04/25/06:

RENN-AISSANCE:

May 2003: Kelly Clarkson's Weight
Subject of Us Magazine Cover Story

Rather ominous news for women, I'd have to say. If Kelly Clarkson's weight can be considered a legitimate issue, we've all gone way over the deep end.

The irony is that women who are model thin look sort of scary in real life. I used to interview movie actresses in person for my job and the one thing you notice about them all is that they seem almost frighteningly bony. The first time I met Cameron Diaz (while she was doing press for The Mask), I literally had to bite my tongue to keep from asking her if she wanted a bagel or something. — Blogger John Scalzi

Here is model Crystal Renn:

Renn, recruited at the age of 14 as a potential supermodel, was told that she had to lose 50 pounds. She starved and exercised her 165-pound, 5'9" frame down to 98 pounds and became obsessed about what she ate. It was only after a near-death experience that Renn realized the magnitude of the lie she'd bought into and began eating like a normal person. Today she weighs 165 again—and she's a star.

I hope we're seeing the beginning of the end of our extremely unhealthy "feminine ideal." I have never understood the reason why our young women feel like they have to either be painfully thin or hate themselves, but it seems to be a form of feminine self-loathing. The vast majority of American men (myself included, as should be amply evident to readers of this blog) prefer women who are not thin, who are demonstrably and amply female. The hardbody workout freaks (boys with vaginas) and the anorexic/bulimics (Gulag survivors) are not what we are looking for.

Some may say that women really mold their ideal to suit other women, and perhaps that's true. But girls? Anyone who tells you that you need to lose 50 pounds to be beautiful is not your friend.

Here's hoping that those days will soon be behind us. Crystal Renn's success gives me hope.

Image credits: Patrick Demarchelier

Posted by Alois on

Comments

[Kio]

Great post.

There's a good set of galleries of Crystal's pix at:

http://www.judgmentofparis.com/crystal.htm

[Alois]

Thanks. She is a very beautiful woman. (Smart, too.)