Bad manners aside, I think that this type of public reaction to someone's personal appearance is something of societal tragedy. Are we that obsessed with weight, youth and beauty, that physical looks automatically trump absolutely amazing talent? Here, I'll show you some examples of the complete superficiality:
@fsmikeyL 100%. Kelly clarkson loves to eat ham
@IlickBrains Clearly if Kelly Clarkson "Just Walked Away" she wouldn't be at her size.
@willnoonan Since You've Been Gone, Kelly Clarkson has been eating.
@brandnirwin Kelly Clarkson weighs more than Charles Barkley
Those weren't the worst but you get the idea...
Now there were no great pictures that I could snag of her performance but check out this video of her Mr. Know It All performance that night.... OK, welcome back. Please also see pictures of Kelly below from VH1 Divas, the American Music Awards and recent NFL event. I THINK KELLY LOOKS GREAT. Yes, she has gotten some curves that perhaps weren't there the last time we all took a look at her but seriously people, she is an average American woman that you are putting down here. I bet you that Kelly Clarkson and I might be pretty close in size (well I have more chest while she has more butt) and it kind of hurt my feelings that the Twitterverse was giving her a hard time.
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Photo by Jemal Countess/Getty Images North America, Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images North America, Photo by Mark Nolan/Getty Images AsiaPac |
Where do you weigh in on this? (no pun intended)
Thank you for this post! I haven't seen Kelly Clarkson on SNL (but did see the video in your post) but I totally agree with you. Nothing's wrong with Kelly Clarkson, there's something wrong with the way we look at other people and the things we demand of celebrities...
ReplyDeleteI loved Kelly when she was on Idol (the only season I watched) because she was bigger. Anyways she's not even "fat", she is full-figured and more importantly she is not at an unhealthy weight. Of all the Idol winners, she has been one of the only idols to really expand their career past the one CD after they win. I have so much respect for her.
ReplyDeleteGreat post. People who call other people "fat" as a put down have self-confidence issues. "How dare Kelly Clarkson be famous and wonderful when she has a fatter ass than me?" etc. It's kind of sad, actually. Women are socialized to peg our worth on how we look, and we're told (in modern times) that skinnier = better (with some minor exceptions). I can imagine that many women who buy into this culture -- and who work hard to improve their worth in terms of their looks as defined by current arbitrary beauty standards -- see someone who is fat(ter) than they are and also successful, talented, and beautiful, and think, "Why did I starve/pluck/pinch/hate on/torture my body for years to be considered worthwhile, when I could have just stepped out with confidence and been as amazing as Kelly Clarkson? In short, it's envy. Kelly Clarkson is a traitor to the fat-hating beauty norm that most women are pressured to buy into, which is a problem, since the beauty norm is only legitimized if everyone participates in it. If there's any deviation, it reveals how brutal and arbitrary the quest for thinness really is.
ReplyDeleteI completely 100%, agree with you. I am from the mindset that it is more important to be healthy in mind and body then to make my existence miserable in order to improve my looks for who? Society? I take pride in my looks but it's for me, not for others. I will always have curves, ALWAYS, so it really pains me when something like this happens. Kelly has a big year coming up with a tour and also being on "The Voice" . I shudder to think that her weight is going to be a continuing pain point for her when we should really only be paying attention to her talent.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you on this one. I can't believe people are still so judgemental about appearences. I was hoping we evolved beyond that. I loved this post
ReplyDeleteTotally agree Amanda. Kelly has amazing talent - people have nothing better to do than sit behind a computer and criticize her weight. I recall reading an interview Kelly gave within the past couple years, and she was asked about her weight. She said something to the effect of "sometimes I play more, sometimes I eat more" and that she's fine with her body. Well, people can say that as much as they want, but it hurts my feelings too that she probably saw a lot of those nasty tweets - and honestly, who wouldn't be down on themselves after that bashing? I would!
ReplyDeleteIt is incredibly harsh that celebs are so often judged by superficial standards but most of the 'hate' often comes from people who have issues with their own self-esteem.. these comments make these people feel better about who they are, and I doubt are well-thought out responses to Kelly's apparently larger size.. it actually makes me sad women hate on each other so often!
ReplyDeleteYou are 100% dead right!
ReplyDeleteFirstly, she is a singer - shouldn't we be more concerned about her voice than how she looks.
Secondly, why does being thin matter so much? Being thin doesn't make you a better person, smarted, more talented or more beautiful - it just makes you thinner.
Lastly, she's not even fat!!! She's totally average size. By calling her fat, society is shaming all women who are not a size 2. Totally messed up.
Nice post, Amanda!
Wow i wasn't familiar with the particular incident up until i've read your post (thanks for directing me here from your comment on my blog http://lureofthedarkside.blogspot.com/ and of course for following).
ReplyDeletei think that kelly is super talented and super beautiful and if she has gained a bit of weight this doesn;t mean that she is fat i don't see fat i see beautiful curves, people shouldn't be that mean to a girl as beautiful as her and to no girl at all.
unfortunately nowdays people consider being curvy as being fat which is 100% wrong as a statement, they should be more careful to what they say.
It's funny how people are so quick to sit behind a computer and judge. I think Kelly looks great and I've always thought that since she won Idol. I remember reading an article years ago with Kelly and the reporter mentioned her weight and she was pretty much like hey I'm greek, I'm a lil' thicker than what you all are used to seeing but in so many words she was saying get over it....I pray to god she still has that attitude because people will break you down if you let'em. Great post hun!
ReplyDeletewww.swoonblog.com