The Skinny On The Latest Skinny

A few months ago, we appeared on GMA Now and right here on the HuffPo to talk about the crazy story of size 2 Jennifer Love Hewitt being called fat. We were thrilled to see Jennifer stand up for herself and her body, but also furious that she was put in a position where she needed to defend her beautiful, curvy and natural body. She is gorgeous and healthy and we all know that most women out there would kill to have her body, slight imperfections and all. And it was important for Jennifer to remind the tabloids that by calling her fat, they were setting up millions of young women for a lifetime of eating disorders, body image issues, and thoughts like, "If that beautiful, thin celebrity is fat, then what am I??"

Suddenly, though, things have changed. It seems that Jennifer's skin isn't as thick as we had hoped, and like most women would, she took those nasty comments to heart. Anyone who thinks that beautiful women don't share the same insecurities as everyone else is wrong, and here's proof. Just a few months after J-Love defended her body to the world, she is on the cover of magazines talking about how excited she is to be eighteen pounds skinnier. Look, we're not judging her for losing weight. We know that there are all kinds of reasons she may have dropped eighteen pounds - for a role, her wedding, or some sort of stomach illness for all we know. It's none of our business how or why she lost weight. What we're upset about, though, is the way she is advertising this weight loss. She went from publicly defending her curvy body to making a public statement that skinnier is better.

It's articles like this one that perpetuate the vicious dieting cycle, because they make women feel like they're never good enough. Now, women who are heavier than Jennifer was back in that swimsuit are made to feel even worse about their bodies by seeing that, in fact, the size 2 wasn't even good enough. And because of Jennifer's flip-flopping, girls who do look like she used to now have to look at her tiny frame in that purple dress and think, "I guess that's my new goal."

Honestly, we don't completely blame Jennifer. We know that it's hard to be scrutinized and have the thing you're most insecure about - your body - criticized openly. We just want to take whatever voice we have to say to you that skinnier is not necessarily better. Losing eighteen pounds will not make you love yourself more in and of itself. Being healthy, treating your body well, and allowing yourself to experience pleasure are the only ways to truly feel good about yourself. While some people have accused us of propagating standard beauty myths, we do not define a Hot Chick as any particular size or shape. Our definition follows, and as you read it, think about which Jennifer Love Hewitt was actually hotter - the curvy and confident one who claimed to love her body, or the new smaller version, who likes herself better skinnier.

Hot Chick: A confident woman. She knows what she wants and gets it. She is aware of her flaws, but she doesn't obsess over them and instead thinks that maybe (just maybe) they actually add to her unique beauty. She is passionate. She loves life. She is comfortable in her own skin and owns her sexuality, but uses it purely for good. She does not see other women as her enemy and competes only with herself to do her best at all times and to be her best at all times. She is forthright, honest, disarmingly herself and tries to be no one else. She is having fun and she is sexy and you just want to be around her to soak up some of those good vibes. She isn't perfect, but she doesn't care because she is hot. And so are you.

www.heydayproductions.com

Comments

[Dan1967]

McCain will be 72 years old this Friday and his policies are the same policies as Bush. Do you want 4 more years of the same old policies that have our country in the mess that it is in now?

McCain is for NAFTA, and Obama is against NAFTA. Barack Obama will keep jobs in our country and he will fight for the rights of American workers.

McCain owns 7 houses and he will give tax breaks only to the richest of Americans who make over 200,000 per year. Barack Obama will give tax breaks to the middle class and the poor.

Will McCain have a military draft if he is elected President? He can't have a 100 year war without a military draft.

The Republicans are the party of the rich and the rich oil companies. The Democrats are the party of the people. Get to the polls in November and vote for Barack Obama and lets get a win for the people!

VOTE FOR BARACK OBAMA AND LETS GET A DEMOCRAT WIN IN NOVEMBER!

[InternationalObserver]

I'm supporting Obama too, but stay on topic and stop spamming threads!

[ENK727]

She looks better with the extra weight. She's too skinny now!!

[InternationalObserver]

""Honestly, we don't completely blame Jennifer.""

But you blame her a little bit, obviously? I think you're targeting the wrong person when you blame J-Love. And even I'm not sure who's to blame - the media for publishing these types of stories, or the public who lap them up? I'm leaning towards it being the media's fault (although they insist they're only delivering the stories their readers/viewers want).

The fact is that entertainers can't get any publicity *unless* they 'open up' about their personal lives and even then it must be something salacious. 'I helped my kid brother get his drivers liscence' might get a paragraph at the back but 'I lost 20 pounds by ..." means you're back up front and possibly a cover if you're 'hot'.

It just seems to be the way the media work these days. One could argue that your blog is just as guilty. Rather than merely blog about weight issues and the pressure to be thin you've chosen to use the J-love angle as your hook to capture readers. And am I just as guilty for reading it?

As an aside: I am watching the addition of the 'Living' and 'Lifestyle' section to HuffPo with some trepidation. I wonder how long before we see stories such as '7 Ways to Drop A Dress Size by Summer' or similar?

[sarahmariececelia]

wow... she was way hotter in the "heavier" picture. as a matter of fact, she was pretty much perfect. now she's "skinny"... looks like she needs a sandwich. bummer.

maybe it's my middle eastern and italian roots, but there's something just not right about extremely thin people. it's just not attractive in women or men. i never really understood why that is the american ideal.

oh well!

[TheDevilsPlayground]

It's a little bit disappointing that celebrities such as JLH squander their unique opportunity to help a lot of girls feel better about themselves.

[MKJeeves]

"You" as in "all of you" or just "me"?

[THORGODOFTHUNDER]

Jennifer Love Hewitt is a lovely young woman. I'm sick being told what constitutes beauty. I'll make that my decision myself, thank you very much.

[greginwva]

Thor is right,She is lovely is every way as I saw a couple years ago while watching racing on TVG.When her mother ran her horse in Del Mar with her daughter in tow.Her delight at watching her moms horse win and her charm as the tv guy stumbled over himself while interviewing her confirmed that she is as lovely inside as she is on the outside.I saw that nasty remark about her a few months ago and was surprised at how angry it made me.A nice young lady indeed!

[TrooAmerican]

Good Article. I've always had just a total crush on Jennifer Love Hewitt. Shes literally spectacular in every way.
I personally find a subset of most all types of women attractive. short, tall, skinny, average, curvy, a little chubby, many women have a few areas of their physique that they are blessed with being nice and so then accentuate those. Quite often you'll see a very cute lady who is a bit heavy, but is wearing a skirt and a sexy pair of shoes, showing off a spectacular set of legs, and or a great top as well that makes men melt. - While being completely not the typical depiction of a hot babe.

While women know this about themselves and men, they continue to fret about their looks and pick apart every aspect of themselves instead of just facing reality...... most of us, both men and women are not all blessed with 18 yr old perfection. Yet that definitely doesnt mean you Arent attractive, just not necessarily AS attractive as a bikini model or a baywatch girl or an olympic athelete.

We've all been faced with some man or woman that just has some personality, charm or appeal you cant quite figure out but has you lusting anyway and try to explain that one? ..difficult, but thats reality and young ladies and boys need to figure that one out, and focus on self improvement and happiness in sensible ways and directions that dont cause harm physically and emotionally.

[PazPraSempre]

For everyone who dismisses the idea that her weight loss sets up EDs:
No, it probably won't magically make a confident woman start to starve herself, but it is just adding fuel to the fire. Every couple of months there is a celebrity on the cover of Us Weekly talking about her weight loss and how it;s changed her life and how her life is so great. It just reinforces the notion that weight loss=happiness and that women should always be looking to lose weight.
I was happy that she defended her body, and now I am disappointed at how she advertises this weight loss She says she didn't do it because of the criticism, but I have trouble believing that. 18 pounds is no small feat.

[Josiwe]

Her career and her personal opinion obviously diverge on this point. I think what she said before was probably how she feels, and her current "Look at me! I lost weight!" routine is a necessary contradiction mandated by the conventions of her career in mainstream media. It's unfortunate, true, but I don't think you can lay all the blame at her feet.

[jpcline004]

i thought Jen looked good with a little weight. She is gorgeous either way

[Susan60]

I recently lost 60 pounds. Sounds like a lot, but I am a size 8. Sometimes I still feel overweight, even though I think I look good in my clothes. But I do consider myself a hot chick. Being a hot chick is all about being confident with who you are and taking care of yourself. I am going to be 44 and everywhere I go, men look at me.
I don't blame Jennifer for losing weight. She may have talked tough but having your butt shown all over the internet has got to be effing rough. She is beautiful, and maybe she felt like she wanted to lose a few pounds. My husband tells me that I need to stop losing weight, that I look great just the way I am, but I keep losing for me, until I feel great in my skin. A few more pounds and I will probably call it good, but truly it's how you feel on the inside.

[Fudgefase]

Yes - if she's got curves - slate her. Make her feel bad. Make her ill.
I heard a traineron a celeb programme saying that some actresses were too physically weak to work out due to their constant starvation diets.
You don't have to look beyond your local school to see kids of 12 worrying about their weight - and heaven help them when they hit 14 and start getting hips. Then the disorders start with a vengence.
It's a disorder to think women shouldn't have hips or breasts. The fashion/celeb world is damaging to all women - those in it and those who just look.
Such is the tyranny of the media who want everyone to be as miserable as they are.

[BlackJAC]

People keep forgetting the following things about the fashion world:
* The average fashion designer is a gay man
* The average fashion model is anywhere between 5'7" tall and 6' tall, usually being 5'9"
* Tall women are, as a general rule of thumb, not bosomy but rather more in line physically with the eighteen-year-old boys the aforementioned fashion designer is attracted to

Also, the standard for beauty varies from era to era and from person to person. Just because I happen to have a thing for a circa-1996 Yasmine Bleeth doesn't mean anyone else will either now or even five years from now.

[gallonjug]

"Hot chick"== string of meaningless cliches!

[OtayPanky]

Look - we're trying our best to play a game here. Why would you want to spoil the fun?

Next thing, you'll be telling us there's no Santa Claus, and then we won't get worked up over Christmas either.

[DocManhattan]

Don't mean to bust anyone's bubble here, but gallonjug is right. I sympathize with the sentiment of this article, and JLH never deserved to be pilloried the way she was -- she was and remains gorgeous.

But ... OK, so if the term "hot chick" now means all these things the article says in the final paragraph, then I guess we'll just have to come up with a new term for an attractive young woman. The concept of beauty only exists relative to things that are not as beautiful. In other words, if everyone is beautiful, no-one is.

Of course we should not punish people for falling short of an ideal. But surely we have to keep some kind of grip on reality here?

[sonny088]

As a personal trainer and a sometimes agent for fitness models, Jennifer Hewitt a few months ago when all this came out looked great! There was nothing wrong with the way she looked, nor was she overweight at all, by any standards. I think the problem came when she went on TV and stated she was a size zero. Now I know her height, and my own cousin is a natural size zero, and I know for a fact she wasn't a zero. Some women don't have the frame to carry a zero and look good, and there's not a reason in the world to try to be a zero, it doesn't matter one bit, unless you just want to tell people you're a zero. I had the pleasure of seeing some female fitness models of all ages last night and they looked fantastic, yet I don't think any of them was a zero, and more importantly I don't think any of them cared. Anyone who's seen some of my comments know I am not a fan of high bodyfat, on either men or women, but to try to aspire to an arbitrary size just to say you're that size is ludicrous; I guess its the same as men and their height. Physically speaking, all that matters is if you are in shape, there's really not much more you can do than that.

[Susan60]

She said she was a size 2 not a size 0, and I can believe that. The camera does add girth and makes you look bigger than you are. And remember a 2 is made a little bigger than it used to be.

[Truye]

Not to forget that fashion sizes have been getting smaller while women have been getting bigger. We like to tout the "fact" that Marilyn was a size sixteen. However I am even curvier (and taller) than she was and I am a size 8 (on a good day). So saying your a "zero" means nothing because the fashion industry keeps making women's sizes smaller and smaller.

I nominate Christina Hendricks (Joan from Mad Men) for a new curvy female role model. My god is she gorgeous...

[sonny088]

I think eventually she said 2, but originally on GMA she said 'zero' and I do understand that some size 0 or 2 or whatever are not always the same from designer to designer, and for sure sizes have gotten larger (even in mens clothes too, I took a size 30 waist almost all my adult life now a 30 can be loose on me and I know for sure I'm no smaller) and I know about camera illusions too, but it was obvious to me knowing her height and comparing her with my cousin that she wasn't a zero or maybe not even a 2. But whatever it was, there was nothing wrong at all with the way she looked. She appeared to be in great shape to me, and I'm used to seeing girls/women with lower than average bodyfat all the time. A similar situation exists among men too with their height. I'm 5'10 and I'd love to say I'm 6' but all I have to do is meet 1 girl who's 5'11 and I'm dead meat! Who cares what the actual size is, as long as you are in good shape?

[lolyla]

Years ago, I heard Howard Stern say something that has proven itself correct time and time again: There is nothing more important in the world than being a pretty girl. How sad.

[littlepuffycloud]

What is even sadder is when the pretty goes away, which is always does. What is left is a woman who suddenly does not turn heads when she enter a room. It happens to us all, unless we die young. Becoming invisible is what awaits most women...a fate worse than death for women who got used to being the prettiest girl in the room. Now that's sad.

[ailbhe]

So true!

[Quelkin]

The woman described in the last paragraph will turn this head at any age. I'm rather old, myself...but so what?

[TheKiddy]

@littlepuffycloud

you say pretty always goes away. not so. my mom is 87 years old and gorgeous. and charming too. when she still lived with me the doormen all admired her. it's the big brown eyes and the dark lashes and the lovely mouth and smile. and oh what a flirt. and oh what style.

she's still the prettiest girl in the room.

[sonny088]

I honestly dont believe beauty fades. Youth does, at 36 and being a personal trainer I'm in good shape all the time, but I'm still not as hard and tight in the ab area as when I was 18. I think older women (40+) are even MORE attractive if they keep themselves in good shape than their younger counterparts. Understand I am only talking physically here, a woman (or man) can have inner beauty that affects how they look too. Believe me puffycloud, you wouldn't be invisible to me!