Britney: Phat, or fat?

[happydalek]

As per my usual morning internet news catch-up, I watched the video of Britney Spear's VMA comeback performance, where she debuted her new single "Gimme Me More."  I've never been a Brit fan, but like most people, have found her highly visible career and personal implosion too fascinating to ignore. 

In a word, Britney's performance was awful.  She looked dazed and confused on stage.  She barely seemed to know her own choreography and repeatedly screwed up her lip-synching.  It looked, at best, like a tech rehearsal gone bad, and this seems to be the general consensus of the internet. 

However, the internet also seems to agree that she's fat, and there I must differ.  Yes, it's true she isn't as thin and defined as three years ago before she had two kids, but she was certainly not fat.  There was no cellulite, no rolls (and certainly no cesarean scars) on display.  In fact, I thought she had a very nice, healthy-looking figure.  For once.   Not as fit as Beyonce, but then, few people are. 

I remember the similar kerfluffle that went on when the new Doctor Who first aired in the States and the massive debate that ensued on OG about whether or not Billie Piper was fat.  Has America completely lost sight of what a healthy woman is supposed to look like?

Bottom line, Britney's comeback was bad.  That's obvious.  But please, stop calling her fat.  That's just unfair. 

Comments

[rhube.livejournal.com]

The general media treatment of Britney has been pretty disgusting. I'm not a fan. Despite the unpopulairty of saying so, I actually really like 'Hit Me Baby One More Time' (her version, not the Manic's cover). Has she spiralled out of control and embarrassed herself? Yes. Is she the greatest musical artist of our time? I sincerely hope not. But the way she's been mocked for effectively having a mental breakdown is just... Not. Funny.

I'm sorry to hear her come back was awful. I'm not gonna become a Britney fangirl, but she's clearly been through some shit through being thrust into the spotlight too early and too exploitatively, with not enough sensible people around to reign her in. I wish her success because she deserves a break, and she deserves to be able to stick her finger up at the press.

But, gah - they have some legitimate things to criticise, and they go around calling her FAT?! Come on. The petty, stupidness of some people never ceases to amaze me.

[happydalek.livejournal.com]

Yes, exactly. There were plenty of artistic reasons to fault her performance, and physically, Britney's looked much worse than she did last night. I dare anyone to have two kids back-to-back and still look that good afterward. I'm with you. I think Brit's made many mistakes in her career and personal life, but her treatment by the media has been tasteless and voyeuristic. I hope she gets her act together soon, for her own sake and especially for her boys'.

[rhube.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I still can't believe she has two kids. She does need to get her act together, and people need to let her FFS.

[happydalek.livejournal.com]

Here, here!

[bibliophile1887.livejournal.com]

Has America completely lost sight of what a healthy woman is supposed to look like?

Yes. And it makes me sad. Granted, I'm overweight, and I know I'm overweight, but I'm one of those "poor unfortunates." If I were to weigh what many doctors and those stupid height/weight charts tell me I should weigh, you'd be able to count each rib. I'd honestly look malnourished. (The curse of having a big bone structure.)

Back to your point. Yes. Americans have no clue what healthy looks like. And no, Billie is not fat. She's healthy. And it's a good thing to see. It's supremely frustrating (as someone who is overweight) to see these skinny-assed women strutting around as if that's the ideal we should aspire to. When it's not. That's not any more healthy than the way we look now. And it's not motivating at all, because we feel we cannot achieve it. However, seeing women with healthy figures doesn't make us feel as pathetic because we see that and think, "Hey, that's doable. I can look like that." The problem is, as you've said, that even those women are treated as being fat. And it's not right.

And now I'll stop ranting on your LJ. ;)

[happydalek.livejournal.com]

It's supremely frustrating (as someone who is overweight) to see these skinny-assed women strutting around as if that's the ideal we should aspire to.

Yeah, tell me about it! I've long made peace with my chubbyness. Curves are beautiful. Just ask all those Renaissance painters and sculptors what their ideal of beauty is. And for more evidence, what about all those "mother goddess" statuettes that archaeologists have found in neolithic sites that depict extremely corpulent women as signs of fertility? We live in the stupid age of human civilization as far as beauty ideals go.
And now I'll stop ranting on your LJ. ;)
What else is LJ for? ;)