Fat is a word that's been thrown around a lot in the last few weeks—especially in relation to two of today's hottest singers.
First, Lady Gaga's weight was called into question as she's put on a bit of weight. At first, she admitted she'd gained some weight and said, "who cares?" (I'm paraphrasing) However, she didn't want to leave it at that and last week, she poured her heart out to us, explaining that she has been bulimic and anorexic since she was 15 years old. Not that she WAS, that she IS.
She took this moment in her history to admit that she has a very debilitating illness. However, she was in Italy last night, celebrating with Donatella Versace.
This doesn't look "fat" to me.
I think Gaga looks PERFECT. If this is fat, then we've got a real problem on our hands. I must say, though, I totally applaud Gaga taking this admission to create her Body Revolution campaign on her website. Her ownership of her body, her health and her beauty, while admitting it's been a hard road for her gives many girls hope. Hope that this doesn't have to be life-consuming.
And then, there's Christina Aguilera. The Dirty singer recently did an interview, and there were a number of quotes attributed to her including her supposedly telling her record label that they are "working with a fat girl" now. This quote supposedly came from Christina saying that when she was younger, she was told that she'd put on too much weight just before her tour with JT (Justified/Stripped Tour) and that she would put a lot of people out of work by being so fat. So she lost the weight. Supposedly. She also supposedly said, "During the promotion of my album Stripped [in 2002], I got tired of being a skinny, white girl. I am Ecuadorian but people felt so safe passing me off as a skinny, blue-eyed white girl."
Well, yesterday, Christina said the quotes were incorrect. She never said it. While it's a shame that she didn't say these body-promoting things, she did say that she is comfortable with who she is (and you just need to watch her new video to see that) and that her new album Lotus is a new beginning for her.
It's interesting (and great) how much these women are fighting back against this bullshit, and I hope it continues. I'm thinking this may be the beginning of the end of the tyranny of trying to pigeon-hole all women into one "ideal." Each and every one of of us is our own personal ideal. And having celebrity role models like these prove that to our sons and daughters every day.
So, spill it! Are we in a new age of female body acceptance?
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