Today, I’d like to take you back to your childhood. I want you to picture yourself snuggled up with a loved one at bedtime. You’re warm and safe. Tonight, you’re going to hear the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears. You’re going to hear about stuff that’s too big, stuff that’s too small, and stuff that’s (say it with me) just right.
This story comes with hot chocolate and a snuggle.
This week, social media has been abuzz with the reveal of the most recent winner of The Biggest Loser. In case you’ve missed the past 15 (!) seasons of this show, the premise is that the contestants restrict their food intake and massively increase their exercise in an attempt to achieve the highest percentage of body weight loss, at which point the winner is rewarded with $250,000.
I’m not sure why it comes as such a shock to so many people that someone finally went to such an extreme as winner Rachel Frederickson. She lost sixty percent of her body weight, the highest percentage of any contestant to date, dropping from 260 pounds to 105 pounds (she is 5’4″, for the record). People are shocked and horrified by how thin she got. But that’s the point of the show! The point is to get as small as possible as quickly as possible, and that’s exactly what she did. Why are we so shocked? Oh, right, because we have made judging peoples’ bodies a national past time.
Rachel before, and Rachel after.
We can’t be too fat, but we also can’t be too thin. Apparently there is some mythical “just right” for each of us, and society will let us know when we’ve reached that point. Society will certainly let us know when we’ve strayed too far to either side of “just right.” Repeatedly and often.
Which of these bodies is acceptable? Trick question: They all are!
This morning on the radio, two DJs and their producer were talking about this story, and they perfectly illustrated this idea. One said that now Rachel is too thin, that her ribs are showing. The other DJ piped up that Rachel used to have fat rolls covering her belly, and looked like a shar-pei – at which point the producer made a gagging sound. So! Rachel was gross before because she was too big, and now she’s gross because she’s too small. Please, DJs, let us know when you think Rachel is “just right,” and I’m sure she’ll maintain that exact weight for the rest of her life.
Rachel lost an extreme amount of weight in a very short period of time because that’s the game. She wanted to win, and she did. Whether or not you think she looks good (or “healthy,” as lord knows we want to pretend we can judge people’s health just by looking at their bodies) is irrelevant. What is relevant is sitting back and judging when a person’s weight has reached an acceptable level.
Let’s take it back to that snuggly warm bedroom, where you just heard how Goldilocks busted into the house of those bears and made herself at home. Do you remember the moral of that story? Besides the message that breaking and entering is a bad idea, it really boils down to considering how your actions might harm others. Think about that the next time you decide to judge someone else’s body.
