Mother Talkers

Jennifer Love Hewitt Gets Real

by 1plain1peanut

Wed Dec 05, 2007 at 06:55:39 AM PDT

I'm not one for celebrity gossip.  I used to get Entertainment Weekly years ago and followed all the happenings with the stars of the day.  But since I've had kids, I just don't really have any interest.  Every once in a while I hear an inspiring story about a celebrity that intrigues me.  Well, today when I was checking on the weather (it's a snow day and both kids are off from school) I happened to catch a blip about an upcoming story on Jennifer Love Hewitt.  Apparently, some paparazzi shot photos of her akin to the Tyra Banks photos that were taken last year which of course, ended up being posted on the internet.  She was in her bathing suit, and guess what... she doesn't look like Nicole Ritche.  She has CURVES.  
As you can imagine, horrible comments like We know what you ate last summer in regards those photos have inflamed Hewitt.  From her own blog...

This is the last time I will address this subject.
I've sat by in silence for a long time now about the way women's bodies are constantly scrutinized. To set the record straight, I'm not upset for me, but for all of the girls out there that are struggling with their body image.
A size 2 is not fat! Nor will it ever be. And being a size 0 doesn't make you beautiful.
What I should be doing is celebrating some of the best days of my life and my engagement to the man of my dreams, instead of having to deal with photographers taking invasive pictures from bad angles. I know what I look like, and so do my friends and family. And like all women out there should, I love my body.
To all girls with butts, boobs, hips and a waist, put on a bikini -- put it on and stay strong.
Xoxo

JLH

I love it!  Unlike Tyra Banks, Hewitt didn't see this as a call to lose weight.  She said... suck it, media... I like my body!

This country is obsessed with thin.  Do you remember the hubbub about the Dove's Campaign for Beauty models?

I remember hearing some terrible things about those billboards.  One comment comes to mind...

The only place I want to see a thigh like that is in a bucket of extra-crispy.

Oy.  As a country, I think we are really all over the place on weight.  They say the obesity rate is rising, but it seems like women in the media are getting thinner too.  It's a very strange paradox indeed.    

Finally, I have to give a shout out to the late Anita Roddick, who was the first woman I remember speaking out about the obsession with thin.

I agree with Hewitt and Roddick.  We need young girls to feel empowered and not feel pressured to be size 0.   After all, you don't have to be thin to be beautiful.  

Tags: Jennifer Love Hewitt, Anita Roddick, Tyra Banks, weight, obsession, media, paparazzi, Dove Campaign for Beauty (all tags)

Permalink | 16 comments

  • Go! (0 / 0)

    Go Jennifer Love!

    Isn't it horrible, to go on vacation and end up with that?

    I sometimes think that all of the money in the world can't be worth being following by the paparazzi.  No wonder so many of these celebs end up in self-destruction.

    by NJmom on Wed Dec 05, 2007 at 07:05:41 AM PDT

  • read somewhere (0 / 0)

    That she was the inspiration for John Mayer's song "Your Body is a Wonderland."

    Based on what I've seen, her body IS a wonderland!  Lots of curves and cleavage -- she's stunning!

    Miles and His Favorites: The World As Seen By a Seven Year Old

    by Hillary on Wed Dec 05, 2007 at 08:23:59 AM PDT

  • What I wouldn't give... (0 / 0)

    ...to have a body as "flawed" as JLoHew's...

    by Erika on Wed Dec 05, 2007 at 08:48:50 AM PDT

  • Anyone (0 / 0)

    who could consider that fat -- well, I guess they are just fooled by all the airbrushing of women's fashion magazines and men's magazines as well. No one looks like those people in real life.

    Remember when that photo of Bill & Hillary Clinton dancing together on the beach surfaced -- and lots of people were saying it was posed to make them look like a happy couple? I always felt like it could not have been posed because no woman who is not a swimsuit model would allow a photo from the back in a bathing suit!

    by Lisa in Austin on Wed Dec 05, 2007 at 09:39:19 AM PDT

  • Very worrisome. (0 / 0)

    We are a culture of extremes. A few years ago, I was really worried about my youngest daughter.  She's a very healthy size for her age...always has been.  However, she became obsessed with "healthy"...I was having a difficult time finding her things to pack in her lunch.  While we want our young people to develop healthy eating habits, we also want them to have healthy and realistic expectations as to body image.  

    by tjb22 on Wed Dec 05, 2007 at 11:08:09 AM PDT

  • AMEN! (0 / 0)

    And that's all I have to say about that.

    Well, not really, but I'll spare you the regurgitation of everybody else's comments.

    by K C on Wed Dec 05, 2007 at 12:49:56 PM PDT

  • I saw the bikini photo (0 / 0)

    And she looked hot.  I mean, naturally beautiful hot.  No makeup, lovely hair slicked back, beautiful curves, HOT.

    The obsession with size-0-ness sickens me.

    by Exurban Mom on Wed Dec 05, 2007 at 02:25:40 PM PDT

  • it sucks that we only see beautiful people nude (0 / 0)

    I've been thinking how whenever we see someone naked or half-naked in an ad or on TV, it's almost always a size 0 type person (and usually an air-brushed one at that).  Of course we have ridiculous expectations for our bodies!  I'm still working on embracing my "curves" (more like saggy postpartum stomach), but getting there.

    One thing I heard that really changed my perspective on body image was to be aware of the function of body parts.  So if you don't like how your nose looks, just think, "Well, what's it there for?  It's certainly doing it's job."  Perhaps not a major relevation to most people, but it really did make me think about what the purpose of a body is, and the purpose is not to impress in a bathing suit.

    by Treena on Wed Dec 05, 2007 at 06:29:46 PM PDT

  • what a great posting - (0 / 0)

    Thank you so much! I heard about the Jennifer thing but it's wonderful to have all these links in the same place.

    by madwoman in the attic on Sat Jan 19, 2008 at 03:56:21 AM PDT

Permalink | 16 comments