You can see it at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/07/jessica-simpson-nude-pregnant-elle_n_1326268.html
Mom, please don't click on the link. Just wait until the Elle issue is in Giant Eagle. You can turn them all around then.
This post isn't about the fact that she was nude. She's a grown woman and can do what she wants, whether I agree or not is not the point of the post. It's about the backlash that I've seen and heard.
Shocker alert - Jessica Simpson gained weight while pregnant. GASP! Thank heavens one person who is in the public eye has gained weight. Yes, there are other examples but since they didn't take their clothes off, Jessica it is.
She isn't a whale. She isn't ugly. She isn't gross. She is a woman who is very preggers. I am so thankful that I am old enough to know that being thin is not the be all and end all. Doesn't mean I don't want to be thinner than I am. That I am old enough to know that it is a blessing to carry a child. A blessing I hope to live through someday. That I am old enough to know that children are more than worth what happens to the earthly body I inhabit now. Having children may not be for everyone.
But I am thankful that I can look at Jessica Simpson and see a beautiful blessed woman who knows she is not the ideal weight in the eyes of America, but doesn't seem to care because the person that she is taking care of is far more important that what the mainstream media say we should care about.
I'm aware that the photo may be photoshopped and you can argue that she has helped make the mainstream image machine into what it is today (Daisy Duke, anyone?). I may argue that point myself in some future post. But today I would like to applaud her for perhaps giving normal everyday women the courage to take a second look in the mirror and like what they see. After all, we're not all naked and pregnant on a magazine.
Thanks Shell, for once again, allowing me to pour out my heart...even if my heart was focus on Jessica today.
I thought she was very brave for that photo. She has gained a lot of weight but she is pregnant and growing another human being. I'm glad she is helping redefine the "normal" in celeb pregnancies.
ReplyDeleteAre celebrities normal? Just kidding! Another great example that came to my mind was Jennifer Garner. But I do have a soft spot for her since I was a huge Alias fan.
DeleteI completely agree with you! The backlash she got... ugh. I strongly believe that all people are beautiful, no matter what they weigh!
ReplyDeleteVisiting from Shell's!
♥, Brittany
www.simplybrittany.com
Brittany, well said. I wonder why this picture hit such a nerve with people? Is it just that generational thing that is expressing itself? Maybe the most vocal are the people that are most worried about image? Hmmm.
DeleteGreat post. I wish America would lose this obsession with stick-thin, unhealthy figures. It's unrealistic and unnatural.
ReplyDelete(visiting from PYHO)
Yes it is! I think that both unnaturally thin and overly obese are unhealthy and it appears that America is one or the other if you look in any magazines these days. I consider myself to be pretty average but darned if I know what "average" is supposed to look like anymore!
DeleteShe is beautiful, pregnant or not. And even gaining weight, she looks good.
ReplyDeleteStopping by from PYHO. I see that you are another PA-er living in the South! Where are you at?
Amanda, I checked out your blog this morning...are you at Miss State?!? Go Dogs! Um, that would be the pseudo Southerner coming out there. I had friends from Mississippi who went to Miss State....I have become a total fan.
DeleteSadly I am in Texas - the DFW area. Were you from western PA?
I am at Miss State! I absolutely love it here :) I'm working on my PhD in School Psych, so it is definitely keeping me busy! I actually grew up in Erie, PA, and went to undergrad in Ohio!
DeleteI'm from Beaver County and did my undergrad at IUP. Middle of nowhere. I kind of miss it, actually. =) I'm glad you're enjoying Miss State!
DeleteI think Jessica looks great. Stopping in from PHYO today. I gained 40 poounds, and my thighs certainly didn't look that good. :)
ReplyDeleteI don't think my thighs look that good now, to be honest. =)
DeleteI think she looks beautiful and looks great. People really need to stop pointing at the weight issues. There are other bigger issues out there.
ReplyDeleteMaureen, I guess some people feel they can ignore the big ones if they focus on the small ones?
DeleteCelebs are always in the spotlight for their weight. Last year, it was Victoria Beckham and the rumors that she wasn't gaining enough weight with her baby! Sheesh!
ReplyDeleteShell, such a good point! I didn't even think of that. I remember watching something years ago when Angie Harmon was pregnant and you couldn't tell and thinking to myself "That cannot be healthy".
DeletePregnancy is awesome. Hollywood sucks.
ReplyDeleteThat's my simplified pc version ::big cheeser:: I wonder how different life would be if everyone had your perspective on this...
Thanks Ducky! I agree even without having been pregnant.
DeleteI'm clapping! She looks gorgeous! Too bad people love to hate.
ReplyDeleteHow does that go? Haters gonna hate? I love the visual of you clapping!
DeleteWell said... if people don't like it, they don't have to look...or buy the magazine!
ReplyDeleteExactly. My mom is pretty conservative and she chooses to not look at it. Why can't everybody else?
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