Sunday, November 15, 2009

Should we care when Jessica Simpson gains weight?

Reading the headlines this morning with my coffee and biscotti, I saw that Ashlee Simpson said in a recent interview that the media should stop calling her sister fat. I think what she meant is that she doesn't think it's appropriate for us all to be so critical of her sister's appearance. And I agree.

As a plastic surgeon, I obviously spend a great deal of time talking with women who are unhappy with their appearance... Part of my job is to help them differentiate between a healthy motivation for reasonable, safe, and attractive change, and unreasonable requests for change that is either not in their best interests, or which is unlikely to achieve their goals. Thankfully most of my patients are very well adjusted and have healthy and reasonable expectations of what can be achieved through plastic surgery.

I believe very strongly, and indeed became a plastic surgeon because I think we all have a right to be happy with what we see in the mirror. I do not, however, believe that we should all want the same things- and I definitely don't think that any of us (no matter how famous) should be subjected to public criticism and insult when we don't look our best. Each of us must define our sense of what makes us feel attractive and healthy for ourselves. It's possible Ms. Simpson prefers the lifestyle which led to her evident weight gain... It's also possible that she is experiencing personal turmoil and that this is complicating her life enough to cause the outward change. The truth is that all of us have our ups and downs emotionally speaking, and if Ms. Simpson has had a difficult time getting motivated to exercise lately, well that should be allowed to be her personal battle.

Why are we so interested? I think a big part of it is the severe contrast between her Dukes of Howard appearance, when she represented nearly everyone's feminine physical ideal, and the photos of her at the now infamous chili cookoff wearing mom jeans. Some of it must also be the unhealthy interest we as a society seem to take in watching previously fortunate young people handle problems poorly. See Britney Spears, Lindsey Lohan, Paris Hilton, Chris Brown, etc...

The fact that Jessica's income is dependent on people wanting to see her looking her best is, I'm sure, not lost on her. I'm sure she understands that her health may suffer through weight gain. I'm sure she's doing her best to get her head on straight and find happiness and contentment. And I'm sure it must be a lot harder with all of us watching and criticizing her at every turn.

So I'm with Ashlee.. and I'm rooting for Jessica- not just because I (like every other red-blooded American male) thought she looked great in Dukes, but because I have four sisters, and a daughter, and I am a plastic surgeon... And I think young women should be allowed to develop a sense of health and well-being that is their own, and not imposed upon them. We should be concerned about what this all says about our culture- and be paying a bit more attention to how we raise healthy, well-adjusted girls who love themselves.


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