Where have all the curvy ladies gone??

Alright, now I'm not the kind of girl who likes to hate on skinny chicks, they have their issues too, however as a woman who is technically considered "plus size" (whatever the fuck THAT means lol) I feel like I need to express the collective woe we bigger girls feel when curvy female icons join weight loss programs. Being large does not necessarily mean you are unhealthy, it may mean you eat more or it may just be your particular biology or any other number of things. But, I for example, just had a full physical with labs done and my doctor said I am INCREDIBLY healthy. That's right folks, this size 12-14 body is running like a well-oiled machine!! So what is up with actresses like Sarah Rue (who I loved back in the day on that show Popular) suddenly becoming a Jenny Craig spokesperson? And soulful songstress Jennifer Hudson similarly becoming a Weight Watchers spokesperson? Not cool!!! These women were beautiful, incredibly talented, and busted stereotypes left and right. I get that there is immense pressure for women in the media to conform to a certain image (read: dress size) but these women BEGAN their careers as fantastically curvaceous! They've already succeeded! Why the sudden need to slim down?

On a similar note, I'm downright annoyed at Gwyneth Paltrow for being an ignorant ass and complaining about how she "let herself go" during her last movie shoot. Really Gwen? Really?? Naturally slender women like you who fit every classic beauty trait to a T and STILL complain about their bodies are giving the rest of us a complex. Why not let yourself eat, dear god, fried food once in awhile and see how it actually WON'T kill you. Then maybe one day you could be a halfway decent role model for other women. I don't like hating on other women, honestly I don't, but I just can't stand it when one woman feels the urge to portray her low self-esteem and poor body image as concern for her (and by extension, our) health. So thanks, Gwen, for reinforcing the message that no woman is good enough unless she meets some impossibly high standard of beauty that is constructed to leave most of us out.

Also, can I say that this is just downright disturbing? A whole page on a tabloid website devoted to literally watching female celebrities' bodies?? What a shitfest of objectification of women and fat-shaming, while glorifying leanness at all costs. People definitely went for its demographic's jugular with this one.

To combat all this body negativity, I am prescribing some feel-good entertainment. Get yourself your favorite savory and/or sweet snack (mine is ice cream!) and pop in Real Women Have Curves. America Ferrera is fantastic and completely inspiring in this film about her struggle to assert her own identity even though her family, particularly su madre, has other ideas. A film with a curvy woman of color as the main character that passes the Bechdel test? Yes please.