Oprah’s Weight as National News?
Anyone who watches the Oprah show with any regularity knows that Oprah has been gaining weight; however, when I saw that the Associated Press had a story on Oprah’s weight and that it appeared above the fold on Google News, I was surprised. Isn’t the weight gain/loss stories of celebrities more the domain of The Enquirer and US Magazine? Clearly, not any more.
Of course, the weight trials of Oprah exist in a sphere beyond normal celebrity, and this may have contributed to the national coverage of this story; however, I had to ask: Should Oprah’s weight be a national headline? I was surprised that I found myself to be of two minds on this. I was going to simply say: Let’s just leave Oprah alone, until I saw the above magazine cover. I’ve had to give the issue some consideration before commenting, so here’s my reasoning on both sides of the issue.
No, Oprah’s Weight Is Not National News
1. Demonizing weight gain as failure fuels the current obsession with the thin ideal.
Oprah says she has failed. Others report on this as a failure. Being super-rich and super-powerful isn’t enough–it is only worthwhile if you look a certain way.
2. Oprah’s weight is her own, personal affair.
And even though she has chosen to shine the spotlight on her weight gain in her magazine and on her show, this still is not really “news we need to know.”
3. What important story has gone unreported as a result of all the ink on Oprah?
Aren’t there other things going on in the country and in the world that we need to know about?
Yes, Oprah’s Weight Is National News
1. Long-term weight loss is difficult to maintain.
No one wants it more than Oprah, yet she has repeatedly been unable to maintain her dream weight. As I type, The Biggest Loser finale is on, where people will have lost over 100lbs in a short time. We all know that a good number will gain some if not most of the weight back, yet we still encourage this kind of weight loss. Maybe we will finally grasp that there are aspects of weight that we have yet to understand.
2. Even Oprah, who has Oprah-money and Oprah-resources, can’t keep weight off.
For years I’ve heard (and admittedly said a time or two): If I had Oprah’s money, trainer, chef, resources, etc., I could lose weight, too. Well, when Oprah can’t keep weight off, then the whole advanced-dieting-resources argument becomes moot.
3. At 200lbs, Oprah looks great.
I think that Oprah looks fantastic, even at 200lbs. There are some gorgeous red carpet photos of Oprah circulating and she looks chic and fabulous. Maybe, we, the consumers of media will look at Oprah and say, You weigh 200lbs? So what? You still look Oprah-rific.
4. Maybe Oprah will finally make peace with her weight and make the world safer for fat people everywhere.
If plus-size designers make the O-list, the fashion industry would be revolutionized. And if she can teach the world to love our bodies, no matter the size, our culture could be revolutionized as well.
Ultimately, I really feel for Oprah. She is clearly tormented by the issue of weight, and as a person who understands the emotional pain of feeling like my body is a failure, I have nothing but sympathy. I would hope that Oprah finds peace–and it is her right to figure out what that means for her, be that perpetual dieting or self-acceptance.
Here are links to a couple of articles that I really enjoyed on the issue. I’d love to hear your take on this.
We Share Your Loss, and Your Gain, Washington Post
Oprah Regains Weight … Again, The F-Word.org
10 comments
Frankly, I’m sick to death of watching the stock market yo-yo, so Oprah’s body following the stock market (only in an inverse direction at the moment) is a bit of light relief. And unlike that Chicago senator, at least she’s coming clean.
Well said! I couldn’t agree more. The greatest gift Oprah could give us is to come to peace with her body. I wish her goal was not to lose weight but to come to terms with herself and the ways food plays a role in her life. Thank you for an honest genuine reflection on the subject!!!
I totally agree. However, I feel Oprah bears a huge portion of the responsibility here. She has made millions (and made millions for other people) by making her weight a focal point. Even years ago, when she wheeled that wagon full of fat on stage, I could not believe she was making her weight the subject of a TV show. Even worse, was promoting the idea that a starvation diet was the way to take it off.
Mightay Mightay
http://brickhouseofstyle.blogspot.com
THANK YOU.
Im kindatired of O’s navelgazing about her weight—lets move on and change the world.
I think Oprah proved she’s like most of us-sometimes it’s hard to be comfortable in your own skin. Even someone as powerful as her couldn’t help comparing herself to other women and always believing she should look different. I hope she comes to some real truth on her show and shares that with her viewers.
Oprah’s just being herself. Can’t argue with that.
I have something in common with Oprah. I weigh 200 lbs. I’m one beautiful Brick House.
I just want to be healthy. My body feels old. My spirit is young. I would like the big lump on my butt to leave me along. It keeps following me around like its my friend or something.
I like to share myself with others, so it must have been that big welcome matt I placed on my behind.
I think people are fascinated with Oprah because she reflects the yo yo diet struggles that so many women have and yet we feel she should know better because of all the personal development work she’s done.
I applaud your dual mindedness about the issue. Very few things in life are black and white in my opinion. This is one of them. Oprah’s influence is massive and she is human. One has to take the relevant information that is being supplied and make up their own mind about the issues.
Just some additional thoughts to put into the mix.
1) The issue is more so living a healthy life verses weight lose. With that in mind there are many people that bring about a life change in their eating and exercise habits that transform bad (not life sustaining) habits into good (life enhancing) habits.
2) Each person has their own set of strengths and weaknesses and Oprah is no exception. Just because she knows how to make lots of money does not mean she has the right stuff to maintain weight loss. Other people may have the right stuff for weight loss but can not make Oprah money. So maybe money and weight loss/happiest/balance/etc have very little to do with one another.
Just some thoughts …
I’m still waiting for Oprah to admit she’s a fat woman and move on with life. I wonder how many years of her life she’s spent trying to look like someone else.
I really think that it is important to let people know that your size, weight and how you look is not the most important things in life. A lot f people are caught up with appearances that they fail to work on the important aspects of themselves. That is why the media remains a major factor that continues to fuel bulimia and eating disorders problems. People need to learn how to seek help with bulimia and avoid paying too much attention to weight and size issues.
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