When the tabloids first got their hands on those pictures of Jessica Simpson looking bigger than usual, the uproar in the blogosphere was instantaneous, though not unexpected. There were three categories of outrage about the story: a) Disgust that magazines would call someone slightly overweight fat and thus continue the cycle of unrealistic body images for women, b) Disgust that equally unhealthy, anorexic skinny models are treated like, well, models, and c) Disgust that people would actually waste their time debating Jessica Simpson's weight when there were a whole slew of more important things currently going on in the world.
All par the course for a normal day in blogsville, right? But then Extra got a hold of the story, and did something interesting:
In an ingenious marketing move, Extra went all meta-commentary with their Simpson coverage. They got soundbites from friends and family saying that they love Jessica with or without the extra saddlebags, there was a poll to see if readers thought Jessica was more attractive with the extra weight, they even got Kim Kardashian to say that Simpson's new look was "sexy." Were tabloids finally coming around to the idea that bigger can be better?
Hardly. Look at Oprah's similar tactic for her recent cover of O magazine, where she put two pictures showing her recent weight gain side by side. That issue sold 1.1 million copies, the best sales figure for O in three years. Being plus-sized isn't "in" any more now than it was when Kirstie Alley did it; the only difference is now publishers have wised up to the fact that people love to argue about celebrity weight so pedantically that bulk on the cover equals bulk sales.
Nothing is changing in Hollywood's unrealistic beauty standards, but the way they are being sold to us has. People inherently want to believe that our culture is not superficially obsessed with the way someone looks, as if every society in the world doesn't have some ideal of what women should look like. So we attack women that appear too skinny and set "bad examples" (Nicole Richie, Rachel Zoe, Keira Knightley) while lavishing praise on America Ferrara for "looking like a real woman" and "having curves" (which is just the trades' condescending way of saying women aren't model material) even though you'd be hard-pressed to find anyone who says they want to look like Ugly Betty. It's an unspoken rule in media: You write trend pieces lambasting skinny models or actresses (because they are unfeeling robots?) while lamenting how there are no "normal" looking girls in magazines. If someone dares to mention that a celebrity has gained weight, all hell breaks loose and the Internet white knights come a'runnin, screaming about the patriarchy and America's unrealistic beauty standards, as if the number one killer in this country was caused by anorexia, and not our nation's problem morbid obesity.
And before the yelling starts, yes, I believe more plus-sized models are a good thing. And eating disorders, especially in young girls, is a serious, serious issue. Yes, I think being bombarded by super-skinny women and being told that is what's beautiful creates a defeatist attitude in young people trying to grow up healthy. But I think that anyone telling you that Jessica Simpson looks better now than she did in Dukes of Hazzard is trying to make a point. Because she barely looks any different. And if that's the "Fat Jessica" that has everyone running to faux-defend, that's scary. It's sending the message that not only are you entirely judged by your looks from strangers, but now with what Extra so slyly implied, your family, friends and the president of the United States will now be called upon to defend the way you look as "normal." Which it is. Jesus.
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Women are hypocritical douchebags who eat this stuff up, MOST of them also hate other women - which is why this shit sells like hotcakes. They even like to have baby horse races, and rag on celeb babies from time to time. It's one reason why Western societies haven't had that many female leaders, no bitch wants to give another bitch that much power and influence. Hell, evil ugly jealous bitches can't even stand Angelina Jolie - how are they gonna tolerate a female President. I mean if we ever DO get one, I guarantee you she's gonna look like pure ass - she'll make Hilary look like Marilyn. "Too skinny," or "too fat" works when selling rags and ratings to evil jealous misogynistic bitches - even when the 'actress,' is none of the above. Don't look for it to abide any time soon, not as along as there are twats out there cattily wanting to rip each other up - secretly or not so secretly. This sells the same reason why the 'no makeup' covers sell, the 'cellulite,' covers sell and the overall 'bad news and comeuppance,' issues sell - women reading, editing, and writing this sh*t all LIVE FOR IT - making the fat cat MALES who run Bauer and American Media Inc., even richer while they wallow in stupid toxic estrogen.
@Bryan:
I’m not an expert on feminism, history, sociology or bull shit. So I won’t even try to respond to your comment with the equal amount of passion that you have put forth. I will say that in a country founded upon the notion that women, like minorities, were second class citizens or property, and in a world where 99% of the population views women as inferior, objects to be seized in wars, property more or less. That you have the simpleton mind to say that all of this, pressures inflicted upon women by men, has nothing to do with the image and psyche of the modern women is outrageous. I feel sorry for all of the women in your family, life and community. Whom you undoubtedly are jealous of and carry a grudge towards on a daily basis, perhaps stemming from some fucked up botched ass youth.
Enjoy your scathing reply, I won’t be reading it.
So, so much covered here that makes you go "about fucking time." I'm too rushed to say all the things I want to say.
Anyhow, this post is terrific.
PS
Oh, and it's not that we need a lot more plus-sized models, it's just that we need a lot less anorexic models. "as if every society in the world doesn't have some ideal of what women should look like"-All cultures have certain beauty ideals because of evolution and socially-constructed views. But all cultures do not have bullimia and anorexia nervosa. And let's not diminish the issue to those eating disorders. Almost all of us are more obssesed with weight than need be.
"breaks loose"
They should lay off Jessica Simpson. It's simply too easy to make fun of that dork.
@ Bryan - I'll concede that most women hate other women (while simultaneously craving female bonding more than William Burroughs craved his next fix); but the whole complex is more than just the females' fault or liability. We play a role in it, too. And gay men are NOT exempt- gay designers are largely the ones who actively perpetrate the notion that an ideal female is a stick-doll to be seen/exploited and not heard. You clearly need a real grasp on feminism and patriarchy before you uniformly slam ALL females w/such glib and superficial observations.
I just want to pour maple syrup on Jessica Simpson and F-*K THE HELL OUT OF HER… MORE CUSHION-FOR-THE-PUSHING ;-0
These gay fashion designers are way behind the times. Modern men want to be dominated. Female bodybuilders are the new skinny.
i, for one, am laughing about this the same way i'm laughing when the high school football jock gets fat after graduation and tries desperately to hang on to his glory days. i'm all for equality.
Obesity is the far more common health crisis but I do want to point out that anorexia has the highest mortality rate of any mental illness
It's inevitable that America will soon establish a Celebrity Weight Index, patterned after the stock market, where we can keep track of the fluctuating body weight of celebrities of all stripes on an hourly basis. "The CWI had a wild ride today… at one point baseball players were up 4 oz, until reports of the unfolding Bobby Bonds investigation triggered a pharmaceutical purge for a net gain of just .5 … Daytime TV hosts started strong, up 3 oz by noon, and finished even stronger at +4.2 oz, following Rachel Ray's shrimp scampi demonstration on Oprah … Movie and television stars held steady, with individual gains by Alex Baldwin (+2.2 oz) and America Ferrera (+1.5) balanced by losses from a still-disciplined Brittney Spears (-1.7 oz) and the flu-ridden Salma Hayek (-2) ,,, “
Damn, can't proofread worth a darn. Of course, it's Alec and Britney.
dang, Bryan, hate women much?
just because they all turn you down is no reason to hate on them.
maybe you'd like men better.
With all of the ugly comments here, mine might not be welcomed.
Thin models is rarely what causes anorexia. I have struggled with it and it had nothing to do with magazines. Most of the other girls in my group would agree. For me it was a control issue. I could control how much or if I ate. There is a new thought that anorexia is an OCD issued. There have also been studies that it might be genetic like depression.
But I did model and they do want you thin. You are nothing but a hanger to them. But I chose to that work. No one made me. And I was already anorexic by the time I got there.
And about Jessica. I think it would be a big help if she just wore some clothes that fit her and maybe a better bra.
@Allen J. Sheiniman:
that is a hilarious notion! I think you should write a piece for that and pitch it to NPR or something
@maria: he was able to spell "misogynistic" and use it in proper context. your rebuttal is void.
@maria: AAAAND you're a typical drama-lovin gash for assuming that he will write you a "scathing" reply, and then saying that you won't be reading it. who fuckin cares? get over yourself lol! i mean, maybe i'm being hypocritical and feeding into the drama by saying something, but really? typical chick behavior. retaliate, instigate, then slam the door and call it a victory. man, fuckin females… hey at least they're insecure enough to get boob jobs for our manly viewing pleasure! (maria won't be reading this, so this is mostly for you blog-comment-reader people to bask in my endless wit)