So this blog is going to be about a topic near and dear to my heart that has absolutely nothing to do with beading. I watched the Grammy's tonight and have seen and read several interviews with Adele recently - which has actually resulted in a little bit of a girl crush for me. I have enjoyed Adele's music - but was not a rabid fan, but have been finding that changing lately. I adore her voice, her lyrics - and from what I have seen of late - her persona. She is brutally, painfully honest, grounded, amazingly talented, comfortable with who she is as a person. Which brings me to the topic of this post: body image.
Adele was recently criticized for being "fat" by Karl Lagerfeld of Chanel. She has a voice of the ages - with a soul and resonance that is rare to find in this age of Britney Spears, Justin Beiber and Lady Gaga. Don't get me wrong - they fill their own niche and do it incredibly well. But Adele is different. Her voice reminds me of Etta James, Rosemary Clooney or Ella Fitzgerald. And yet - this amazingly talented and beautiful woman is being called "fat".
I am SO tired of this. I am tired of hearing woman being criticized for their weight. As if their weight gives or takes any value from who they really are. I figure God made me the way He did for a reason. And that is good enough for me. (Crap - just heard Cookie Monster in my head.) I am comfortable with who I am because of that, but I am tired of hearing people either around me or in the media criticize weight. And why is no one ever seemed to be critiqued for being too thin? I HATE seeing bones (with maybe the exception of the collar bone). I don't want to see your ribs. I don't want to see your pelvic bones. I don't want to be able to count the vertebrae in your spine.
I have known several people who have suffered from eating disorders. I hated seeing them go through it. I've dealt with the issues of depression because of my weight. I have given myself the figurative black eye because of my weight. It's time that we as a society stand up and tell the media that this is NOT what we look like, this is NOT what we want, this is NOT fashion.
It's time to tell them that we love ourselves the way that we are - simply because we were made that way. And that makes us beautifully, inherently unique.
And now - I am going to go eat a cookie. Or some ice cream. Or maybe I will just bead. But I will love myself no matter what I decide. =)
2 comments:
I'm right there with you. I am comfortable with who I am, as much as I can be (being crazy doesn't help much), but I feel stigmatized for my weight as much as for my mental condition. It would be easier to bear if I had some control over it, but with my knees being torn up and my asthma, I really don't. I don't eat a lot, but I can't seem to lose the weight. So I can understand your anger, and I applaud you for it!
Thanks Julie. So many people struggle with body image and more than anything, I just want to tell people to love themselves for all their wonderful imperfections - because that is what makes us so beautifully unique. Don't get me wrong, I love beautiful faces - but I also love a rounder figure, a crooked tooth, a slightly wider nose or thin lips.
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