Thursday, May 24, 2007

Spinning Biel



Jessica Biel graces the front page of the June issue of Elle magazine and, in between the covers, comments on her body : "This is the thinnest and the least muscular I’ve been in a long time."

Perhaps Biel intended neutrality with her words, having no emotional reaction to her body, but that's not how the gossips took it--one magazine interpreted her statement as a dissatisfaction with her current appearance, another recognized it as praise for the status quo. It's interesting the spin they spin, leaving me to propose:

Maybe
her body
just is.

If we could gain and lose weight with the same emotional valence; if we could buy a larger (or smalller) size with no more reaction than the one we bought before; if we could make observations about our bodies with no judgment, disdain, or critique; then, to paraphrase Biel, we'd be the healthiest and the least troubled we've "been in a long time."

3 comments:

Jen C. said...

If only! And if someone has any suggestions for how to make this happen: I'm listening! I'm only just beginning to realize how inextricably entwined my emotions and my body's state really are. This is some serious stuff to ponder!

Carrie Arnold said...

Part of what I think is sad is that she found the need to comment upon her body's shape at all.

Anonymous said...

I agree with Carrie. Can you imagine such a comment from a man, unless he was discussing something like his workout routine or was a professional athlete?