Comments on: Kelly Clarkson succumbs to celebrity diet culture http://www.about-face.org/kelly-clarkson-succumbs-to-celebrity-diet-culture/ Sat, 18 May 2013 13:29:12 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.4.1 By: Kim http://www.about-face.org/kelly-clarkson-succumbs-to-celebrity-diet-culture/#comment-17379 Kim Thu, 28 Jun 2012 21:14:25 +0000 http://www.about-face.org/?p=10651#comment-17379 The title of this article, "Kelly Clarkson submits to celebrity diet culture" is just as bad as Us Weekly's article. You don't know why she lost weight... you said yourself that there were only a few quotes by Kelly herself. You are just as bad as they are by assuming she lost weight for any other reason that wanting to be healthier, Maybe you're reading too many Us Weekly magazines. I don't read them myself, and therefore don't need to worry about judging celebrities for the choices they make about their own bodies. The title of this article, “Kelly Clarkson submits to celebrity diet culture” is just as bad as Us Weekly’s article. You don’t know why she lost weight… you said yourself that there were only a few quotes by Kelly herself. You are just as bad as they are by assuming she lost weight for any other reason that wanting to be healthier, Maybe you’re reading too many Us Weekly magazines. I don’t read them myself, and therefore don’t need to worry about judging celebrities for the choices they make about their own bodies.

]]> By: Heather http://www.about-face.org/kelly-clarkson-succumbs-to-celebrity-diet-culture/#comment-17175 Heather Mon, 25 Jun 2012 19:46:17 +0000 http://www.about-face.org/?p=10651#comment-17175 Thanks for your comments, Hailey and Kat. The intention of the piece is not to chastise Kelly for wanting to be healthy (or to judge her or any celebrity for that matter), but rather to look critically at the way it was framed by US Weekly. The actual article really has only one (or two, I don’t have it in front of me, so I don’t want to swear to it) quotes directly from Kelly herself. The others come from her speculating associates. It’s the way that magazine’s skew it and the impossible ideals they reinforce that are the dangerous element. It fuels the larger monster that glamorizes weight loss, calorie counting etc. with beauty and health and sends the message that our bodies are to be maintained and managed, not honored or enjoyed. Instead of highlighting the positive lifestyles changes, it extols the shrinking. I rarely see men’s weight loss (save for the Biggest Loser contenders) splashed across magazine covers, lauded for their trim downs, with the same frequency that I see female. These magazines judge “Best” and “Worst” bodies, treating them as commodities and not people and that’s what is really upsetting. (Star Magazine, I’m talking to you!) Thanks for your comments, Hailey and Kat. The intention of the piece is not to chastise Kelly for wanting to be healthy (or to judge her or any celebrity for that matter), but rather to look critically at the way it was framed by US Weekly. The actual article really has only one (or two, I don’t have it in front of me, so I don’t want to swear to it) quotes directly from Kelly herself. The others come from her speculating associates. It’s the way that magazine’s skew it and the impossible ideals they reinforce that are the dangerous element. It fuels the larger monster that glamorizes weight loss, calorie counting etc. with beauty and health and sends the message that our bodies are to be maintained and managed, not honored or enjoyed. Instead of highlighting the positive lifestyles changes, it extols the shrinking. I rarely see men’s weight loss (save for the Biggest Loser contenders) splashed across magazine covers, lauded for their trim downs, with the same frequency that I see female. These magazines judge “Best” and “Worst” bodies, treating them as commodities and not people and that’s what is really upsetting. (Star Magazine, I’m talking to you!)

]]> By: Hailey http://www.about-face.org/kelly-clarkson-succumbs-to-celebrity-diet-culture/#comment-17122 Hailey Sun, 24 Jun 2012 22:30:45 +0000 http://www.about-face.org/?p=10651#comment-17122 I have to agree, at least in part, with Kat. Though this article does an AWESOME job of picking out sexism in our culture, I don't think Kelly Clarkson is at fault for "succumbing" to diet culture. Unfortunately, a majority of women "succumb" to societal beauty standards all the time - some by as much as developing eating disorders, others by wearing lipstick or high heels. If you've grown up in a culture that perpetuates these beauty standards, it's not easy - even if you're the starkest feminist out there - to be comfortable in a body society deems "overweight." In my opinion, we have to shift the judgment completely from Kelly Clarkson to media. Because if we don't, at the end of the day we'll just be judging women for THEIR choices about THEIR bodies, which is what we try to fight in the first place. I have to agree, at least in part, with Kat. Though this article does an AWESOME job of picking out sexism in our culture, I don’t think Kelly Clarkson is at fault for “succumbing” to diet culture. Unfortunately, a majority of women “succumb” to societal beauty standards all the time – some by as much as developing eating disorders, others by wearing lipstick or high heels. If you’ve grown up in a culture that perpetuates these beauty standards, it’s not easy – even if you’re the starkest feminist out there – to be comfortable in a body society deems “overweight.” In my opinion, we have to shift the judgment completely from Kelly Clarkson to media. Because if we don’t, at the end of the day we’ll just be judging women for THEIR choices about THEIR bodies, which is what we try to fight in the first place.

]]> By: Kat http://www.about-face.org/kelly-clarkson-succumbs-to-celebrity-diet-culture/#comment-17107 Kat Sun, 24 Jun 2012 15:54:57 +0000 http://www.about-face.org/?p=10651#comment-17107 While I agree with the general media always emphasizing this diet culture, I am also disappointed that your article implies that Kelly Clarkson is also at fault. She has said recently that she is not trying to be super skinny, and her goal is to just be happy and her fans to be happy with themselves. She has ALWAYS expressed how the media's focus on her weight is troubling and stupid, so she is not looking for validation by losing weight. She's also said that she decided to do something when she noticed she was huffing and puffing while performing, so it's not just a matter of vanity. Furthermore, the overall idea that we should chastise women for falling into this media expectation does not sit well with me. Am I to cast aside all women who i see at the gym, working hard to keep their physique as simply sheep seeking approval? I think you need to be careful where you cast your stones. While I agree with the general media always emphasizing this diet culture, I am also disappointed that your article implies that Kelly Clarkson is also at fault. She has said recently that she is not trying to be super skinny, and her goal is to just be happy and her fans to be happy with themselves. She has ALWAYS expressed how the media’s focus on her weight is troubling and stupid, so she is not looking for validation by losing weight. She’s also said that she decided to do something when she noticed she was huffing and puffing while performing, so it’s not just a matter of vanity.

Furthermore, the overall idea that we should chastise women for falling into this media expectation does not sit well with me. Am I to cast aside all women who i see at the gym, working hard to keep their physique as simply sheep seeking approval? I think you need to be careful where you cast your stones.

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