To me, one of these inimitable stars was always Raven Symone. A great childhood talent who never seemed to derail the way many of her counterparts have. The thing I admired most about her was how confident she was to be a full figured gal who was into fashion. She also spoke out against the "skinny ideal" and stood up for girls and women's rights to be individuals and not just like images of their peers.
That is why when Raven came to the People's Choice Awards having dropped lots of weight, I felt a little disappointed.
 |
| Raven before (Google Images) |
 |
| Raven After (Google Images) |
I'm not saying that Raven looks bad or that she shouldn't be healthy...it is more of what she is saying that has me concerned...Ravens Comments regarding her weight loss-
"Actually, now I wear bigger clothes because I don't like the way people stare at me."
"I liked it before. Now, you're just looking at me for the wrong reasons. Before, you were actually looking at me for a real reason."
"I thought I looked fabulous before and nobody else did. So, whatever."Don't get me wrong, there is NOTHING wrong with Raven being healthy. I have no issues with that what so ever. But based on her comments I'm left with the distinct impression she felt pressured to lose the weight. And I think that is sad! I thought she looked perfectly fine before, and it sounds like she (at one point) enjoyed her curves and was proud of them.
This leads me to another point...why are we, as a society so thrilled when a curvy star shrinks? It's almost like a sick little pleasure to see a normal sized body fit into the Hollywood standard 0. What would be wrong with having all sorts of shapes and sizes of women? That would be REAL. That would be LIFE.
When will the industry change? When will we grow tired of looking at the same-old same-old? I for one am ready to see a variety of sizes and shapes...skinny, big, and everywhere in between. I don't need to have only one image of how society feels a women should look. What are your thoughts?
