Oh, you’re so sick of these thought pieces, aren’t you? Women’s issues. Women’s body issues. Women’s freedom issues. They just don’t stop.
But here’s the thing, you’re not giving them a reason to.
Recently, singer-sensation-the queen we serve Adele made a return to Instagram thanking first responders and health workers for being on the frontline in this fight against coronavirus. She also happened to be looking very “skinny”, and visibly has lost some weight. The internet, as you might expect, lost its collective mind.
While some called the celebration of her weight loss “fat-phobia”, others questioned if she’s unwell, while still others behaved like it is one of her greatest achievements in recent times. And just like that, a woman who has broken numerous records with her music, stood for empowerment and fierceness, was reduced to the way she looks. People wondered if she’s lost weight to feel better, get healthier, or is it out of an illness (directing it to Adele speaking about her postpartum depression).
Something that should have ended with “Oh she looks great, I hope she’s doing well!” ended up becoming a world-wide speculation game - rude and intrusive (and absolutely unnecessary) in nature.
Now before we jump into - “Oh, so do we ignore that she did, in fact, lose weight?” arguments, we must weigh the importance we give to it, almost letting it eclipse her very being, as if she’s allowed to only exist in a certain mould that was allotted to her. Adele once spoke about wondering if she’d still be as appreciated for her talents if she weren’t plus-size, and today, we have begun to answer the question. Truly, a person’s changing body can be left to be a matter they deal with.
Rest assured, she was criticised before this and is being criticised after. It is becoming evident that no matter what, we find our bones to pick with women’s bodies - in effect, making half their lives about having to defend their being. In all of this, their talents take a back seat. Maybe it’s time to take off the patriarchal glasses?
I think when it comes to women and bodies and how to discuss them - there’s a simple rule we can easily follow: Don’t.
Don’t do it. It is literally nobody’s business. If we can subject a woman as successful and powerful as Adele to such pointless dragging, truly we can’t even begin to imagine the standard we set for our girls at home. If even Adele is not safe from the tugging and pulling at her skin, we have no hope for change. Let’s stop taking one step forward and two steps back. Surely, we’re already rolling in the deep with this mess, let’s not dig our holes deeper.
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)