This is just what teenage girls need to hear.
Willowy former pop star and current reality TV artiste Jamelia, 34, has royally offended a whole load of people with some ignorant comments made on TV.
“I don’t believe stores should stock clothes below or above a certain weight. [Plus-sized people] should be made to feel uncomfortable when they go in and can’t find a size,” she said yesterday on Loose Women, a UK panel show.
“I think everyone should have access to lovely clothes, but I do not think it’s right to facilitate people living an unhealthy lifestyle,” Jamelia said.
She continued digging until her grave was complete. “It shouldn’t be normalised in high street stores. They should have specialist shops.”
The comments were made during a discussion about whether plus-size clothing should be marketed to overweight teens.
The mother of two said she is “all for celebrating people for who they are” – only not if they’re above or below a certain size.
Ironically, the day before her comments, Jamelia took part in a campaign aimed at improving self-esteem.
The campaign, begun by the Good Morning Britain show is called #SelfieEsteem. Jamelia participated, snapping an unfiltered, make-up-free selfie and sharing it on social media.
“The #loosewomen need to turn in the news and see how pressuring a young girl to be thin led to her death! Looks aren’t everything in life”, said another Twitter user RonNewman8, referring to 21-year-old Elsa Parry who died after taking diet pills she bought online.
Suggesting that people, and in the Loose Women conversation specifically teenage girls, whose weight is not deemed “normal” should be made to feel shame when they shop (as if that’s not already a huge problem for many women) is so coldhearted. Especially coming from a woman and the mother of two young kids.
To us, it seems like Jamelia just doesn’t get that her body-policing is unhelpful and downright harmful, but according to her, it’s US who don’t understand HER.
“Never waste your time trying to explain, to people committed to misunderstanding you,” she tweeted following the instant social media backlash that greeted her comments.
Read more: We need to talk about thin privilege
If you follow her logic through to its errr…. logical conclusion, we should ban people with tans from buying bikinis (tanning is unhealthy, we all know that) and prevent people with back issues from being allow to buy high heels (they can be really damaging, you guys). We don’t want to encourage that kind of thing.
Most importantly, we should ensure former pop stars wear gags, to prevent them from saying really stupid things on TV. It’s for their own good.
Top Comments
What if someone said, they shouldn't let stupid people be models?
We are a funny society aren't we? We fawn over the bikini models and lifestyle gurus on social media. We get caught up in every fad diet going around. In effect, we subconsciously worship at the alter of being slim or thin. We also have a massive problem with obesity that is getting worse. However, any and every attempt to point out that being overweight is not ideal, is met with derision. We really need to work out what side of the fence we are on. If we are to tackle the growing problem of obesity, perhaps we need to be a bit cruel to be kind. If we continue to tell people that obesity and being overweight is OK, we are not going to get anywhere.
I think we are well aware of our weight and don't need to have it constantly rammed down our throats. We are still human beings and we do have the right to be be respected. No one has ever told me it's ok to be as big as I am. It isn't ok, but who is she to say we shouldn't be able to access resources/services because of our size.
She has a very short memory, because not too many decades ago, she probably wouldn't have been allowed to enter establishments or access services because of the colour of our skin. You might argue that she can't help the colour of her skin, but I can help the size that I am ... but what it comes down to is basic respect for all really.