Recently speculations have been surfacing about Eva Longoria's weight gain. Apparently, she has gained so much weight, she can no longer be mistaken for a twelve-year-old boy. Could she be pregnant? No, she insists she is just getting "fat" for her role as a frumpier Gabby on Desperate Housewives.
Imagine if every time you stepped out of your door, went to the beach, bought a coffee, went grocery shopping, everyone scrutinized your body. Did you gain a pound? Perhaps your T-shirt clings unflatteringly to your belly as you step out of Subway. Oh, you must be pregnant. Does this happen to men? Of course not. Why does it happen so much to young women and girls? Because we let it.
Well, it's making me angrier and angrier every time I see this. Especially this particular story. Eva Longoria is too thin, as are most of the actresses in Hollywood. She is too small. Perhaps she is gaining weight, not for a role, as she claims, but because she wants to GET pregnant and can't because she is too thin.
If you are a teenage girl, and you are reading this, please know that this is not an image or ideal to aspire to. Here's why. IT'S NOT REAL! Oh, and I forgot to mention one other little reason. For most young girls, trying to look this way can do serious damage to your body.
You may not think dieting or exercising to an extreme to slim down is doing you any harm. And, it may not be noticeable. Now. But, I assure you, it will do damage that will come back to haunt you as you age. Bone loss, infertility, gastrointestinal disorders, bad skin, and many many other ailments plague women who just didn't take care of themselves in their teens and twenties.
And, here's another thing that makes me mad..fashion designer Rachel Zoe's new reality show, The Rachel Zoe Project. This walking skeleton of a woman creates bohemian fashion for overly skinny celebrities like Lindsey Lohan, Nicole Richie, The Olsen twins, and others. It was rumored that she pressured Lohan to "slim down" to portray the image that her clothes aspire to. Who knows if that is true, but I can almost guarantee that if a normal sized woman like Queen Latifah asked her to dress her for an awards show, not that she ever would want to, Ms. Zoe would probably politely decline. Why does she deserve her own stupid show?
Now, if you are a teenage girl and reading this, you are also probably saying something like "I know all of this already. My mom, my teachers, everyone harps on having a better body image." Well, they should. And, you probably don't. More and more teenage girls are emerging with low self-esteem and poor body image. This can really make it difficult to survive in the real world. How can you change that? Read everything you can get your hands on and tell yourself every day that you are beautiful and awesome. Because, even though it sounds corny, repeating this will eventually help you believe it.
Here are some suggestions for reading material on this topic that doesn't suck and doesn't preach to you:
Nancy Amanda Redd
Teen NonfictionJennifer Weiner
Adult Nonfiction
Brashich, Audrey D.
Teen Nonfiction
