SkinnyGirl

UP Beauty Online

        “Really, I don't care if people think I'm too skinny. This is my body. If they don't like it, screw it.

                                                                                   ~ Ellen Pompeo

You know that we think looking and being fit is the new skinny, but with that said, there seems to be some skinny bashing out there that needs to be addressed. Let’s be clear, we agree partially with the above quote, or at least a slightly watered down version. Our body is our own responsibility, and since we all have free will as an undeniable human right, assuming we are not causing harm to ourselves or another, if we choose to be skinny, then so be it. Some occupations, believe it or not, to some degree depend on it. Take the curious case of Bethenny Frankel, owner, founder and the face of her Skinnygirl brand.

Granted, in the bikini shots that seem to be drawing the ire of skinny bashers, Bethenney looks pretty tight, skinny perhaps, but in her defense, she is very fit and toned. I would personally term her ripped, toned, muscular, fit or having low body fat over skinny. And by no means does she look sickly skinny, if you know what we mean. The term skinny itself is nothing more than observational terminology or an interpretive judgment, and regardless of how we get there, it ends up being a label we put on someone. Personally, if I had a Skinnygirl company and was the face and personality of the brand, I’d look just like her if I could (although I may be missing some key DNA chains contained in Ms. Frankel’s genetic code, as well as an off switch when it comes to certain indulgences).

Bethenney Frankel’s Side of the Story

First, this is not the only time Bethenney, 44, has been taken to task over her weight. As a matter of fact, it seems to be a recurring theme. But this time she fired back. Speaking with her friend Meredith Vieira on TV, she tossed out a few retaliatory bombs. Apparently she was ill over the Holidays (the bikini picture in question was snapped shortly thereafter) and as she disclosed this to Meredith, she asked, “Do I look bad? Do I look like I need to eat a burger”?

Just as we do, Meredith told her she thought she looked great. “I don’t know. I feel like who cares, they are always going to say something,” replied Bethenny. “I do have a brand called Skinnygirl so I am going to get beaten up for it. It would be bad if I was overweight and had a brand called Skinnygirl, could you imagine?”  

Meredith retorted, “Now that would be ridiculous.” And if it seems like Meredith was just being a ‘yes man’ (excuse the term) during the interview, she wasn’t. Bethenney and Meredith went on to friendly head butting over their last interaction in which Meredith felt she may have been  lied to. There was some female finger wagging and the b---- word was even slung around a couple of times. It was actually somewhat in jest as the two are friends in real life.

Look Better, Feel Better, Live Better

So what is the takeaway here? First, if you are anything like me, you may tend to judge others too quickly, whatever the label we end up attaching to our judgment. If we’re honest with ourselves, making snap decisions about others is probably done more often than we would prefer. Maybe a conscious effort on all our parts would soften the negative process of our judgments as well as limiting them in occurances.

We think it’s also paramount when commenting on social media, especially when anonymously voicing opinions behind a user name with no picture attached, that we remember our words are sometimes weighing-in on another person or persons, all of whom are real and come complete with feelings. Don’t allow the impersonal nature of social media or your anonymity to dull your senses to others feelings. Real people read what you write and as a result a new social media rule needs to be invoked as a modern riff on an old adage: don’t write (post) anything about others that you wouldn’t want written about you.

             “At the end of the day, we all live in this world together and to practice bringing peace onto social media is a huge step into bringing peace into our world.”
                                                                                        ― Germany Kent

PS: Peace, love, kindness, and compassion never get old or go out of style.