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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Do Not Underestimate The Youth, Mike Huckabee

The conventional political wisdom is that young people are either illiterate about politics or frankly don’t give a sh*t. They are more interested in the latest trends and spending time on their phones.

In this case, conventional wisdom is wrong.

The other day music superstar Taylor Swift publicly announced via Instagram that she is supporting Phil Bredesen and Jim Cooper, two Democratic nominees who are running for office in Tennessee. As a result, 65,000 citizens registered to vote. Former Presidential candidate and current Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee sniped back via Twitter that 13-year-old girls cannot vote and threw his support behind Marsha Blackburn, Mr. Bredesen’s opponent.

We all know that 13-year-old children cannot vote. But they have older siblings, cousins and neighbors who are of age to vote.

What Mr. Huckabee forgets is the power of young people voting and using their political muscle. If the survivors of the Parkland shooting had not used their collective rage/voice to remind this country of the true cost of gun violence, it would have become just another school shooting that most of us would have forgotten by now.

Young people have the power to change the world, to fix the mistakes of their elders. They also have the ability to vote out any politician whom they believe is not doing the job that voters elected them to do.

While celebrity endorsements, especially of politicians can be a little iffy sometimes, they have the reach that a politician may not have.

I think, perhaps Governor Huckabee would be wise to mind his words, especially if he plans to run again for Governor. He may find out on election day that he is out of a job, because of the young people.