Skinny or not, who gives a damn? Not Lady Gaga

Jennifer Aniston had once said, “You’re damned if you’re too thin and you’re damned if you’re too heavy. According to the press I’ve been both. It’s impossible to satisfy everyone and I suggest we stop trying.” However, it is easier said then done.  Being a part of  an industry that hails size zero as the yardstick of beauty, celebrities are under a constant scanner and often criticised for weight gain. It is not just in Hollywood that actresses, media and the industry itself are obsessed with body image.  Closer to home, we see several such examples. Remember a plump Aishwarya Rai Bachchan coming out of an Ambani party only to be mercilessly taken apart for not losing all that pregnancy weight overnight? Or when Kareena Kapoor had had enough of being size zero and decided to get her curves back, only to be called ‘fat’ in tabloids? [caption id=“attachment_470598” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Lady Gaga leads body revolution. Image Courtesy: Littlemonster.com[/caption] How this obsession with body image came into being is a different story altogether.  But the media seems to have proclaimed itself guardians of the unwritten rule that women, especially stars, should always be bikini-fit. Else, how do you explain the series of stories around who gained weight and how bad they look due to it. Lady Gaga is the latest victim of the vigilant media that had been constantly criticising her for weight gain of late. Recently, Daily Mail even went to the extent of calling her ‘meaty’ and accusing her of “piling on the pounds”. But the 26-year-old singer, known for her wacky sense of style, isn’t going down without fighting for her right to look good and be whatever size she wants to. The pop star posted her pictures on Twitter showing off her curves in yellow lingerie. “Bulimia and anorexia since I was 15. But today I join the Body Revolution. To Inspire Bravery and Breed some Compassion,” Gaga tweeted. She also thanked her boyfriend Taylor Kinney for helping her combat the body-image issue and said “My boyfriend prefers me curvier, when I eat and am healthy and not so worried about my looks, I’m happy. Happier than I’ve ever been.” Not only that, Gaga also motivated her fans to do the same by accepting their bodies without being scared of being judged by anyone else. “Now that the body revolution has begun, be brave and post a photo of you that celebrates your triumph over insecurities,” she wrote. And as Lady Gaga makes peace with her body image and flaws, singer Adele joins the chorus, saying  “No matter what you look like, the key is to be happy with yourself.” So, while we get more celebrities who don’t look like they have walked straight out of a Vogue centre-spread, let us hope that we ourselves come to terms with our own body image and are not overtly critical of ourselves and those around us. The media will soon find another issue to mint money from.