I read an article on the Huffington Post this week about a recent interview where Oscar nominated, Emmy winning actress Melissa McCarthy lamented on how regardless of the fact that she's very physically active, she can't lose any weight to be skinnier than she is. This made me feel sad because she IS healthy, she IS beautiful, and she IS very successful. But then I realized, she'll never truly feel good about herself because even the HuffPo article itself had to qualify her as a person by leading the story and calling her "plus-sized." No wonder she "magically" wishes she were a size six. We're never going to get better as a society if we keep forcing women into buckets. Never.
McCarthy is the mother of two young daughters and has achieved so much in her life to be proud of. On top of being a mom, working full time and all the rest, she also does Pilates and plays tennis EVERY DAY. So, she's physically healthy too. Just because you aren't a size two doesn't mean you aren't healthy. Hell, before my groin injury, I couldn't be bothered to run more than 2-3 times a week. I'm lazy. And because we keep calling McCarthy "plus-sized," she keeps thinking she needs to strive for something better. That she's not good enough. It's a crying shame.
Surprisingly, in the Huffington Post article, she is very candid, saying that she tries not to dwell on things, but you can tell she's bothered by them. This really isn't body acceptance, it's more of an "I give up" to me. And we shouldn't give up. We're focusing on the wrong stuff. I'm a firm believer in perception changing and how it affects your life—mad cause your baby won't sleep through the night? Shift perception: that baby isn't ready to sleep through the night, so nap when he naps even if it means the dishes won't get done. Grumpy that you can't loose that extra 5 lbs that NO ONE but you notices even though you work out 5 days a week? Shift perception: you work out 5 days a week! That's INCREDIBLE. Worried how other people will view your choice to allow your 13-year-old daughter to pierce her ears? Shift perception: it's none of their damned business and you are a great mom.
If we work hard at shifting our perception, we'll all be much happier about who we are and what we are achieving. And in that, if we stop worrying about what other people may think is normal and realize that, in fact, each of us is normal (and totally weird) in our own ways, then we'll all be happier, freer and ready to face the real challenges in life.
I hope Melissa McCarthy reads this, and I hope you really read this too: we're all perfectly flawed and regardless of if we work in Hollywood or Calgary, we are enough.
So, Spill it! What do you think of Melissa McCarthy's wish to be a size 6?
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