Keira Knightley and Anorexic Witchhunts
Actress Keira Knightly continually denies that she suffers from Anorexia. She even went so far as suing a British tabloid paper in January.
This brings to light the issue of stigma based on body size and how a "too-thin" body brings on accusations of anorexia.
Recently I was reading through the excellent Health at Every Size program - however the term every size is slightly misleading as it focuses on the overweight or obese.
There are many naturally ectomorphic people in society. One could also argue that as average body weight has increased, our perception of "normal" body weight may also have changed.
Discrimination against the obese is prevalent. Yet it also seems acceptable to pick on very thin people. How many times do thin women get called skinny bitches?
Most popular magazines have regular columns that focus on the size of a celebrity - and whether or not [insert celebrity name here] has an eating disorder. The subject is immensely interesting to thousands.
But how does that knowledge affect you? Does it make you feel better about yourself if you can point the finger and diagnose someone's mental illness?
Fat people can be unhealthy and so can thin people. Fat people can be unhappy and so can thin people.
Pursue health, pursue happiness, but don't let size be your sole measure of such pursuits.
As a wise man once said "Do not judge, or you too will be judged".
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suzy, i am so jealous of you. as well as the other naturally tiny girls who eat voraciously.
i am 24, 5'2", 103 lbs, and asian. my current weight is the lowest weight i've attained since age 8 (yes, i was a very overweight child/teen). i've worked very hard to lose the weight and it's just as much work maintaining it, but i do it. i'm obsessive when it comes to what i eat and it ruins my day when i miss a workout.
so yea, to all the naturally skinny girls, revel in it. you're all so lucky.
Replybijou--you go girl! I'm also petite and I work out a lot to maintain a good body. I'm glad I learned healthy habits and got into a healthy lifestyle early on in my adult life so I won't have to be one of those "former naturally skinny women who now has to diet and learn to be healthy later in life". Like Dr. J said, check back in 10 years to see how many women our age are still naturally skinny. I'm guessing not many, lol.
Replybijou.....I am jealous of you. I would love to be 5'2 and 103 lbs. I hate being so skinny. In 10 years (28 now) i am afraid I will be the same but I hope not. I do have extremely healthy eating habits now. I try to eat alot in one day. I don't eat fast food and mostly buy my food from the health food grocery store. I also have started an exercise routine again because I used to work out alot years ago and did gain a little bit of weight. I had some medical issues last year unrelated to my weight but because of the stress I didn't eat much and lost a few pounds which is terrible for someone as small as myself so I have regained that weight back but I am trying to gain more weight but in a healthy way.
Replythanks everyone. i'm proud of the progress i've made. as long as everyone is conscious of what they need to do to maintain their health and actually practices it, they shouldn't be castigated for their body size, whether they're on the large or small side. people's conception of what looks "good" is always changing. you can't please everyone.
ReplyOkay, for starters...there's two of you whom have sneakily just started to compete with each other. LOL. Nice to meet you girls. Nothing like being in denial, huh? The other thing...you have to vaccinate your children or else they can't attend school and possibly suffer from one of those diseases because some other idiot also decided not to vaccinate their child also. Why do you think we have them? it was because there were large numbers of ppl who died from those diseases and we have need to have ppl suffer or spread it anymore. Just like there's a chicken pox vaccine. I had the chicken pox once as a child bad! I got them again as an adult because my daughter had them. I'm healthy and have nothing wrong with me. Just because you get the disease doesn't mean you're immunity is better or what have you. I gave my son the chicken pox vaccine. Why make him suffer through something when I don't have to? Here, let's give you some polio now because your parents decided that it was wrong to vaccinate... sound stupid? Yeah it does.
ReplyAs a naturally slightly overweight person, I was actually really shocked to find skinny people don't have it easier than my type. I have a very skinny friend whose metabolism is off the charts so badly that she MUST eat the second she wakes up in the morning. And if she eats anything besides oatmeal she's hungry again 15 minutes later. She confessed to me that it's really annoying to be hungry all the time. And she's been tested for metabolic disorders, but hers just happens to be naturally high. Metabolism is very genetic... we can push it along with exercise and eating smaller, frequent meals but you've basically got what you're given.
Also, my doctor had a good point - because I'm not naturally skinny, I'm learning how to exercise and eat correctly in my 20's - something that will benefit me my whole life, whereas the naturally skinny people usually don't learn that until they have their first heart attack. So my point is count your blessings no matter who you are!! The grass is always greener...
Replyceira must have an eating disorder, nobody is a size zero naturally!! how can you not judge when it can affect many people? celebrities are like role models for thousands of people, because of these skinny celebrities, people dont feel good enought to just be a normal size! I am 19 years old, 5'6 i now weigh 117 pounds after loosing 32 pound and i still feel like i need to loose more weight. i skip meals a lot of the time just to look like celebrities in my magazines.
ReplySome people are size 0s naturally. Just pointing that out.
Regardless of whether she is that way naturally or not (you can only know if you follow her around for a few days), at least she is trying to be a good role model by saying she is that way naturally and that eating disorders are bad. While I admire the honesty of someone like Marcia Cross, who admits she is paid not to eat and that she goes hungry to maintain her super slim figure, if she were a role model to young girls like Keira Knightley is and said such a thing, a lot more girls would starve.
ReplyShe is extremely underweight. When she was in Bend it Like Beckham she looked toned and healthy! I miss the muscular, athletic Keira!
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