Trigger warnings: Mentions of weight loss, dieting
If you’re a fan of Adele like me, you would know of her huge music comeback in 2021. We’re not here to discuss her phenomenal voice and her amazing songwriting skills, though, but her interview with Oprah Winfrey during her press tour for her latest album ‘25’. During the interview, Adele spoke about the backlash she received on her weight loss, which got me thinking about society’s odd obsession with plus-sized celebrities’ health and weight.
As society becomes more size-inclusive and body-positive, one would think that people who claim to be body positive would be the last people to criticise others’ weight and health. However, that isn’t the case. It seems that they are doubly harsh on the plus-sized celebrities by over scrutinising their diets and weight loss. Adele is only the latest of those who fell on the flipside of the body positivity movement.
When Lizzo, a fellow plus-sized singer-songwriter, shared openly shared about her detox smoothie cleanse, many were quick to accuse her of promoting diet culture and fad diets though she clearly stated that she embarked on her juice cleanse to “reset her stomach”.
This whole incident made me realise the huge double standards that plus-sized celebrities face as compared to non-plus-sized celebrities. Many “skinnier” celebrities and influencers go on fad diets or detox cleanses all the time. Yet, more often than not, no one bets an eye. Even when someone does bet an eye, the commentaries never reaches a full-scale controversy.
I’m not saying that we shouldn’t be critical of the fad diets that celebrities often promote. After all, they’re often not backed by science and bogus, and could also encourage unhealthy and possibly dangerous eating habits that perpetuate the toxic diet culture.
But why is there a difference in people’s reaction towards celebrities dieting? It almost seems like plus-sized celebrities are not “allowed” to lose weight or even seem like they are trying to lose weight by going on a diet.
So why do we react this way?
As the media slowly becomes more size-inclusive, women all over feel more represented as curves and rolls become normalised. So, when these stars seem to be engaging in diet culture or trying to lose weight, we feel disappointed as we are losing whatever little representation they see on screen. We feel “betrayed” as seeing them lose weight feels hypocritical that the once steadfast body-positive heroes have “fallen” and “given into” society’s diet culture. Our source of validation in the media is now gone.
However, such an attitude towards our body-positive heroes is extremely unhealthy as we are still judging them by their appearance. Furthermore, it puts unfair pressure on plus-sized celebrities as their personal choices now impact hundreds of thousands or even millions of fans’ self-esteem. More often than not, these plus-sized celebrities are thrust to the front of the body positivity movement even when they don’t necessarily align with the movement. By being a certain shape, they have been endowed with great responsibility as many now look towards them for validation. While non-plus-sized celebrities also feel societal pressures about what their bodies should look like, they are not labelled as “heroes” or “champions” of a movement. We have unfairly expected plus-sized celebrities to remain our heroes when it isn’t their job to do so.
By heavily focusing on a woman’s health and weight, we’re subconsciously reducing her to her size. This is precisely the opposite message of the body positivity movement of self-love and anti-fat shaming. Ultimately, fat-shaming has taken on another form and evolved, as we’re still shaming women for the choices they make about their bodies.
At the end of the day, the most important thing to remember is that a woman’s or anyone’s body is their business and none of ours. What they choose to do with it is up to them and we should not shame them for it. The focus on celebrities should be on their artistry, their achievement and accolades. Not their size or diet.