Thursday, February 5, 2009

Rant: What's weight got to do with it?

I might be late to the game on this, but the Jessica Simpson weight news is really irritating me. And the part that irritates me the most is why the media asks other celebrities about it, basically saying, "hey, Jessica's fat again, what's up with that?" Quite a lead-in for that night's show.

To be fair, the outfit that she's wearing in these pictures is not flattering at all. Unless you're rail-thin, high-waisted jeans just won't work. And that belt? Bad choice too.


Regardless, my first thought when I saw this and all the ensuing media coverage was...WHO THE HELL CARES IF SHE PUT ON WEIGHT? Seriously!

Guess what? I am still having trouble losing the weight from Christmas. Does that mean my friends and co-workers need to contribute comments about how they support me, or chastise me for getting into "bad habits" again?

Jennifer Love Hewitt graced magazine covers when she sold out and turned into a Stepford Wife and now Jessica Simpson is making headlines, scaring young girls to put down that donut by making her an example of what happens when you put on weight.

While Jennifer was praised, Jessica is dissected, examined and rationalized as to "how could this happen?" God forbid the girl has another helping (or two) of chips or chicken wings (hmmm chicken wings) and a few pounds come on. It appears as though that is the worst thing that can happen to you.

Oh and US Weekly said she weighs 135 now and as a woman who weighs more than that, I'm calling bullsh*t. Yes, we all carry weight differently but there is no way she weighs that, and that is okay! But if she does weigh more, why not come out with it, because if Tony and you don't care, there's no shame in hiding. In fact, according to my latest People magazine, you're proud of your body. 

So, if you want to show that you are comfortable with yourself, be a role model to girls that weight fluctuates and guys don't always care about how women look below the face.

I can say that as a more overweight teen, having someone come out in support of their shape, rather than hiding it would have been very helpful and it would have made some of the awkwardness around my body better. And knowing that some guys don't care about your curves or size, would have made me feel like I was more attractive and desirable. 

And please, no more high-waisted jeans. From one curvy girl to another, it's just not your look. Kthanksbye. Love ya.

Am I off base with my thoughts here? Or am I the only one who is irritated by this?

Reader note: Thank you for all the great comments on how you're cutting back in the recession. I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one living a little more frugally than normal. Fingers crossed that this gets turned around quickly. And again, welcome to all new commenters!

41 comments:

Anonymous said...

I know exactly what you mean. Every time I see one of those stories, my heart sinks and I think "How am I ever supposed to measure up?" I wish there was more in between in hollywood...its either stick thin or super fat. Where are the girls that look like me?

Anonymous said...

As someone who's about average sized, my main complaint about the amount of attention Jessica Simpson gets is not about her weight (seriously, who cares?), but the fact that she so consistently doesn't know how to dress to flatter her body shape.

You can be as big or as little as you want, but as long as you know how to dress for YOUR body shape, you will always look good. Jessica Simpson consistently fails at this, despite the fact she can afford to hire a good stylist!

I'd like to see her embrace her body no matter what size it is...but dressed in a way that lets young curvy girls know that you can be curvy and still dress well!

Pretty Unfamous said...

She's not overweight whatsoever. Everyone has those BAD photographs that get taken, and her choice of outfit didn't help anything at all. It was REALLY her outfit that did all the damage.

LBluca77 said...

I think her horrible outfit contributed a lot to why hollywood feels the need to make comments about her weight gain. But even if she weighs 135 that is not fat at all. It is a healthy weight for her height. Plus you know most of that weight gain went to her boobs.

Anonymous said...

She's not overweight, that's just a horrendous outfit. I've never heard a woman say anything good about high-waisted jeans -- everyone I know thinks they look horrible -- but Jessica Simpson can't seem to realize that. Who is styling her? Whoever it is needs to tell her that country music does not mean she needs to look like Dolly Parton in 1971.

Anonymous said...

I agree with you - 135lbs is average to me. The media is so harsh of these poor people, which ultimately makes us all think about what we weigh and how it's not good enough. So stupid!

Anonymous said...

I'm with you. 1) She's not remotely fat and 2) who the hell cares. Why all the gossip mags need to talk about it is beyond me.

Mandy said...

That is a really, really bad outfit and its an unflattering angle. What upsets me more is that now if she loses weight, she will be called anorexic and there will be magazines saying she has an eating disorder. Its a no win situation and really, it makes me sad. I hate it when I seem my 13 and 11 year old cousins sucking in their stomachs because they think they are "fat" and measure themselves up against rail thin celebrities.

brandyismagic said...

The other day I had the pleasure (read: intense and painful punishment) of walking through a hallway of junior high kids while heading down to the elementary wing. I heard one girl say to another "She's gotten fat. And not like regular fat, like, bigger- Jessica Simpson fat". Seriously. My heart just about broke. What hope do kids have of feeling good about themselves when all the media outlets perpetuate the negativity we want kids today to ignore?

Oy.

Also? High waisted pants are never nice.

Heidi Renée said...

Fugliest outfit in the world. Oh my god - fugly. That said, I would love to have her body. I just wouldn't put it in that. They're like mom jeans - EW!

Maki said...

Actually my BFF and I were just talking about her tonight while having some wines... My friend is struggling to lose some weight although she is not fat at all, but it really irritating her the fact that Jessica is considered fat. We both agree that she may gained some weight, but not fat.

So, yes, she needs to have some dresses that fits on her curvy body... And yes, people should get off her case.

Jenny Grace said...

I liked that she responded to criticism by saying that as long as she's happy she doesn't really care how much she ways, and that right now, she's very happy.

I'm not a big Jessica Simpson fan, but that made me like her more.

Anonymous said...

Yah I read somewhere that she wears a size 2~ ummmmmm yah right!

Unknown said...

it's just horrible isn't it? first of all, yes, bad choice in outfit.

Second of all, that angle is horrendous.

Thirdly, I hate when mags "guess" weight...They don't effing know for sure?!?!?! I weigh 135!!! {I saw that magazine today actually and it pissed me off} I'd rather look like her than an adolescent boy all women aim to look like, curvesless and scrawny. Eew!

Jon and Steph said...

I was totally with you..... when I saw this I though "really honestly, who cares!!" But it's obvious too many people do, which is just sad. I think she looks great, ya the outfit was a BAD choice, but we all go through little weight spells any normal human woman does! I hate the media ugh!

erin - heart in ireland said...

Uggh, the media and calling skinny celebs fat is ridiculous! I hate it and it really messes with so many young girls and their self image.

Anonymous said...

If she was wearing a more flattering outfit, she'd look great! She's curvy and tight clothes don't look great on a little extra weight. But 135? No way! I am more than that and she looks more like me.

Lauren Elizabeth said...

Everyone in my office just started talking about this because we are starting to carry Jessica Simpson dresses. We all agreed that she still looks hot.

Anonymous said...

I don't get all the hype about her weight either. Personally, I think she looks better now than she did a few years ago.

Anonymous said...

I don't get all the hype about her weight either. Personally, I think she looks better now than she did a few years ago.

Anonymous said...

Simpson is a beautiful woman, but I have to give her stylist a "No, she didn't!" for this outfit. As long as you're healthy, who cares about weight? The media is ridiculous! There is a disgusting double-standard...how many male celebrities are out there sporting moobs? Now, that's disturbing.

Anonymous said...

Oops, sorry for posting twice. My computer was being slow.

Sarah Alway said...

I don't care how much you weigh... no one, EVER, should wear those jeans. Except maybe my grandma.

Jess said...

I think a lot of people are irritated by this. Kate Harding's website had a very interesting comment, which is that she is being compared to the body she had for the Dukes of Hazzard--and to achieve that body, she had to work out constantly, so you can't exactly call that her natural state.

Anonymous said...

I feel bad for her. She really isn't that big, it's just that the outfit is horrendous and maybe too small. Even one of the skeletor Olsen twins would look fug in that get up.

It just blows my mind that "Jessica Packs on the Pounds" has become the major story for so many media outlets to latch onto. Who really cares? She actually looks like a real person and not a walking stick. Besides everyone's worn an outfit that didn't do their body justice. Get over it.

Anonymous said...

I have been irritated by this since I heard about it, to the point that I've just tried to ignore it completely. Now the cynic in me is beginning to think all the media scrutiny is taking place as a PR ploy on the part Jessica Simpson's people. For sure, it's been a great way to get her into the public eye (she's been on tons of magazine covers since the incident) and begin a national discussion about the state of female body image. The glass-half-full part of me thinks maybe we can turn lemons into lemonade and have something positive come of all this.

Katie said...

Well said - no high waisted pants ever. And apparently Jessica is really short in person. Probably only 5' 1". My friends saw her in the bathroom of a bar we were at in NY and said she had "cute little muscular legs" and "a huge chest", which is obvious...

Kelly said...

I blogged about this today too...

I think that's just what happens to famous people... A normal girl at this exact size will not be able to beat guys off of her with a stick! But she's famous and she's asking for it with that dumb ass outfit! Seriously, even if she was KateMoss-thin that's HORRIBLE!

Katelin said...

i couldn't agree more with you. her outfit was so unflattering and i swear her stylist should be fired for what she's been wearing lately, haha.

Maris said...

I don't think the problem here is that she gained weight. I think the problem is that she gained weight and is dressing as though she's still 95 lbs soaking wet. But seriously, the media just needeed something to talk about and Jessica Simpson gaining weight just happened to be the topic du jour. I'm sure Britney Spears will forget to take her meds and do something to distract us all soon anyway.

Anonymous said...

Gah! This whole situation makes me so mad. First of all, the outfit is TERRIBLE. Pick on her fashion sense before your pick on her weight. Secondly, 135? There is no way she weighs 135...and that's ok! Hell, I weigh more than 135!

Anonymous said...

I feel so bad for the poor girl. Today on facebook, I noticed one of my favorite local television stations posted a link to "Jessica Simpson forgets her lyrics". Dear God, these people need to leave her alone. I can't imagine what it must be like to be scrutinized for the world to see, and then have to get up and sing in front of thousands...knowing that the media is there to get an unflattering picture of her, and post it in magazines and everywhere else to be scrutinized a little more. If anything I like how she dresses in her juicy sweats, and uggs. She's made it fashionable to go to the grocery store, less than perfect!

Anonymous said...

I completely agree--I think Jessica is gorgeous, and while she certainly made a poor outfit decision (and who among us has not!), she's definitely NOT fat. I can't imagine constantly being torn to shreds over my weight--good Lord, I don't know how these celebrities have enough self-esteem left to leave their houses. I would be a snivelling wreck.

Kyla Bea said...

I think she looks great at that weight - she's just wearing clothes that don't really fit & that are in poor taste!

The other thing is that because the emaciated look is in, I don't think that many young celebs do things like lift weights. If her arms were toned a little & if she was in a different outfit? She'd look awesome.

The media just loves to hate her. She would get as much coverage if she changed her hair colour.

Anonymous said...

Amen, sister. Who gives a shit? Let the girl live. Lets not lambaste her for actually wanting to EAT! *GASP*

Anonymous said...

Her outfit is hideous, but I think SHE and her body are gorgeous! I've read that she's short, like 5'2 or 5'3, but even at 135 lbs her BMI is still probably in the 'normal' range. I'm all for being healthy and feeling sexy in one's own skin, but I think we should all be able to enjoy food, too! Keep eating those chicken wings, girls! :)

meg fee said...

Amen go right there! You hit the nail on the head, so thank you for that!

Lauren said...

I totally agree. As someone who has had body image issues in the past, and sometimes present even though I'm 26, this is totally crazy! I was really mad when even Obama mentioned someting about it. In context, but still! Not just as the president but as the father of young girls. Thinking cap was not on during that moment.

The outfit was a bad choice, but you can tell that she isn't over healthy weight by and stretch. Actually, she's finally at a healthy weight, and if she had a better outfit on she'd look it.

Thanks for posting this, the comments make for an interesting discussion.

Anonymous said...

It irritates me too. I think she needs a stylist though who can tell her what's more flattering for her (new?) body shape. I've always been very thin and I have to watch what I wear too or I end up looking like a complete stick (skinny jeans make my hips disappear). As long as you're healthy and you know what type of clothing suits you, your weight or shape doesn't matter.

Anonymous said...

The fact that 135 is considered heavy for a woman in her mid- to late-20's is absolutely disturbing. I'm 25 years old and while I'd love to have a better toned version of myself (and will when the weather gets nicer and I can get outside more!), I'm completely fine with my 145 lbs of healthy, happy body. UGH! This is such an awful truth about how our society treats weight and body issues.

Mar said...

all i can say say is i would almost be willing to chop off a finger for her 'fat' body, cause it's still 150 lbs lighter than i am right now.

she's still wearing single digit sizes and in my book and anyone normal's book - that ain't fat!

i think everyone has a right to want their body to look the way they want ...and i never begrudge anyone the right to discuss their desire to lose weight...even if they are 150 and they want to drop 10 pounds. sure, it's different than my journey of weight loss, but it's their right. but to see this media circus about her "curves" ... ugh, as much as i don't want to let it get to me, i just sometimes think: if jessica is "curvy", what the hell does that make me?