Thursday, January 29, 2009

celebrity trashing

thanks to all who weighed in on my post yesterday. get it? weighed in? wow... lame joke. like when i tell my boyfriend there is a "really big shoe" coming up and he asks if i'm really 70 years old. no! i'm not! some humour never dies!

today's post is on a topic that is making me a little bit angry. i'll preface by saying that i love reading celebrity gossip online. it's very amusing. my favourites are perez and dlisted, but i do read many more, including the skinny website, which is focused on weight in hollywood. it's interesting to know who is toning up, who has lost weight, who has gained a few pounds. my opinion is that if you are in movies or on tv, you are in the public eye and it's not a crime for people to want to know more things about you.

but a few days ago, there were pictures of jessica simpson posted at some sort of chili cook off, and now there is talk about how "fat" she is all over the internet. i thought it might go away but now other celebrities are all putting in their two cents. here is the photo, by the way:

yes, she looks a bit heavier than normal. but, who cares? she definitely still has a nice figure and i wouldn't call her "fat" by any means. and what are we comparing this to? when she was in that beverly hillbillies movie and working out four hours a day and eating nothing but lettuce and chicken breasts? she did have a slamming body but very unrealistic. generally women with ahem, naturally larger chests, ahem, are meant to carry a bit more weight all over.

now on the other end of the spectrum, we have an actress like lindsay lohan, who i actually like if you can believe it. i liked mean girls and freaky friday and the parent trap back in the day. and no one can say she doesn't lead an interesting life! she is called out for being too skinny. there was one point in her career, where she was way way way too skinny.... the word skeletal applies! see below:

i don't know what's up with that blond hair either. then, she was criticized for putting too much weight back on!

and now, she is apparently too skinny again. i personally don't think she looks unhealthy in this picture. skinny, yes, but it's not crossing the line.


i'm angry because of the message this celebrity trashing is sending to the women (and girls!) of the world. you have to be skinny, but not too skinny, and if you gain a little bit of weight you'll be called "fat," even if you still have an average BMI. this is giving license to the cruel people of the world that it's OK to make fun of people who have gained a few pounds, and assume that skinny people are sick, disturbed and on crack. a lot of people lose weight from emotional problems, illnesses and stress. now i'm not saying that lindsay lohan is or isn't on crack. how in the world would i ever know? it's not my place to speculate and frankly what other people do is their own business! anyway... just putting this post out there to see what other people think. personally i think that the majority of women would love to look like jessica simpson, even that horrid "fat" version of her. grrrr.

9 comments:

SeaBreeze said...

Great Post. Jessica wasn't helped by the fact that her outfit was not figure flattering. It's surprising that for a change the media isn't focused on THAT aspect of her performance. If she has choosen an outfit without the double belt and high waisted pants I don't think anyone would have had much to say about her.

cinemarie said...

very true...

Randi said...

I feel better about myself seeing Jessica Simpson being approximately the same size as I am. So it will be possible to get down to smaller, but yes it's a lot of work. I heard on the radio somebody thought she gained weight as a publicity thing so she can lose it and go on the cover of magazines with "how I did it" stories. who knows.

Anonymous said...

I agree with the person above who said Jessica Simpson's outfit in that picture isn't figure flattering. Those jeans don't look like they fit right. I doubt that she would be considered "fat" if she had been wearing something else, too.

This celebrity "too fat, too skinny" thing is getting old fast.

Fatinah said...

I saw all those posts about Jessica and all I thought was "thank GOD I don't have anyone critiquing me!". I would never be able to stand the pressure that these gals live with. I did find JS's outfit just awful - and frankly thought that was the problem with the pics - she was posted today at an airport and she looked good. I'm thinking of stopping the online gossip stuff anyhow - seems like they are getting meaner and meaner....I can't take the negativity....

Points Princess said...

If she was in a relationship they'd be calling her pregnant.

It's just something to report on. Pathetic? Yes. But we're reading/seeing it and commenting on it. So it's newsworthy. Unfortunately.

Look at Jennifer Love Hewitt -- same thing. I wish these gals could be "healthy" and the media just f off.

Anonymous said...

Omg this frustrates me too :(

Julie said...

On the one hand, I am incredibly annoyed at the amount of attention this has received. Weight fluctuations are not abnormal, people! On the other hand, I'm completely drawn into the drama myself. I can't say I was ever a fan of hers, but somehow this latest 'development' makes Jessica Simpson far more relatable, certainly more than when she was the tight-bodied 'Dukes of Hazard' vixen. Whereas I never really gave her a second thought before, now I actually find myself incredibly sympathetic. She's suddenly and quite unwillingly become a symbol for the weight conscious everywhere. Now all eyes are on her to see if her weight continues to rise or if this is just a temporary aberration. I really do not envy her one bit.

Rebecca said...

Totally with you on this one. It is such a fine line of acceptance in this industry. Too dangerous if you ask me!