The Write Gal

I am absolutely SICK and tired of women being criticized for their weight.  It is all over the news media - television, radio, magazines, and even on Twitter.  So kudos to those women who stick up for the rest of us, like Meghan McCain, the daughter of Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain.  She was recently attacked on the radio by conservative commentator Laura Ingraham who said McCain was “just another Valley Girl gone awry.” She then mocked McCain in a faux Valley Girl voice, saying that she didn’t get a “role in the Real World” because “they don’t like plus-sized models.” McCain responded on Twitter stating: “To all the curvy girls out there, don’t let anyone make you feel bad about your body. I love my curves and you should love yours too.”  You go girl!

On Monday, McCain appeared on ABC’s The View and further discussed this issue. ”Everyone from Tyra Banks to Oprah to Hillary Clinton to my mother — why are we so obsessed with weight?,” she said.  And it’s not like McCain has a weight problem; she is a size 8. During her Dad’s Presidential campaign she was up to a size 10 (the same size as me) and on the campaign trail someone handed her a card from a plastic surgeon and suggested she get liposuction.  I guess according to Hollywood if you are a size 8/10 you are considered fat and in need of lipo.  How very unfortunate, especially because the average American woman is said to be a size 12/14.  If you missed McCain’s appearance on The View, you can watch it here:

It is scary that size is such an issue in our society where unfortunately millions are suffering from eating disorders, which can cause severe health issues including death.  It is estimated that 9 million Americans currently have an eating disorder. If Hollywood would stop making weight such an issue, this number would be drastically less.  According to a report from the National Eating Disorders Coalition, 40% of 9-year-old girls have dieted.  NINE YEAR OLDS shouldn’t even know what the word diet is.  As a mother of an 8-year-old daughter, this terrifies me. This week one of the Little Write Gal’s spelling words was “overweight.”  I am appalled that this word is even discussed in the schools.  Why should a third grader need to know how to spell overweight?  I shudder to think what our society is going to be like when our children are adults.  Thankfully there are women out there in front of the media like McCain who can raise awareness that size does not matter. I am hoping that by the time our daughters are grown that it won’t.