In early May of this year, singer Adele posted a photo to her Instagram, thanking people for all the birthday love she received and thanking all the first responders and essential workers working during this time. However, the conversation around the picture was not about Adele’s birthday or the workers. Instead, it was all about her recent weight loss.
Now, this wouldn’t be unusual if the singer herself included the weight transformation in the caption of her post, but she made no mention of it. Zero. None. She hasn’t commented on her journey in any form actually, so why is the public?
People took it upon themselves to congratulate Adele, despite her disregard of the topic. By doing this it diminishes Adele’s previous worth. When she was bigger she had won multiple awards for her talents and shattered records in the music industry. However, now that she is thinner she is seen as more desirable, more praiseworthy.
Unfortunately, this type of behavior is not unusual. Losing weight can be monumental for some. However it should not be brought up unless the person brings it up. If it is brought into conversation, attention is being brought to something the person may not even want attention on.
When a person chooses not to address their weight loss, they could be doing so for a myriad of reasons. They could be going through a mentally tough situation that caused them to drop weight. Maybe the method they used worked for them, but they know it might not work for everyone. They might not even have been trying to lose weight! Still, whatever their reasoning is, if they’re not talking about it, no one else should either.
However, people persist to make weight loss the center of conversation because of society’s sick idea that a skinny body is a healthy body.
If individuals don’t look the specific way society deems “beautiful”, that individual must be unhealthy, overweight, out-of-control, etc. WHAT B.S.
Every person’s body is made up differently due to their genes, metabolism, and various other factors that contribute behind-the-scenes, so it is unfair to judge people based on what is seen on the surface. Just because someone is skinny, that doesn’t mean all they eat are fruits and vegetables. Similarly, just because someone is overweight, that doesn’t mean they are constantly indulging in fast food.
I’ve witnessed first hand someone who was encouraged to only eat one meal a day just because they were overweight, which by most medical professional standards is seen as unhealthy. This is not the way society should function. If someone is unhealthy, overweight, or underweight, there are healthy measures that can be taken to improve their lifestyle. But even if they don’t want to change how they live, that still doesn’t mean they are unhealthy to begin with.
Take the singer Lizzo for example. In January of this year, she was slammed by fitness celebrity Jillian Michaels for being overweight when Michaels asked why the public celebrates Lizzo’s body.
Lizzo — for those who don’t have “Juice” and “Good as Hell” on loop — consistently preaches self-love in her music, and yes, by traditional standards, she would be seen as overweight. However, what many critics like to ignore is the immense talent and hard work that goes into producing a show like the ones Lizzo put on pre-coronavirus. Singing and dancing on a stage for over an hour nonstop is NOT an easy feat and requires months of physical training to do so.
Because Lizzo is able to do what she does, this means that she works out constantly. So who the hell is qualified to judge her based on her health other than herself?
This, unfortunately, is not the first time the singer was attacked for being bigger, either. In March, Lizzo called out TikTok for removing videos she posted of herself in a bathing suit, yet the app allows other skinnier girls to publish content wearing similar attire. What’s the difference here? I’ll let you fill in that blank.
Society has it so deeply ingrained that weight is synonymous with health and that there is one standard of beauty to idealize. By aspiring to conform to one body type, the millions of outliers are left to feel constantly inadequate. The number you are on the scale does not indicate your value or worth in society, yet that is how people are made to feel.
By demonizing people strictly based on how they look outwardly and pushing unhealthy choices onto them is harmful and rude, and this is a trend that needs to be cancelled for Adele, for Lizzo, and for the sake of the mental health of most Americans.