Is Big Beautiful?
Is this any healthier than underweight?
Curvy. Big. Large. All of these words describe those who have a BMI (Body Mass Index calculation) over the average size of 25 and therefore, are classified as overweight. Now, I don’t have a problem with that. I think people are entitled to look how they want, dress how they want and your body is your own business. Period.
What I do think, however, is that it’s gone too far. When media outlets across the world began their attack on ‘super-skinny’ models, women who looked the exact opposite began to be celebrated. Fair enough - no one wants to see someone who is starving themselves to conform to a stereotype. However, I saw a flaw in the theory. People who were naturally slim were persecuted for the way they looked and obesity seemed to be glamorised in the media. Is this any healthier than being super-skinny? Weight-loss surgery has skyrocketed in recent years and - especially with emergency procedures - has cost the taxpayer excessive charges in countries with a National Health Service.
Those such as Beth Ditto (vocalist of band The Gossip), who famously celebrates her size, has been quoted as saying that they are happy that they don’t ‘have to be thin to succeed’. Now, this quote seems to me that Ditto is making more of a living out of flaunting her size-22 frame (US size 2X) than out of her musical talents. How is this fair?
To summarise, should people even comment on body size? Whose right is it to say what’s beautiful? And what about health issues? Sure, anorexia destroys a body - but so does obesity.
