So What If Jessica Simpson Is “Fat”

It’s happened again. Another celebrity has gotten “fat.” Egad! Jessica Simpson is a size 8, or a 10 even! The nerve of some celebrities, not starving themselves and maintaining the figure that we all virtually kill ourselves to try and achieve. If people like Jessica Simpson — at her current weight — serve as the new model for what we are supposed to look like, whatever will happen to us forever-dieting Americans.

Seriously. Think about it. If it became ‘in’ for celebrities to show off the fact that they actually eat, and end up filling a size 8, 10, or, should we dare say it, a 12, maybe the rest of us wouldn’t have to constantly feel so bad for never achieving what these people can barely achieve and maintain after spending a fortune on dieticians, personal chefs, personal trainers, vitamins and supplements, etc. It’s kind of a liberating thought. Would it really be so bad to have a body like Jessica’s (hopefully not in mom jeans)? It would serve as instant validation to millions of women who don’t think they are good enough/beautiful enough/thin enough even though they are within a healthy weight range. I’m not saying we all follow Jessica’s current diet which apparently consists of abundant amounts of buffalo wings, burgers and fries, but wouldn’t it be nice to enjoy food without feeling as guilty about it and to realize that a little flesh on our frames is not only normal, but healthy?

But alas, our society is not ready for “fat” celebrities yet. The story repeats itself — first it was Tyra Banks, then Jennifer Love Hewitt, and now Jessica. They all yell “I’m not fat!” and pronounce their love for their new, fleshier bodies, and then immediately proceed to whittle it all away so they can once again join the Starving Celebrity club. It’s all really confusing too because we’re not sure whose side to be on. One one magazine cover, you the headline “Scary Skinny” with pictures of Angelina, Katie Holmes and Tori Spelling, all of whom look like they haven’t eaten in a year with their bones jutting out and their faces sunken in. We feel sorry for them. We worry about them. Yet maybe we secretly want to be like them? But on the next magazine cover, Jessica is derailed for being fat. If we can’t accept her, then what does that say about the rest of us? And then there are always the articles that say things like “How to Work What You’ve Got” or “Fashion for Any Size” where they always show Queen Latifah looking gorgeous in some outfit, as though she is the only plus size celebrity out there.

I am not one to uninlaterally blame the media for our woes, especially since they produce what we buy, but I see a vicious cycle that ultimately we have the ability to end. When you see the magazines in the check-out line that highlight every celebrity’s cellulite, “jelly belly”, or other manifestation of their struggles with weight, it’s time to look the other way. I know many readers buy the magazines to feel good about the idea that these famous beautiful people struggle with the same things that we do, but the more emphasis we put on the imperfections of the “perfect”, the harder it will be for us to overlook our own imperfections. Next time reach for a pack of gum instead.