A Woman's Transformation

Recently Adele made the news of her weight loss, and the internet went mad! I usually pay no attention to tabloid news, but this one came into my usual feeds and I found myself questioning why in 2020 we are still going crazy about weight loss. Adele the famous singer, Grammy and Oscar winner, who was once a much larger size, posted a birthday photo of herself, making her fans and many others gasp at the transformation. A happy looking photo, but a photo of an unrecognisable Adele we know.

This is not a blog about Adele, these are my thoughts that no matter what we do, it seems losing weight is one of life’s big achievements…

I look to myself at these times, am I part of the problem? As soon as I heard this news about Adele, I found myself searching the internet to find the photo - which I did instantly, as it was one of the big headlines….even amidst this crazy time of the pandemic, riots and potential global crisis on the horizon.

Why should it matter if someone has lost weight? Or is it the drastic change in appearance that makes us feel another woman has conformed to societies standards? Someone who maybe once looked like us - has now turned into every other celebrity.

This news is nothing new.

I remember in the 1990s (during the “girl power” days), curvy model Sophie Dahl, who was known as something fresh, different and more importantly - larger than every other model! A plus size model back then when most of the catwalk was full of Kate Moss lookalikes. She was a size 14, which nowadays the UK average dress size is 16, so still under the standard!

I even wrote an essay on the fashion industry at that time when it all kicked off, talking about plus size models (who were virtually unheard of then, and looked at the link with Anorexia and the Size 0). Today, Sophie Dahl is as slim as any other model, did she conform to the fashion standards of the day?

I find this whole topic fascinating, and many people feel passionately about it. By loosing so much weight, is a woman betraying her sex by loosing so much weight, or does she simply look great?

I think a big part must be due to money - If you have money, you can pay the personal trainer, your own chef, nannies to look after the babies etc. But is this so wrong? Would we all not end up doing the same thing if things were made that easy?

Women are also very hard on one another - I don’t believe we would care as much if a celebrity man lost weight. Why do we do this to ourselves. Is it a case of, she’s not in our gang anymore as she no longer looks like us?

Celebrities can also use their weight loss to promote their brand/product - it became a regular Christmas pressie option to buy the latest celebrity/personality fitness DVD (or has that been left in the 1990s? Please tell me atleast something has been left back then?!)

With this promotion, there’s a big reveal on their new size, maybe after shedding off their “baby weight” after birth, which to an everyday woman is another pressure to face so soon after giving birth. But it seems more and more celebrities are racing to get their toned body back after children at an unrealistic speed! Is it simply just to post on instagram and get lots of likes? Are we really living in such a shallow world? Is this how women can get attention…even since the 1990s, things have changed very little. Could Adele be in fact promoting something of hers…a new tour around the corner perhaps?

Even now as I type in “Weight Loss” into Google, up pops another female singer in recent news showing her new “Staggering” body to the world. Each time the female population stops to look in, judge, judge themselves and question their own life choices.

We must also see that this message is toxic for younger people, that in order to succeed, eventually - sooner or later you must be a certain size?

There has been a sharp rise in the number of people making contact with eating disorder charities since the start of the coronavirus lockdown, one of the charities claiming their helpline callers have increased by 50%, with a 78% rise in contact via social media compared with February.

We must be careful here. I believe that promoting a healthy lifestyle is important - getting outside to exercise, breathing in fresh-air, eating vegetables and a balanced diet. But also not punishing yourself if you eat a piece of chocolate cake. It’s easier said than done, but it’s all about balance.

Will women ever be free to not give a crap about weight loss and weight gain? Society continues to place more value in a woman’s appearance than it does for their achievements & talents. We must look inside ourselves, take care of each-other - and stop treating celebrities that they are the example we must all live by.

L x