What’s the crime?

As if it isn’t depressing enough to wake up with reminders of the bad economy, Minnesota winter and missing friends from my trip East last week, I open Google News this morning to read this headline: Ashlee Simpson-Wentz defends sister Jessica’s fuller figure.

Let’s take a moment here and consider what this means. According to Webster’s dictionary, to defend means to “resist an attack made on (someone or something); protect from harm or danger.” Meaning that someone (the media, society, the public) attacked a woman for putting on weight.

Sure celebrities bodies are on display all the time, and are open to applause and criticism in subtle and not so subtle ways. The National Enquirer loves to exploit celebrities who have gained weight, cheated on their spouses, returned to addictive behavior. Society holds them up to be something special and the very media there for their ascension is the first to report their decline.We live it, we know this, yada yada.

But somehow, to see this headline as a leading news story was shocking to me. Right along with impeaching the Illinois Governor, a score from last night’s hockey game, and a medical breakthrough for some wonder drug. A celebrity woman defending another woman’s changed body. Defending. Like its a crime against society for a woman to gain weight.

I don’t care if this woman in particular is valued mostly for her looks, though I guess she also sings some. Is she breaking some kind of contract then? Is she letting us down by not being what we expect her to be? What we’re paying her for? Is her crime that she’s taking our attention, affection and money and not giving us the eye candy that we think we deserve?

Why are we (as a society) so appalled that some women don’t look like we think they should?

Why can’t we be just as happy with that same woman a heavier woman?

Watch this and feel better:

~ by modelmom on January 30, 2009.