Nicole Richie & Anorexia
This blog is trying to die but I just won't let it. It WILL live on... and will continue to live up to its non-existant reputation.
I see Nicole Richie everywhere. She is on every magazine cover, she's all over the press, she haunts my TV in reruns of The Simple Life. But before she was "Nicole Richie" she was "Paris's fat friend" or "the daughter of that singer from the 80s". Now she's everywhere!! And although many people would say "oh she's famous for nothing"... I disagree. She's really funny. And pretty and all that. But why NOW... WAYYYYYYYYYYY after her big breakout on The Simple Life when, to be quite honest, she appears to be doing NOTHING is she so BIG? Good publicist? Yes. She's got that. But I chalk up her recent rise to super stardom TooOOOoooOOOooOOoO...... her anorexia. Downgrade.
She is popular because she is skinny. SICKLY skinny. She was always pretty and she was always funny. BUT NOW SHE'S DEATHLY ILL. Time to celebrate and put her on the cover of every major fashion mag. Right next to Lindsay Lohan. Now this is a worn out question... but I have yet to receive a sufficient answer. How can America's young women learn to respect their bodies if they are constantly being bombarded with images of the ill masquarading as healthy, vibrant women? It's insanity!!! I see no end in sight and no solutions. I find it twisted and perverse that fashion magazines have cover stories like "53 Reasons Why Your Body is Perfect" when really, their choice to display Nicole on the cover communicates just the opposite. Talk about mixed signals.
Thin may always be "in".... but how can we help make sickly OUT? Yep, I'm mad about it. I understand the importance of keeping a nice figure when you are in the public eye. And I am all for keeping thin and fit. But unhealthy woman should not be lauded for their unhealthiness. It's just sick.
Ok, so this has just about become the most random blog ever. I leave for three months and then come back bitching about Nicole Richie of all people....
Check this link for some more Nicole Richie fun.
I see Nicole Richie everywhere. She is on every magazine cover, she's all over the press, she haunts my TV in reruns of The Simple Life. But before she was "Nicole Richie" she was "Paris's fat friend" or "the daughter of that singer from the 80s". Now she's everywhere!! And although many people would say "oh she's famous for nothing"... I disagree. She's really funny. And pretty and all that. But why NOW... WAYYYYYYYYYYY after her big breakout on The Simple Life when, to be quite honest, she appears to be doing NOTHING is she so BIG? Good publicist? Yes. She's got that. But I chalk up her recent rise to super stardom TooOOOoooOOOooOOoO...... her anorexia. Downgrade.
She is popular because she is skinny. SICKLY skinny. She was always pretty and she was always funny. BUT NOW SHE'S DEATHLY ILL. Time to celebrate and put her on the cover of every major fashion mag. Right next to Lindsay Lohan. Now this is a worn out question... but I have yet to receive a sufficient answer. How can America's young women learn to respect their bodies if they are constantly being bombarded with images of the ill masquarading as healthy, vibrant women? It's insanity!!! I see no end in sight and no solutions. I find it twisted and perverse that fashion magazines have cover stories like "53 Reasons Why Your Body is Perfect" when really, their choice to display Nicole on the cover communicates just the opposite. Talk about mixed signals.
Thin may always be "in".... but how can we help make sickly OUT? Yep, I'm mad about it. I understand the importance of keeping a nice figure when you are in the public eye. And I am all for keeping thin and fit. But unhealthy woman should not be lauded for their unhealthiness. It's just sick.
Ok, so this has just about become the most random blog ever. I leave for three months and then come back bitching about Nicole Richie of all people....
Check this link for some more Nicole Richie fun.
posted by Amanda @ 9:31 PM
14 Comments:
At 11:32 PM,
Ethan T said…
I preferred (and I think I speak for 90% of the rest of the male population) Lindsay when she had some meat on her *ahem* bones. I agree that it's insanity, but all the guys I know readily admit that girls in the public eye can be far too skinny. It may be socially accepted for a girl's "weakness" to be attractive, but most guys want a girl with substance ... honestly.
At 9:33 AM,
Kevin said…
Channel surfing, I often get my remote stuck on "the simple life" for some reason. I must say that Nicole seems to be more down to earth than Paris... perhaps being the "lesser half" of the duo makes one more approachable this way. Taking what Ethan said but flipping it around, a girl's weakness is what makes her that much more approachable.
At 2:47 PM,
Chase Squires said…
I just mentioned you in a news story I'm working on for the weekend, "the Colbert Report before there was Colbert" ... and on the drive home I wondered ...
"Why isn't Amanda on Comedy Central?" ...
Good question. Seriously.
At 2:07 PM,
Brian said…
There's nothing less attractive in this world than a woman that looks like a greyhound.
Case closed...
At 10:29 AM,
Casey McKinnon said…
Well said, Amanda. It's never good to be overly preoccupied about body image. This is part of the reason why I've stopped making Kitkast, I'm sick of worrying about looking good in a bikini all the time! Besides... I have a whole wardrobe of other outfits that are just waiting to be worn!
Glad to see you blogging again,
Casey
At 2:26 PM,
Anonymous said…
I have a working theory as to why the "fashion industry" loves uber-skinny models, thus perpetuating the public's infatuation with skinny women.
Most of the god-awful outfits that fasion designers come up with spend most of the time suspended from hangers. A skinny model is essentially a walking hanger. Thus, the outfit will look exactly as it does in the closet, while some Czech chick is on the catwalk.
Okay, that, and fashion shows save a bundle on catering.
At 10:30 PM,
Scott said…
Amanda, welcome back to blogsville, and my compliments on an excellent post topic. It's one thing to be fit and thin. It's quite another thing to be sickly thin. I used to be a competitive runner and always tried to get thinner and thinner. Every time I got too thin I got sick. It was my body's way of telling me that enough was enough. So now, I'm a couple (OK, 15) pounds heavier, and much healthier! I'm OK with myself, and I don't think that bird legs and hollow cheeks make for an attractive and healthy look. I think that males and females are looking for the same thing - people who are comfortable with themselves rather than trying to make themselves into an unhealthy and ultimately unattainable ideal.
At 11:19 AM,
Carl Weaver said…
Ethan is right on. Healthy is much more attractive than rail-thin. I hate these ideals that are forced on us through magazine covers, TV shows, fashion and design companies, etc. I do some portfolio photography for models and they are always frustrated that the physical limitations are so stringent. Basically if you look normal and healthy, you are too fat and short.
Granted, people have different "normal" looks. Some folks are naturally skinny and lanky, and others, like me, are not. I could stand to lose about 20 pounds and still be healthy, but I am not in a hurry to do it.
Some companies are using "alternative" models, which is sometimes code language for creepy looking goth people who look like they are witing to die. There isn't much in betweeen, but at least those new Dove soap ads are pushing the envelope a little.
And really we should be using moe "real people" type models for clothes. When I look at a catalog, I don't care how a pair of trousers looks on Mr. Skinny Guy. I want to know what they will look like with my fat ass squeezed into them.
At 1:07 PM,
F Daum said…
Sometimes if you can't help them it's better off ignoring them, unless you're the guardian or parent. She looked healthier, normal and happier before she got sick.
At 1:18 AM,
crossmenjeff said…
I say the solution is mandatory twinkie consumption. That's right 2 twinkie's a day keep the scale reading 3 digits. For the health nuts out there, it's like 70% air. For everyone else it's a delicious snack... cake with icing inside. boggles the mind.
That or a healthy diet and exercise, but who wants that?
At 4:19 PM,
Matty said…
You bring up a great point that now she's got this attention point to appear everywhere. Perhaps her battle with weight is the 'edge' our gossipy society needs to present her as something people will latch on to. No one wants to read or see the normal girl. Everyone wants to see someone being picked apart. It sells. Unfortunately.
As far as being a guy checking out girls, I agree with Ethan. we want curves, damnit, not bones!
At 6:54 PM,
Phil said…
I don't think that this was a random blog entry. I agree with you 100%. I hate that magazines constantly put way to skinny girls on their covers. I see the effects of this with my girl friend. She has self esteem issues because that is what she is made to believe is the prefect body. I have to constantly tell her that she is prefect and that I love her with all my heart. I hate that I have to say it because some stupid magazine editors are making her feel like dirt. Thank you for posting on this issue.
At 4:20 AM,
Cie Cheesemeister said…
THANK YOU!!!
I'm formerly bulimic. I've struggled with my weight all my life. I will never be "thin" enough. I'm trying to work on liking who I am, not just on getting thinner.
At 12:47 AM,
Erika said…
This is stupid.
Nicole Richie is beautiful, in every way. She puts up with the stuff people like you say about her. She holds her head high and keeps doing what she wants, and not what other people want. Her skinniness is beautiful.
Beauty is pain, it's what I srtive for.
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