Being a girl in today’s air-brushed, skin-tight society can be tough.
But, being a celebrity in today’s critical and demanding society seems like it’s even tougher.
Every pound lost and every pound gained is criticized; every time these women step out of the door leads to scrutiny. While there is surely no such thing as perfection, they are certainly pressured for it.
Demi Lovato, Khloe Kardashian, Kelly Clarkson, Adele, Christina Aguilera, Jennifer Lawrence—the list goes on and on—have all had unfair criticisms about their bodies, enough for any girl to go mad. However, all these women have another thing in common: They have all fought back to their critics and proclaimed themselves comfortable with their bodies.
Disney star Demi Lovato made headlines in November 2010 for checking into rehab for depression and anorexia. Since her recovery, she has been back in the headlines for her positive body image, her music, and her female empowerment, particularly geared at younger girls. Battling a disorder is difficult enough, even for adults, so Lovato should be extremely proud of how she has upheld herself post-rehab because she continues to be an ambassador for positive body image.
In the latest issue of Cosmo on Campus, the “The X-Factor” judge said, “”It’s OK to love your body the way it is and it’s OK to reach out for help if you have drug and alcohol problems, or if you’re self-harming or being bullied.” She also said she is comfortable with sharing her struggles because, as she puts it, “I want to be the person for other girls that I needed to admire when I was looking for help and strength.”
Another star of “The X-Factor,” Khloe Kardashian, is often compared to her sisters, a struggle with which many people can identify. As a star of the reality show “Keeping Up With the Kardashians,” Kardashian is constantly followed around by cameras and it seems as though the scrutiny never stops.
However, the host and model recently revealed in a Glamour interview, “A few years ago I lost 30 pounds, and people still wanted to criticize. And honestly, I’m happy with myself if I’m a little heavier.” The confident 28-year-old brunette said, “I realized: ‘Why am I trying to conform to someone else’s idea of beauty?’ I think I’m beautiful either way.”
Le: “What every woman does with her body, as long as she makes her changes in a healthy and positive manner, is decidedly in her power.” (iStockphoto/Thinkstock)
Another reality show star, Kelly Clarkson, won the votes and the hearts of people across the nation on the first season of “American Idol.” Despite her success, for most of her career, she has been asked to lose weight. In a 2012 People interview Kelly Clarkson said, “Everyone’s like, ‘You’re a pop star, you should be smaller.'” She argued, “But I’m the pop star. I’ll make the rules. I’m rockin’ this body right now. I love it.”
The 30-year-old songstress is a great example of a woman who defines her own beauty, explaining that her “happy weight” changes.
Still, she refuses to allow her weight to define her. Clarkson recently lost about 20 pounds but does not like to make comments on it. In fact, she said on Nightline, “I think people put so much emphasis on it and lose the fact that what I do is music.”
She reasoned, “I sound the same regardless if I’m 20 pounds heavier or 20 pounds light, and I think that’s the key thing with my fans and why they continue to be loyal because I’m that type of person.”
Another fellow singer, Christina Aguilera, has also battled criticisms on her weight: “I’m just comfortable in my skin and my body,” Aguilera told Ellen, in regards to her nude Lotus album cover.
While Aguilera’s body has changed throughout her long career—she joined The Mickey Mouse Club in 1993—she has consistently remained positive, despite many criticisms especially after she gave birth to her son. In a press conference promoting “The Voice,” Aquilera said, “’Women, we are definitely under a microscope and under massive scrutiny. As long as I am happy in my own skin, that is all that is all the confirmation I need.”
And it seems like the list of singers who have been criticized goes on. This next singer is a 24-year-old, Grammy Award-winning, Golden Globe-winning, Academy Award-nominated, multi-platinum artist, and yet, people still want to talk about her weight. I’m talking about Adele.
As far as she’s concerned, people can talk as much as they want.
Adele shared in “Adele: The Biography,” excerpted by USA Today, “I read a comment on YouTube that I thought would upset me ‘Test pilot for pies’ — but I’ve always been a size 14-16 and been fine with it.” She asserted, “I would only lose weight if it affected my health or sex life, which it doesn’t.”
Finally, there’s 22-year-old Jennifer Lawrence. She is the youngest person to have been nominated for two Academy Awards, and she has already won many honors this awards circuit for her role in “Silver Linings Playbook,” managing to prove herself time and time again as one of the greatest leading actresses working today.
Still, critics of Lawrence bring up her weight as though it affects her performance and talent. Particularly, criticism about her role as Katniss in The Hunger Games has received great backlash. In her March 22 New York Times review, Manohla Dargis wrote, “A few years ago Ms. Lawrence might have looked hungry enough to play Katniss, but now, at 21-years-old, her seductive, womanly figure makes a bad fit for a dystopian fantasy about a people starved into submission.”
Supporters of Lawrence have pointed out that no comments have been made about her bulky co-stars, Josh Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth, who are supposed to be living in the same dystopian fantasy. “It was just important she was strong and a warrior instead of being wasted away, especially when, without a doubt, she’s going to be a role model for a lot of young girls. I thought it would be better for them to say, ‘I could look like Katniss’ rather than ‘I’ll never be able to look like that if I keep eating,” said the Golden Globe winner, who has been in smaller independent films as well as blockbusters.
“I’m never going to starve myself for a part, ” the actress asserted, proving that she certainly never thought about it for her role as Katniss. “I don’t want little girls to be like, ‘Oh, I want to look like Katniss, so I’m going to skip dinner. That’s something I was really conscious of during training, when you’re trying to get your body to look exactly right. I was trying to get my body to look fit and strong — not thin and underfed.”
It is important to note that while this discourse attacks the issue of “fat-shaming,” it is not fair to criticize the thinness, either. “I’d rather look chubby on screen and like a person in real life,” said Lawrence, suggesting that thinner women are inferior. While the message “real women have curves” reads as a positive mantra for curvy women, it also implies that women without curves are not “real.”
What every woman does with her body, as long as she makes her changes in a healthy and positive manner, is decidedly in her power. Ultimately, whether she sheds a few pounds or puts a few on, it doesn’t matter. This isn’t what defines her. So let’s stop talking about everyone else’s bodies and focus on loving our own.
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