Angelina, please don't eat any cheeseburgers...those are junk food anyway!




As I was engaging in my daily net-surfing earlier today, I came across a couple of pages dedicated to Angelina Jolie's appearance at this year's Oscars.

What I read wasn't entirely unfamiliar to me (I had seen similar tweets on my timeline during the red carpet pre-show coverage), but it was disturbing nonetheless. To put it mildly: there's a vast number of people out there concerned about Jolie's health (*cough*) to the point where they'd like to buy her a Happy Meal at McDonald's. Please.

Amidst the comments, that were literally dissecting her appearance, a few of them read: "skeleton", "vampire", "ghost", "dead", "starved dog" and my ultimate (least) favourite "holocaust survivor look". The amount of criticism on her weight (and pale skin) is nothing short of unbelievable, and it's surprisingly only this harsh when aimed at a skinny person.

Noone goes around commenting "stop munching in your shower" whenever they see say Melissa McCarthy or Octavia Spencer, now, do they? If all those comments stemmed from a genuine concern, you'd expect that there would be people wanting to put Melissa and Octavia in a Weight Watchers programm, but, apparently that's not the case. The politically correct stance these days is that it's perfectly acceptable to be overweight, because it shows that you're comfortable in your own skin; Once you're thin or too thin, however, it seems that you have to swallow the judgmental looks and remarks that come with the territory. As if being thin makes you a lesser human being (and not just weight-wise).

Will people ever understand that judgement and discrimination based on a person's outer appearance is always wrong, regardless if you're white, black, fat, thin, tall, short, blonde, indian, or albino? It's always hurtful, always counter-productive. Put yourself in that person's shoes, would you want to be looked at so closely for something that for the most part comes with who you are? I think not.

"Would you want your daughter looking to her as a role model?" read a few other comments. Well, personally I'd like my daughter (if I ever have one) to be able to look past whatever's spoon fed to her as this month's "role model" from pop culture and see other people for who they really are, which is a whole lot more than just a number on a scale or a short and shallow description of physical attributes. I'd want her to know that classifying another human being based on appearance alone is futile and I'd wish she'd be able to laugh at stereotypes such as "blonde equals dumb", "tall equals clumsy", "fat equals extrovert" and "thin equals anorexic". At the very least I'd like her to weigh in (pun intended) on any situation, not before having given some well-rounded thought into the matter.

In the meantine... Angelina will still offer her help to those in need, thin or not. So whose health are we pining for exactly?

What's your opinion?

  1. Totally agree with you on all of this. I am tired of the same old banter about thin celebrities. Great post!

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    1. @annie: Thank you so much for taking the time to read and comment! :)

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  2. Great post hon!I dont like this attitude either..it's so futile to judge celebrities according to their appearance..I dont really understand this attitude!It needs energy and time of your life..and what's the point really?Since these critical persons are the first that search on web and copy them??

    xxx

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    1. @Blushingloves Irene Greece: Yes, I see your point and I agree: why can't we just let other people be instead of critising and analysing their looks 24/7? Nobody's perfect, so what's the point in putting everyone under a microscope? Thank you for your comment! xxx

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  3. Καταπληκτικο ποστ!! Ειναι τραγικο ολο αυτο που συμβαινει γυρω απο το συγκεκριμενο θεμα. Ειναι τραγικο ποση σημασια δινουν πολλοι σε λαθος πραγματα κ τοτε ειναι πραγματικα λαθος προτυπα...

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    1. @beautyincrisis: Συμφωνω, οντως κοιταμε το δεντρο κ χανουμε το δασος σε τοσα πραγματα σημερα... Και εχεις δικιο στο οτι εμεις κατασκευαζουμε τα προτυπα μας τελικα οσο ασχολουμαστε με αυτα.. δεν ξερω, ισως αν καπου μαζι με το ποδι της Jolie κοιτουσαμε κ το πως ζει ο διπλανος μας, να ημασταν σε καλυτερη μοιρα.. xx

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  4. People can be so stupid sometimes. Jealousy much? Come on. Loved this post!

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    1. @GABY: Yes, in this case I bet at least half of the comments criticising her are based on jealousy. Guess being in the spotlight makes it super easy.. Thank you for the comment and feedback! x

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  5. Why does it always have to be THIS OR THAT? Why is a war against obesity, OR a war against excessive preoccupation with being thin? Both are equally bad. You very well know that people take extreme pressure to lose weight too, like Adele, or Christina Richie, or other notorious examples that were made constantly fun of.
    I don't approve of someone being overweight, and I don't approve of someone being underweight. Why? Because it's bad for them, because it's bad for society (when it comes to influential people) and because it costs money for the health system (when it becomes a rising trend).
    I am not about to defend Jolie just because this time the fat guys didn't get as much hate.
    P.S. Commenting on other people's appearance is in general inappropriate, whether they be overly slim, or overly plump.

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    1. @Y: I think you may have missed the whole point of my post. I agree with you that commenting on people's appearance is wrong and inappropriate, regardless of that they look like, and I did include that in my post.
      I'm not defending Jolie because the hate should have been directed elsewhere, I was just trying to point out that there's this new "trend" that's going on, and that apparently dictates that it's ok to hate on skinny people. Obviously, anyone that's severely overweight or underweight is flirting with the chances of some health issue sooner or later, but I doubt that critique these days in matters of appearance is given out of a health related concern.

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  6. At last, someone puts it like it is: nowadays it seems that it's acceptable to attack a skinny girl with insults about her weight, but in case of an overweight woman- that's different, she's "celebrating her body"... Why such discrimination? Lord knows how many nasty and hurtful comments I've heard about my weight. People just grab any chance they can get to show their superiority and look down on others. During the '90s it was obesity, now it's about being skinny. It's absolutely the same thing!

    Great post Tina, very well said! We all need to raise awareness on certain issues like this one, sometimes we can lose track of what we should or shouldn't tell on one's face. It's important to remind everyone that being judgemental about ANY physical feature a person has or hasn't is plain wrong and has to be stopped.

    xx xx

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    1. @Evi: Exactly. I've heard the comments too, and to be honest it's getting annoying, especially when I've been the same weight all through out puberty. Apparently people with a couple of extra pounds (that btw complain that they need to loose weight themselves) are treated with a "nooo, look at you, you're fiiine" mentality, but people in general good health that are naturally thin or small and express no interest in gaining or losing weight somehow are given free advice. Funny, innit?

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  7. Η τεχνη θελει θυσιες!

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  8. I agree with you. The articles I've been reading are all about her leg. Leg here, leg there, leg everywhere.

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    1. @Kajal Couture: Lol, that leg got a social media life of its own, hahaha!!!

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  9. Everything you're saying is so true. Some people just comment bluntly on everything without thinking how it might effect other people.

    http://drunkonstyle.blogspot.com/

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    1. @Drunk on style: Absolutely. It hurts just as bad when you're informed that someone doesn't approve of your appearance, regardless of the number on your scale. Thank you for your comment.

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  10. I agree with you in the aspect that weight racism is as bad as any other form of racism. Some people are too thin some are too chubby but we are all human. I didn't like her look as I found the dress unflattering but her weight seems okay to me.

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    1. @Cel: Well apparently skinny is the new fat as far as weight racism goes, and this was the entire point of my post. What's funny is that I'm sure that every single person that's criticised someone else's looks, has been criticised as well, perhaps for some other reason. I'm just tired of seeing this pointless cycle go on (tomorrow we'll be hating on ppl with different coloured irises for all I know). It's gotta end, it only serves the purpose of perpetuating self-esteem issues and nothing else! Thank u for your comment (btw, yeah, that dress wasn't perhaps the best of choices)! ;) xx

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  12. I agree with you, although to me she doesn't look that healthy. I mean, yea sure it depends on many factors, but in my opinion she used to be more "alive" and healthy looking. When first saw these photos,i took some time to think: how old is she? I was thinking... maybe 42?43? Then looked it up on imdb and she is 37! Her face is too slender, yes almost like skeleton's face. I do not criticize her as an individual, but I DEFINITELY criticize hollywood and the whole industry for promoting these women as role models,when hundreds of teenage girls die from anorexia each year. I don't either approve obesity. Is it so bad to keep that damn "μέτρον άριστον" in our life?

    PS The dress accentuates her annoyingly bony knee. I believe she was stunning during 2004-2005 in Tomb Rider.

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    1. @Anastasia: Yes, I see your point, but who's to say that we should allow Hollywood to brainwash us about what is considered healthy or what a role model should look like! She's a person, as any, and we all have the right to gain some weight or lose some weight or look tired, without having to deal with everyone's comments, that was kind of the point of my post. Besides, health doesn't come in numbers or sizes, yet somehow numbers and sizes is all that people talk about..
      I agree with you, moderation is key, and as far as weight goes, it's what ensures the least health problems related to weight. But, even if someone falls into an underweight or an overweight BMI category, surely it's noone else's business to start commenting and criticising...
      Thank you for your feedback! x

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  13. Hi Tina! How have you been doing Hun? I hope all is well with you :)
    I'm so glad you wrote this post. This is really the main reason that I don't go on certain websites that are Hollywood related - all they do is criticize...it's such a negative energy that a ton of people get caught up in and that I don't want to be part of. It's very insulting for someone to say, "Oh eat a McDonald's meal because you look hungry/thin." As you said, it seems that more and more people are being rudely critical of thin people rather than people that are are unhealthily overweight. I don't think its in anybody's place to be so rude and insincere no matter what weight someone is - if people are genuinely concerned they should address the situation intelligently and properly. In any case, I think society can be too weight obsessed about Hollywood stars and they need to just emphasize being healthy instead.

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    1. @Karen Law: I tried to bring an equally harsh comment on the table about a heavier person just to point out that it's equally unacceptable when it's directed towards a skinnier person as well; Yet, while it seems that society has understood that it's rude to make fun of a heavier person, ppl still criticise thin people as if it's no big deal. Obviously it's wrong either way! And yes, I agree that Hollywood and showbusiness in general is extemely weight obsessed, but that shouldn't mean that everyone else should fall into that trap too. I would hope that the rest of us can use their heads and think before we say sth hurtful to someone else, and out ourselves in the shoes of that person first!
      Thank you for commenting sweetie! xxx

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