A few months ago I mentioned America Ferrera, of Ugly Betty fame, making her “weight statement.” In that post, I talk about weight statements as non-stories; they’re just there to give media an opportunity to make “news” out of female celebrities’ weights, casting such stories as positive stories about the women’s self-esteem so that they themselves are not accused of the bad-intentioned looking they initiated in the first place.
Of course what contradicts each story’s positive message is the fact that the story exists at all. Gee, might it not be the case that, when one is put in a position of defending why one is loveable, one might already be in trouble?
