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.

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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.