Last week DH and I took little Z to her first political rally.
The speeches were incredible and it was just a great, powerful experience. Z did amazingly well, being a 2 year old and all.
Oprah’s speech was strong and moving. Not only was I wowed by her words but I also couldn’t help but think how beautiful she looked up on stage (and we had a great view, right on the floor). She had this bigger than life presence, this strength, this beauty. I’m not an Oprah watcher – I feel relatively neutral about the woman (minus a dislike of how she interview celebs, but, whatever).
Leaving the rally, I had quite the high. More so for who I was excited to vote for and from every stirring speech I heard (never mind actually hearing Stevie Wonder sing live – wowza!!) but this included the incredible words I heard Oprah speak.
How rather sobering it was to then read that Oprah’s weight and size were once again the fodder of “news“. Not only because it’s just frustrating that people continue to define this woman by her size and weight but also because I remember thinking how gorgeous she looked on stage. Yes, I agreed with many of her sentiments (and politics in this case) but it mainly stung because it felt like a virtual slap. To Oprah but also to the rest of us strong women (and men) who are examined and ridiculed because our bodies are too fat, too thin, too lumpy, too bony, too something.
Judgments of body shapes and looks will never go away. I’m not saying they should not be challenged but I seriously doubt they will disappear in my lifetime. So do I let this anger fuel me? Or do I let it go into the ether and live my life loving my body and learning to appreciate all shapes and sizes? Maybe it will be a bit of ebb and flow, who knows.
Not only because it’s just frustrating that people continue to define this woman by her size and weight but also because I remember thinking how gorgeous she looked on stage.
I made almost this exact kind of statement on another blog – that if Oprah were male, no one would comment constantly on her fluctuating weight. But then someone suggested that the reason Oprah’s weight is constantly the subject of attention is because she makes it so. The commenter has a point: Oprah does constantly put her weight and her struggles with weight in the national forefront, so I guess I can’t really condemn the media for picking up and commenting on it.
I don’t like Oprah, really, but she does do some beneficial charitable works and has lent her considerable influence politically. I wish she would focus much more on these kinds of things and not so much on how fat her thighs are.
Yes, good point – she does put it all out there. I remember she once said that if we saw her gain weight it was because her life wasn’t in balance. I wonder what life in balance means to her (HAES, tons of exercise, dieting, or what).
“Judgments of body shapes and looks will never go away. I’m not saying they should not be challenged but I seriously doubt they will disappear in my lifetime. So do I let this anger fuel me? Or do I let it go into the ether and live my life loving my body and learning to appreciate all shapes and sizes?”
This is something I struggle with as well, and go back and forth as you say you do. Maybe it depends on how you approach it. It would make for an interesting post/discussion. I’ve thought about tackling it on my blog, but I’m not sure how to go about it. It would take a bit of time to write a post that does the question justice.
Yeah – I’ve been experiencing the “ebb and flow” of this while on my trip this week. Some moments I get riled up by something body acceptance-related and sometimes I barely have it in me to accept my own body never mind worrying about society as a whole.