I’m Glad My Mom Died Book Review

Child stars have a certain reputation. They are either super successful when they are young and then burn out as adults. The other narrative is that due to a number of factors, they are able to continue their career and be seen as a performer, not just a child performer.

Former Nickelodeon star, Jennette McCurdy‘s new autobiography/memoir, I’m Glad My Mom Died was published in August. Known for the early aughts television shows iCarly and Sam & Cat, she was pushed into show business by her late mother. Frustrated by their poverty and her own unfulfilled Hollywood dreams, she manipulated Jennette into a career in show business.

From an early age, McCurdy learned to yes to the authority figures around her and put aside her own needs. Developing an eating disorder as a pre-teen, she was convinced that she needed to be a certain weight. It was only after her mom died that was she able to confront the physical and mental health issues that had been thrust upon her.

While listening to this book, I had two reactions. The first was that I wanted to shake her mother and knock some sense into her. I also wanted to hug McCurdy and show her the love that she was sorely missing from her life.

The abuse that was put upon this girl was mouth-dropping. With every chapter, I could feel the level of uncomfortableness rise. By the time the book ended, I could feel the relief flooding through me. Somehow, McCurdy was able to come through all of this with inner strength and confidence is awe-inspiring.

Do I recommend it? Absolutely. I would advocate that it is one of the best books of the year.

I’m Glad My Mom Died is available wherever books are sold.

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Jillian Michaels is Fat-Shaming Lizzo

One of the major problems we have in our culture, especially when it comes to women, is the idea that we have to be a certain size. Any woman who does not fit into the minuscule sizes prescribed by Hollywood, Madison Avenue or the fashion industry is essentially told that she is wrong for not fitting into their vision of how a woman should look.

Lizzo is one of the newest and hottest stars in the music industry at the moment. She is also not a size 2.

Recently, she has been the recipient of criticism because of her size. Television personality and trainer Jillian Michaels (known for The Biggest Loser) publicly berated the singer for her size.

Granted, there are valid health risks when someone is overweight.

However, the idea that someone who is thin is healthy and someone who is overweight is not healthy is a fallacy. But my main problem with her criticism is that if Lizzo was the same size as Beyonce or Taylor Swift, no one would say anything about her size.

But because Lizzo looks more like the average American woman than 99% of Hollywood, she is called out for her weight. The problem with this criticism is that it sends the wrong message to women, especially young women. Eating disorders affect too many women who embrace the idea that they have to be a certain size to be loved or to be successful.

I understand that Michaels was not speaking out of malice, but out of concern. But I wish that she and others would realize that not every woman is meant to be a size 2 and a healthy body comes in all sizes.

Thank You, Cosmo UK And Tess Holiday

For too many years, women have been told that the only way to be attractive and successful is to be thin.

Tess Holliday proves that a woman does not have to be a size 2 to be either attractive or successful.

The fact that she is rocking the cover of the October edition of UK Cosmopolitan shows the progress that has been made toward representation of women of all sizes.

Of course, the story would be incomplete without the haters and the fat shamers. While it’s true that obesity is an issue that many are dealing with, so is eating disorders.

I can’t help but wonder if the rates of eating disorders would somehow be lessened if more women and young girls who looked like Ms. Holliday were on the covers of magazines and on the screen. The reality is that more women look like Ms. Holliday than the women who usually appear on magazine covers.

While we, as a culture, are far from an ideal world where a woman is judged by her abilities and not by her clothing size, this new magazine cover is giant step towards that ideal world.

 

I Wonder If The Boys Were Asked To Cover Up

Winter is finally behind us and summer is just around the corner.

That means the heavy jackets and multiple layers can be replaced with t-shirts, shorts and jeans.

Samantha Sollitto is a typical 16-year-old attending Susan E. Wagner High School in Staten Island, NY. With the weather heating up, she recently wore jean shorts and plum-colored tank top to school. She was stopped by a school employee who determined that the dress code had been broken.

According to the employee, Ms. Sollitto was forced to change her shirt because her arms were not covered up.

This happens every year. As it gets warmer, suddenly schools are having a conniption because their female students want to be comfortable.

While I respect that a dress code is important, it also bothers me that only the girls were being stopped and force to change their clothes.  There are countless stories of this ilk that appear in the media this time of year and it always the girls who are asked to change their clothing, never the boys.

It’s the same old story, that female flesh is a temptation to the male sex and must be hidden. It feels like not only is the boy’s education worth more than the girl’s education, but that she is a distraction in the classroom. It doesn’t help that the young lady in the story felt like she was being body shamed, which has been proven to lead to eating disorders.

I applaud Ms. Sollitto for stepping forward and speaking up. Perhaps if more us did, the double standard and body shaming would hopefully be a thing of the past.

 

 

Flashback Friday-Perfect Body (1997)

The statistics around eating disorders are startling and scary, to say the least. It has become an epidemic, taking the lives of otherwise healthy people.

In the 1997 television movie, Perfect Body, Andie Bradley (Amy Jo Johnson) has only one dream: to be a part of the Olympic American gymnastics team.  She gets her shot when David Blair (Brett Cullen), a respected gymnastics coach, agrees to work with her. On top of the pressure to train, Andie is also receiving pressure to lose weight. At first, she tries dieting, but that is not enough. Then her one of team mates shows her another way to lose the weight. Sure, it’s easier, but in the end, it may be Andie’s undoing.

While having the main character as a gymnast with dreams of going to the Olympics is a little too predictable, the movie overall is not that bad. The message about eating disorders is cloaked in such a manner that the audience forgets that there is a lesson and a warning underneath the narrative.

Do I recommend it? Yes.