crowd around a computer, their faces beaming with glee and satisfaction. The text says "Our [company] team: One connection ... one community." That's it. What does that even mean? How does this lift my spirits, or make me want to produce high-quality, reliable things?

Anyway, the three people in the photo are nicely diverse - an older white guy, a middle-aged white woman, a middle-aged black woman - but they each have something in common: an extra 50-60 pounds they really should try to lose. This is not something I normally take notice of, but seriously - it jumps out at you. I even mentioned it, gently, to a couple of coworkers, and they said, "Yeah, I noticed that too! Weird!"

So what the hell? Is this the new normal? Now that we're the fattest nation ever on this planet, the model they use for the average Joe has to have a big ass and a puffy face? I admit, I'm one of those feminists who believe that the saturation in the public sphere of images showing impossibly skinny models makes girls anorexic and self-hating. But is the cure showing doughy office drones who can't climb stairs without getting out of breath? There has got to be a happy medium. Aren't we supposed to see ourselves in these advertising models? Because I don't see - I don't want to see - myself as a part of this group. Who would?

Confusingly, a second poster has the exact same text and the same scene, except the three have been joined by two slender ladies, who also hover with bright smiles. Depending on my mood, I like to imagine the third poster, which would either have just the three original people, slightly fatter and blotting bits of thin-girl from the corners of their mouths, or the two skinny people sitting at the computer, the larger trio grumpily standing in the background and out of the spotlight, looking sadly resigned and a bit betrayed at being picked last yet again.

Of course, in real life, they should all feel sad and betrayed for being roped into such a lame-ass production.