Fake Support Articles Aren’t Any Better Than Body-Shaming Tabloids
By: Casira Copes
Tags: Feminism, Culture, Body Positive, Body Image, Celebrity

Back in 2020, I saw no less than a dozen news articles ironically titled something along the lines of “Let’s Stop Talking About Adele’s Weight,” which then proceeded to launch into lengthy think pieces about how much of a conversation everyone should not be having.

They all featured the same Instagram image that sparked the conversation in the first place. And while the language seemed intent on promoting Female Empowerment™, I’ve been struck by how formulaic and ultimately banal these types of articles are.

They’re all structured in the same way. They have an Eye-Catching Title About a Celebrity’s Weight, with a cover image that is notably NOT the one being discussed, ensuring the reader would have to click into the article to see what said celebrity actually looks like. Inevitably, there will be screenshots of social media trolls commenting unnecessarily on the person’s body, and the writer will assume the role of a gallant knight by pointing out how obviously wrong, rude, and shallow the trolls are.

It’s boring. I’m over it.

They’re not any different than the tabloids

As content, these articles function exactly the same way as low-brow tabloids. They’re made to entice people to click by offering the same promise of celebrity body transformation photos that tabloids have been taking for ages. These just happen to have a veneer of “body positive” language thrown on top.

At the end of the day, it’s still a form of commercializing and monetizing other people’s bodies through the lens of critique. Even when it comes to writers who think they’re being supportive — how condescending would it feel if someone offered you their “support” just because you were photographed at what some people consider an unflattering angle? Who really needs or wants a whole article in Glamour or USA Today telling them it’s okay to not look super hot right now?

Celebrities like Lizzo and advocates for fat acceptance have long since mentioned the inherent backhandedness of this supposed “support.” One writer for Self stated it quite nicely:

These so-called compliments are at once well intended, backhanded, and ubiquitous. Find a photograph online of a fat celebrity who’s dressed nicely…and you’ll also find gushing compliments and headlines about their “body confidence” and “bravery” — headlines that simply don’t often exist for thinner celebrities.

Since it seems that the people involved largely don’t want these articles, can they stop showing up in our newsfeeds?

Can we please write about anything else?

It’s abundantly clear that this kind of fake supportive bullshit is based entirely on people’s ability to move towards or deviate away from conventional beauty standards. There’s nothing “body positive” about that.

So can we stop writing articles about people’s bodies altogether? We don’t need to see who’s gone up or down a dress size. We don’t need to keep the news cycle abreast of every celebrity comeback to a body shamer. We don’t need condescending commentary on the “bravery” of not being a size 2. The normalization of bodies starts when we stop treating them like newsworthy events.

A lot of people’s bodies have changed under quarantine, and despite the media and weight loss industry trying to convince us otherwise, that’s okay. Most of us are just glad our bodies aren’t laboring under the ravages of COVID-19. Some of us are not even that lucky. Who cares about pounds when there are so many other legitimate body-related things on our radar?

When celebrities or influencers want to talk about their weight, they have no shortage of ways to let us know and initiate those conversations on their own. I say we leave that particular ball in their court.