As eloquently put by Jezebel yesterday, everyone needs to shut the fuck up about Lady Gaga's weight gain.
Every tabloid, news outlet and supposed "female-focused" magazine has worked themselves into a tizzy over Lady Gaga and the extra 30lbs she's put on - according to "nutrition experts" and "leading dietitians".
This has got to stop. And by this, I mean the media focusing on and ripping apart women's bodies with their words, their long-lenses and their snarky, thoughtless writers. Whether it's Lady Gaga, Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Jessica Simpson or the Duchess of Cambridge - this bullshit needs to end.
How can ABC News run a news piece on just comparing photos of Lady Gaga in Amsterdam on September 18 to her "skinny frame" earlier in the year? Why is it acceptable to use somebody looking a bit different as news?
How can OK Magazine seriously spend time getting quotes from nutritionists and dietitians to break down and scrutinize the things Gaga has said she eats and drinks, and make estimations on how much weight she's gained, as if Lady Gaga's body is some sort of carnival game?
And, while of course we've come to expect it from the likes of the Daily Mail, can someone please explain to me how the headlines like "Despite her recent weight gain, Lady Gaga is polite to her fans" even make sense? Polite, despite being a fat ass! How does she do it? How brave.
Kelly Osborne has famously been criticized about her weight in the press for years, but even she has a theory on Gaga's weight gain: She must be pregnant! Well done, Miss Marple. You cracked the case! It's so great that that you've lost weight, Kelly, you can join the ranks and get revenge on those who have gained it. Well done.
Fat is Disgusting. Duh.
I, like most women, don't care about what Lady Gaga eats. It's none of my business. I would assume considering her hectic schedule that she works out a lot - like, I dunno, when she's on stage running around like a maniac for two hours plus. And even if she sat on her ass all day - it's simply none of our business. It doesn't affect us. Why should we care what size her meat dress is?
The worst part, however, is that this isn't just about people looking at the photos, sniggering, and saying, "Oh yes, she does look a bit fat, doesn't she?"
This is about the press and the media vilifying women who dare not being as skinny as possible. It's about holding women accountable for their appearance.
Gain weight, we'll notice and point it out. Not wearing make-up? We'll post the photos. Dare leave the house without stilettos and looking fabulous? You've lost the plot and going through a crisis.
What I find the worst about all of these "articles", is that they dig up quotes of things Lady Gaga has said in the past, from her bulimia to her thoughts on dieting, to things she's tweeted that contradict things she said, you know, just to show the issues she has. Then they find the quotes where she says she's happy with her body, like:
"I really don’t feel bad about it, not even for a second. I have to be on such a strict diet constantly. It’s hard because it’s a quite vigorous show, so I tend to bulk up, get muscular, and I really don’t like that. So I’m trying to find a new balance."
...and then right after you read this lovely quote, your shown the most unflattering photos they can find of her, romping around in all her seemingly rotund glory.
The underlying message, "How can she be happy and not feel bad when she looks like that, when she used to look like this."
How could she possibly "not feel bad about it" when her butt cheeks look like this. How can she think that "new balance" is her spilling out of some fishnets and smoking weed on stage! WHAT A FAT HUSSY.
This is all just a reminder that women can't win. Fat is disgusting, and anyone who claims to gain weight and be happy is in denial and not being their best, perfect self, as they should be.
Gaga has written recently that she's had "massive struggles" with her body image, and I just hope that if she chooses to Google and read anything on the subject of her body, she reads things like this, and Jezebel's post, and knows that there are so many of us that get it.
At the end of the day, she's just a woman, and no one deserves to have their body talked about like that. No one.
Image via LittleMonsters.com