Guest Blog: A Weighty Issue

by Paul Moomjean  (edited from full article for GT blog)

paulmoomjean@yahoo.com

Gabourey Sidibe

Recently, Howard Stern said some very hurtful, politically incorrect comments about Oscar nominated actress Gabourey Sidibe. Sidibe recently starred in the award winning film Precious and after the Oscars, Stern went on his radio program and referred to Sidibe as “the most enormous fat black chick I’ve ever seen.” While Stern’s comments were obnoxious, he was the first to mention the obvious concerning the actress’s weight. I mention this because there appears to be a double standard dealing with young women and appearance as the world has embraced this actress, while completely ignoring her obesity, all while ridiculing another female celebrity for her appearance — reality television icon and plastic surgery glutton Heidi

Montag.

After Montag told People that she had ten plastic surgery procedures, the media ran to every specialist they could find to help explain a so-called emotional disorder within Montag. “I think, fundamentally, when somebody goes on for many, many, many procedures, and starts at a young age, they’re trying to change something about themselves, they want to become a new person, and you can’t just do that through a scalpel,” Debbie Then, a California-based psychologist, said on Fox News. Most of us agree that a person who has that much plastic surgery has bigger issues than the need for a tummy tuck, but how many people are repeatedly doing what she did? Not many, and mostly because plastic surgery is expensive, whereas Big Macs only cost a few bucks. How can one not look at Sidibe and realize that her larger body frame is just as, if not more, damaging to her psyche and health? After Montag’s surgery extravaganza, the media would have you thinking this is the number one issue facing young women today. Actually, we have an obesity problem in our culture, not a plastic surgery and desire-to-be-thin problem.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 30% of adults are obese, whereas anorexia only affects approximately 5% of our population, and there were less than 400,000 breast augmentation surgeries in America this past year. Every few months we get a puff piece about how society has created these false images of beauty women can’t live up to. It’s a lie. We aren’t a culture obsessed with beauty as much as we are obsessed with food. We love food. We eat it at home, in the car, at the gym, during the movies, and while watching the game. In fact, we reward ourselves with finishing our food at dinner by giving ourselves more food.

Heidi Montag

Some will argue that Montag choose to have the nips and tucks whereas Sidibe didn’t chose to be overweight. I disagree. We are all responsible for who we are.

Sheri’s Note:

I read this full version in a local paper – the VC Reporter – and asked Paul if we could print an edited version here.  I love that he is talking about what no one wants to say…and in our victim-oriented culture he states what so many are forgetting:  WE ARE ALL RESPONSIBLE FOR WHO WE ARE.   I also appreciate the piece that anorexia is NOT as prevalent in our culture as obesity.   Funny how now we pick on the slender people and ignore the ‘elephant in the living room’ status of obesity…I remember when obesity was addressed and slender was the norm!                 Thanks Paul!