Then I get home and I'm checking out some different news sources (not the BBC who have better things to report on), and what do I find? More on the Jessica Simpson debate, now accompanied by threads with comments ranging from "She's a FAT PIG" to "She looks waaaaay better now that she looks like a real person and not a skinny bitch."
Okay, a couple of things:
1. Just because most of America is overweight at best and obese at worst does not make either condition "healthy" or salutary.
2. I don't think this discussion is actually about Jessica Simpson's ass. It's about everyone else's. Here's what I mean. The people saying she's fat now are actually just calling it like it is, even if they're doing it in a *really* nasty, mean, crass way and should be smacked for rudeness. The people who are stridently rushing to defend her are really just rushing to defend themselves. If Jessica Simpson can be so vocally criticized for noticeably gaining weight, then where does that put all of the big, beautiful, healthy, natural, real super-sized Americans? Well, it means that they're fat too, and no one likes to admit that they're fat. Guess how I know?
Here's a little story. About three years ago, I had a Holy Shit moment. I looked in the mirror after a shower and really saw myself for the first time in five years, and I was horrified. I was 27 years old and I had a body like a 40 year old. Then I stepped on the scale and almost got sick. I was 180 pounds, which, let me tell you, is waaaaay to fucking much. So I stopped drinking that day and lost five pounds. It felt so nice that I started going to the gym *every day*. More weight came off. It felt so terribly nice that I started watching what I ate, cooking more and eating reasonable portions, and more weight came off. It's taken me three years and a total lifestyle switch but I lost over 40 pounds and dropped from a size 14 to a size 6 and I feel nice. So what's the point?
If you're not fat, don't be a judgmental prick about some celebrity's weight gain. What the hell do you care, anyway? But, if you are fat, call a spade a spade and do one of two things. Either do something to get healthier so that you can feel a little better physically and emotionally, or admit that you're overweight and genuinely ok with that and move on. The worst thing you can do is sit on your ass watching Entertainment Tonight debate a celebrity's love handles while sucking on your nightly pint of Ben and Jerry's. Deluding yourself into thinking that this behavior makes you a "healthy, real" person does not make that true. Leave Jessica Simpson out of it and deal with yourself.
Rant Over. Thank you for putting up with it. As a thank you, stay tuned for my buttery Pop-Over recipe because it's my blog and my hypocrisy knows no bounds :-).
Heh, that sounds yummy. I am totally obsessed with exercise programs, and now that my heart freaks out I keep trying to find one that I really like since I hate not working out. I had Slim in 6 and that was great until I got to the third video and my heart freaked out, so I can't really do it. I'm really more interested in core training anyway, and have found a new one that is a series of one minute exercises that I am hoping won't freak out my heart. I like the way work outs make you feel, especially if you do them in the mornings. I just feel better the rest of the day. :)
ReplyDeleteAnd I completely agree with your take on the obsession with Jessica Simpson's weight. I think people focus on celebrities so much because a) they are avoiding dealing with their own lives and problems, and b) they somehow think that, because these people are famous, that makes their lives somehow more interesting, and therefore, more open to gossip, than the lives of us poor unfamous mortals. I think that the fascination with famous people is a living vicariously thing, and so, when those people that we (and by we I mean the people who are engaging in slamming celebs) are living vicariously through do something that we don't approve of, or that changes the way we perceive, we feel like it is our right to criticize.
ReplyDeleteI can't believe this is news, but you're right Maddie, it sells. And I totally agree with the 'shut up or put up' viewpoint. I can't wait to start exercising again... even if it will be just some strolls around the block with the baby first.
ReplyDelete(says the woman who baked a pineapple cake with cream cheese frosting last night)
Yeah - the most disturbing thing about it all is that Jessica SImpson's weight gain gets treated like news. And we wonder why a lot of folks don't know the difference between Palestine and Pakistan...
ReplyDeleteMexalapotis - I completely agree with your theory of vicarious living. People need to focus on their own lives rather than living vicariously through celebrities. Celebrities aren't the friends of the masses - they just produce products that the masses consume, which is a good thing, but not equivalent to being your drinking buddy.
Anna - A gorgeous dessert and a walk are a indeed a beautiful pairing, and thank god for it. I love good food too much to give it up :)
As the site says, it's not news, it's FARK. It's a terrible thing, but the obsession with these folks... well, hell, I"m a nerd, but why are we supposed to give a crap, precisely?
ReplyDeleteI really don't know. The whole thing is oogie.
ReplyDeleteBecause they are GLAMOROUS, and RICH, and don't you want to be JUST LIKE THEM? ~sigh~
ReplyDeleteI think it is sort of pathetic, actually. I am all for listening to the news about whose making what movie, or if something news worthy happens, but I really don't care which famous person gained a few pounds. I especially can't stand it when celebrity news takes air time away from news that is actually important (I remember when Michael Jordan retired the first time, and that made the first story IN FRONT of a missing child and a natural disaster. I lost all faith in the news after that and I LIKE Michael Jordan).
The whole thing makes me go grr.