Thank goodness my kids can’t read. Yet.
A friend pointed me to a recent New York Times “Women’s Fashion” blog entry this morning, in which Jennifer Aniston, Kate Hudson and Courtney Cox were pictured under the headline: “Now Scrutinizing: A Rounder Golden Globes.” The entry goes on to draw attention to these women’s “upper arms” and “womanly roundness.”
In defense of the writer, the overall point was to applaud that healthier images. However to hold up women who have been rumored to have eating disorders as “round,” to champion women who are still a size two and to characterize women who are at an unattainable body weight for most women as “Marilyn”-esque (Ms. Monroe was a size 14), is a crime against women and more specifically young girls.
As a mother of two girls, I work hard to shield them for society’s warped standards for women. The fashion magazines that I occasionally flip through are stuffed away like they are Playboys. We don’t own a scale. And as much as I like to check my hair or lipstick in the hall mirror, I turn my head away from my reflection as much as I can. We don’t judge others based on their body type or size. My girls have never questioned or stared at my friend who is overweight, and we certainly NEVER use the “F” word that rhymes with “cat.” Imagine having to explain the concept of The Biggest Loser to a four year old without using the F-word! I must have said the words “healthy” and “unhealthy” a dozen times, but she understands now that she needs to exercise, eat right and be VERY afraid of Jillian.
Despite my efforts, it feels like a slap in the face when the New York Times, of all places, calls the very images that I protect my girls from “curvy.” On a year when the very presence of the Red Carpet seems ridiculous, vain and insensitive, the Times takes it one step further by making comments that are even more ridiculous, more vain and more insensitive. They may be okay with perpetuating the attitudes that have thousands of women and girls KILLING themselves to even slightly resemble these “round” women, but I’m not.
Comments
No comments.