"Losing weight is what I consider to be my greatest accomplishment." - Oprah Winfrey
I want you to go back and read that again. And then ask yourself what your greatest accomplishment is. Maybe it's finishing school, or doing a bang-up job on a project, or raising wonderful children, or being a good friend, or doing something no one else thought you could do. I hope it's not attaining a set of "ideal" numbers, where you had to count each gram and calorie to attain that number and then had to continue counting to keep that number. I hope it's not not eating something because it wasn't on a list of "approved" foods. I hope it's not the coveted "compliment" of "Oh my God, you look so skinny! Almost anorexic!"
"Anorexic" isn't a compliment. I know that if any pro-anas come across this site, they'll accuse me of being jealous of their willpower and lithe figures. And maybe I am, a little. But I also know the other side of the coin--the eroded tooth enamel and holes in the esophagus, the heart palpitations, the light fur on the body, the social isolation and fear, the hospitalizations, and even the funerals where girls (who should have been women, by all rights) were so thin they were put into caskets made for children.
The fact that Oprah lists this as her greatest accomplishment--a set of numbers--perpetuates this cultural disease, this cult of thinness. She's provided scholarships for countless students, opened schools and orphanages in towns across the world, has prompted people to read, to leave abusive relationships, to conquer their fears; has run a marathon, and has risen to heights previously unavailable to anyone, much less a Black woman from the South.
Look, I'm all for the fact that Oprah is encouraging people to live healthy lives. But you don't have to be thin, or reach a certain number, to be healthy. Active people are healthier than inactive, regardless of weight. Which is more important: healthy and happy, or thin, sickly, and miserable? So give it up.
You are more than a number.
1 comment:
It does seem odd that Oprah would name that as her greatest accomplishment. I'm hoping she was just really rushed for an answer.
I think maybe her weight loss battle has been more personal to her than her other accomplishments? It has certainly gotten a lot of attention. I don't think she's advocating anorexia. I mean, she looks healthy.
I do agree, however, by choosing weight loss as her greatest accomplishment she puts too much emphasis on being thin, not healthy.
I still want to give her the benefit of the doubt, though. That's just the way I am.
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