“…for not such good results – drag behind car through puddles and blow dry on roof rack.” Now there’s a truthful clothing tag!
Jennifer Hudson, singer and American Idol alumnus, made headlines all over the world this week. Not for her legendary set of pipes and not even for her tragic family history but for her dress size. J.Hud has become a household name by schilling for Weight Watchers and dropping a bunch of weight. So much weight in fact that the Internet got its collective panties in a twist when Joy Behar announced that Jennifer was a size superduperextratiny. Half the pearl-clutchers gasped, “She’s gone too far! She’s too skinny! We’re so worried about her!” while the others lit up comment sections debating about whether or not she looks small enough to actually be that size.
So in other news you’ve heard there’s rioting in England, right? And you’ve seen the heart-breaking, inspiring and terrifying pictures? Wait, you haven’t? Because speculation about the number on Jennifer Hudson’s dress tag ended up ranked higher than this apocalyptic insanity on most of the major news sites?? Travesty.
“What size are you?” may be the most loaded question you can ask a woman, right after “Is it that time of the month again?” This is because clothing sizes are the nuclear option in body comparing, something we all do even though we wish we didn’t. The last time a friend asked me that I replied honestly, “I have no idea. It depends on the brand.” Call in size inflation, vanity sizing or the reason your old college roommate still wears her “same” size but thanks to the randomness of modern sizing I probably have 10 different sizes of clothing in my closet that all fit. And that’s not even considering my large (oy!) collection of vintage dresses that are sized on an entirely different scale. (Hint to vintage-loving girls: Most dresses from the 40’s and 50’s were sized with the intent that the woman would be wearing a corset underneath – so take heart – it’s not you, it’s the dress.)
Considering what a crap shoot sizing is you’d think we’d be able to chuck it out the window with all the other numbers that try and fail to describe us. And yet we can’t let it go. I get it. To this day, the #1 most read post on this site was an eating disordered confession I wrote about being obsessed with Audrey Hepburn’s measurements. I wrote it and I understand the dark place where that type of thinking comes from which is why I try so hard these days to combat it.
But if we can’t trust the number on our pants to tell us what we look like on the outside, then what do we use? A recent survey “found that 95% of non-eating disordered women overestimate the size of their hips by 16% and their waists by 25%, yet the same women were able to correctly estimate the width of a box.” In addition “Two out of five women and one out of five men would trade three to five years of their life to achieve their weight goals.” Clearly this issue is about more than how many inches around our waists are.
These stats come from a new website called My Body Gallery that aims to show what “real women” look like by having ladies upload (clothed, headless) pics of themselves and their body measurements. At first I thought it was a terrible idea – what’s more disordered than looking at a bunch of other girls your same height and weight in order to compare yourself? – but then I spent a while clicking around the site and I had two revelations. 1) I look pretty darn good. And not because other girls look bad but because looking at all these other women made me realize how many different shapes, sizes and colors beauty comes in. 2) I don’t have an accurate idea of what size I am or what I look like. Maybe I have a touch of body dysmorphia. Maybe we all do from being bombarded with literally unreal images of “perfect” female bodies. But I found this to be a very illuminating and positive experience. I left the site not wanting to lose weight but rather feeling better about who I am.
Sometimes I think we forget that the end goal of all this health and fitness stuff is to develop a whole person, not just a body. Now if you’ll excuse me I need to get back to listening to the BBC and praying that everyone over there is safe tonight.
Does it affect you to know what size a certain celebrity is? What do you think of My Body Gallery and similar sites? Does vanity sizing make you feel better or does it just make you mad?
I know My Body Gallery will just suck me in and turn me into a bit of a snarky biotch (headless photos of people on the Internet have that effect on me… Does this mean I’m a monster?) so I’ll do what I can to avoid it.
I’m just like you in that my clothing totally runs the gamut size-wise. Sometimes it’s hard to resist the fitting room meltdown, so I’ve taken to articles of clothing that have l
Gahhh stupid smartphone had a Kanye moment and didn’t let me finish!
Anyway, I like to stick to non-numbered-sized clothing (S, M, L) since it’s the least stressful and most common in my dress-centric wardrobe.
As far as celebrities go, I tend to just roll my eyes and ignore whatever size claims they or their publicists make. I’m sorry, but there’s no way in heck (not counting EXTREME vanity sizing) that Kim Kardashian is a size 2. I think she’s one of the most gorgeous women alive, but paltry size 2 her curves are not. But hey, if she wants to say it then by all means she can. I totally hate the hole concept of “thinspiration,” but the celeb body I find myself most envious of is probably Barbarella-era Jane Fonda. The booty! The abs! THE HAIR! (want… Especially the last one.)
If it’s any consolation, none of the reputable British news sites had that beating the information about the riots. I know what you mean about perspective though. News.com.au (the WORST Australian news site, thank you Murdoch!) had the ‘alternative’ census, a story about Kate Middleton’s eyeliner and a dramatic road rage/domestic incident as top headlines before I went to bed last night. What?!
I commented on Eat the Damn Cake about My Body Gallery. Honestly, I loved when I looked at it yesterday. I may have a touch of body dysmorphia, most likely…because when I looked up my height and weight on the site, I thought “wow. I look pretty good.” I’ve always thought my body has all sorts of “weird” things or imperfections, but the site helped me realise what a wide range there is, even within my weight range….and that there are lots of women who looked quite similar to me! (some so much so that it was eerie)
I know that everyone wants to be a beautiful and unique snowflake, but I’ll be honest. Part of my recovery has HAD to be accepting that my body is not extreme. I’m average height (5’4″) and a very healthy weight. I have curves, but not extreme ones. I have muscles, but they are under a thin layer of fat. That means I don’t look ‘cut’ but it also means that I don’t look skinny. In this case, being average is not bad…not bad at all. And accepting it is even better.
Now if only My Body Gallery had more tall women! I feel bad for my tall friends. I didn’t see much on there for them.
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What makes me annoyed is surveys that nobody thought through before they did them. OBVIOUSLY it’s easier to guess the width of a box than the circumference or even diameter of a curvy irregular object. The second survey mentioned would scare the crap out of me (about the only reason I exercise is to live longer and be physically able to enjoy later years) if the first one hadn’t made me very suspicious of their methods.
This is a very timely post for me…. I’ve been kind of struggling with my off season weight the last week or so. I called myself ‘fluffy’ in my last post and got horribly berated by my readers. It’s interesting to me because no matter what any of them said, it doesn’t change my opinion of myself and I am still my own harshest critic. When people call me small/itty/whatever it NEVER fails to a) not register that they’re talking about me B) illicit some kind of a perplexed eyebrow twist on my face.
You are absolutely right though, at the end of the day, a healthy WHOLE self is what counts (and what I keep reminding myself!).
I did read about the English riots and it’s terrifying. I’ll be thinking of them along with you. And not Jennifer Hudson’s size. Because I didn’t know who she was until I saw an article that she’d lost weight (whoopdeedoo)
Love My Body Gallery! I was looking at it yesterday and it really did show me just how “off” I am in thinking about my size. When I look in the mirror, all I look at are the parts I don’t like. It’s only when I catch a passing glimpse of myself that I see my sexy legs, my strong arms and all the parts of me that are hot!
My Body Gallery was a wake up call, I look great and I don’t need to worry about losing those 10 lb’s. I am healthy as I am and those are just vanity pounds that I don’t even need to worry about!
I looked at a similar site (which actually had heads on) as I was starting recovery -not going to lie – pretty sure I had the initial intention of triggering myself. It had the reverse effect, and seeing people’s smiley faces on top made it all the more powerful. As soon as I saw the life in people’s eyes, immediately the relevance of their body size diminished. Everybody started to just look like People, rather than a dress size. It was a revelation. I think that’s a great thing. My Body Gallery… not so sure it’s as helpful for me. Focus back on the body, rather than the whole person.
I am a bit shocked about the order of news over the pond though…. seriously, it’s been incredibly scary and sad over here for the past few days. And I’m in a big city where it’s been – touch wood- relatively quiet so far (aside from somebody being shot in the face on Tuesday night, anyway). The journalists need to look at their priorities, not the contents of Hudson’s fridge!
Px
Well I’m one of those people who thinks J. Hudson looks great and I’m not questioning her size. And I have no idea why the riots in London are happening which probably means I need to click on some better news links.
The My Body Gallery is interesting. I put in my height and weight and none of them are my size per the info on the pictures. There was no selection instead of pear, banana (? when did that happen), apple and hourglass. I would like to see the selection of middle eastern european descent. That’s a whole subcategory right? lol
I saw the My Body Gallery on Health Breaks Loose yesterday. Looking at photos for my height and weight did not make me feel good, but looking at photos of myself doesn’t make me feel good either.
I think I have opposite body dysmorphia – I used to be so much smaller and my brain still can’t accept the fact that I’ve gone so far in the opposite direction. When I see pictures I tend to think “that can’t be me”.
God it is sad but I am one of those people who would probably trade a few years to reach my weight goals 🙁 because I have been slimmer and I know I would enjoy them more. Obviously I am try more safe methods in my won way!
Bless you for what you said about the riots. I live in London . Monday night was a little bit scary but I luckily live in a very nice quiet outer part. I think a lot of the problem is fear which is rife and being spread by social network and then reported by the media as fact. Obvisouly niot to belittle the scary scenes in London and elsehwere, but in many cases shops closures and workers being sent home early are precautions that haven’t been needed. I am sad that so many youths feel they have so little stake in society to risk a police record. Also when there is so much to be upset about politically, they seem only interested in looting TVs and trainers. On the plus side loads of people have gone out voluntarily to clear up.
I will definitely check out that site, but probably not at work!
Sorry for the typos this machine is too weird!
I think everyone has a bit of body dysmorphia. Unless you stare at pictures of yourself or in the mirror constantly, its hard to get a really accurate mental image of what you look like to other people. Numbers can only make that more difficult, because you begin to associate a specific number with a specific weight or feeling, you know? LIke, I wore size X jeans when I was at my skinny weight and felt great. Now I have my period and am all bloaty and they don’t fit.
Ramble, ramble…
Not sure that comments from a male are very relevant here, but what the hey…
Getting proper perspective on your own appearance from looking at photos of others is probably a good thing. But much more important in my view (especially for folks who exercise) is evaluating your performance at your exercise of choice. I hate to see us so focused on appearance at the expense of what are probably more important metrics.
Rather than comparing weight with dress size, how about a site that compares weight with 5k time? Weight with bench press figure?
Oh man, a site that compared weight with running times or strength would be awesome! Those are way better metrics to look at than dress size.
Ooh, I love the 5k time comparison suggestion!
I don’t generally care what size celebrities are….but I generally don’t follow a ton of celebrity gossip (except for Jersey Shore…I cannot get over that show, I just love it so much, even though it’s obviously a giant trainwreck).
MyBodyGallery I think made me a little crazy- I just kept reducing the weight, to see what size I thought was appropriate. Eeps. However, it did also make me realize that having lots of muscle can result in weighing a lot more than you look.
Vanity sizing is a little irritating, but, as long as I know what size to order online, I’m usually content….I also generally cut the size out of my clothing (which is probably neurotic, but it makes me feel better when I get dressed, and puts the focus on clothes that fit rather than clothes that are XYZ size).
The riots in London are heartbreaking. When the G20 protests happened last summer in Toronto, I cried; I grew up there, and it’s hard to see the city torn apart like that. I can only imagine what the British expats are feeling. I’ve been extremely worried about the economy since last summer or so, and this does not ease my concern.
I went on the site the other day and there was only one photo of a woman with my stats. Let’s just say it didn’t make my day (hey, a rhyme!). Later on I decided to take a photo of myself. Not to upload it, just to look at it. And it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be! Later still I took a yoga class, and the teacher was saying things like “Feel what your beautiful body can do. Feel how amazing your body is.” It was PERFECT, and just what I needed!
(In my darkest hours, I start to wonder if humanity is on the brink, and the riots, the bickering in Washington and the crazy stock market seem like signs.)
Its interesting to see what a variation there is even between women of the same weight and height. I suppose body fat percentage is another variable as to what one looks like.
I hate clothes sizing. Why we cant measure things in centimetres instead of random numbers that differ from shop to shop I dont know. I do feel better if I get a smaller size, even though I know if you take a tape measure to the clothes the answer is different for every item despite the sizing.
I’m in the UK, and the riot stories have been a bit scary. I work in Bristol where there have been relatively few problems, but am thinking of all my friends and family in London and Birmingham. What a mess 🙁
I’ve pretty much shut myself off of reading celebrity gossip. They don’t live in the real world, anyway, so why care? I always tell myself, when I tumble across “news” about celebrity weight loss and sizes, “She probably can’t run a 5k/lift more than 10 lbs./etc. anyway.” It makes me feel so much better.
The strange thing about sizes is they aren’t accurate for men, either, even though their jeans are supposedly sized by inches. My boyfriend bought two pair of pants from the same store, same brand that had the same size on the labels and one was WAY too tight and the other was WAY too big. They were the same size he’s been wearing for a year, also in the same brand from the same store. He was beyond frustrated, but at least now he better understands my dilemma with clothes shopping!
LOVE the My body gallery site, thanks for that link!! It’s just what I needed today, as I had to change my clothes 3 times before leaving the house. It’s that time of the month and I just feel… not good. Not only do I look pretty normal, but for my height, I look similar to women who are my weight, but also some women who are lighter than me. Incredible!
What I pay attention to is the things that society focuses on versus what society is doing. For example, we are less healthy and more obese than ever while we focus on that small percentage of people who are celebrities and microscopically dissect every physica thing they do I find it all very strange!
Amen on that…
I could not find any pics for my measurements, that is probably sad. Looking through the site though was encouraging. I think today, we are so bombard on what the perfect body is suppose to be. But what is the perfect body anyway?….
I came across an excellent article yesterday from everydaypaleo.com It was a guest post on the site. It really hit home for me. The post is titled “You can not fix a body you hate.” I think it is applicable for this site and did he, yes I said he, have some in your face things to say. In a good way. It is making me rethink things more.
Thanks for another great post!
If I’m honest despite a lot of people finding it to be positive I really don’t like it!
I just had a look at it (I hadn’t heard of it – I live in England and over here practically the only thing on the news are the riots) and I don’t think people are being honest about their exact size which to be completely honest doesn’t help anybody. It’s good that the message behind it is positive though!
I’m guessing the sizes they posted were American sizes – so in UK sizes, they’d be bigger – a US size 10 is more like a UK size 14 or something like that, I think.
That being said, I kind of agree – I looked up my height and weight and many girls were wearing size (U.S., I’m assuming) 10s or 12s, and I can just barely squeeze into my 12s. Barely.
I really don’t like My Body Gallery, it makes me a little crazy. The girls that seem to be my size also seem to be wearing the most frumpy clothing ever, and then I start worrying that I look like that too. Then, I seem to want to change my weight and height on the site just so I could look at women that I would prefer to look like. I dunno, I think body comparison in any way probably isn’t too healthy.
In some ways it affects me because i am…human! but I try to hold to the fact that most celebrities are VERY much the minority when it comes to size. Plus, there is the whole race/ethnicity/genetics/etc that comes into play….
I can’t believe Jennifer Hudson would be a size 0 though! That just seems way too tiny judging by the pics…crazy!
Not watching TV happily means that I haven’t a clue who Jennifer Hudson is. 🙂 I suppose she’s very pretty, young, and walks around in small clothing. Par for the course.
Vanity sizing drives me APESHIT. I cannot order clothing online or from catalogues anymore! I have no damn clue what size I am. And it’s hitting shoes, too. Like after being an 8.5/9 since I was 17 years old, I’m suddenly going to be stupid enough to believe that my feet shrank. Jesus on toast.
i won’t say much b/c i think you hit everything on the head.
and there’s NO WAY she’s a size 0… I’m a size 6, 128 pounds, 5’3″… granted I know I’m a little more muscular that most girls, but not THAT much
Honestly, I am tired of celebrities & all their blabbing about weight loss & what exercises they do & how they eat. I really tend not to believe them PLUS they have way more resources coming their way.. yes, they still have to do the work but they are not what is going on in the real world…
I loved that site & all the different bodies!
I had to sleep on this one before deciding whether to comment our not.
At first when I read your post I thought to myself, ‘seriously???’ I would never ever ask someone their size. And here in Jamaica I have never heard someone asking that UNLESS in the case of buying a clothing gift for them. Even in that case we just assume the person into a category of S, M, L etc without ever daring to ask.
I think its super unfortunate if media houses get caught up relaying news like that. Seriously??? Does anyone really care what Jennifer Hudson’s size is? And how in the world do they find time to care about that?????
I really hope one day we as women will all get to the point where we are focusing on SELF-LOVING and not absurd things like other people’s sizes. That’s just so totally self-defeating.
I’m sorry…who’s Jennifer Hudson? I stopped following the “too skinny celebrity” hoo-ha around the time of Calista Flockhart. Sadly, Calista is still emblazoned in my gray matter as eternally more skinny than me…so it’s probably a god thing I stopped paying attention.
I try not to get hung up on size. I once read, “Its the job of the clothes to fit me. It is not my job to fit the clothes”. And I stick to that as much as possible.
While I would like to weigh less, I am really more perturbed by by big man feet than the size of my butt.
I also don’t buy a lot of expensive things so I do not see the vanity sizing.
This is the number one problem in our society and we all know it but do nothing about it: Men compare women to other women and celebrities, in the physical sense, and women compare themselves in the same fashion. It’s sad, wrong, ridiculous, and neverending.
Hey, Charlotte, your opening picture made me say, “No way!” today. My brother had a shirt in high school with that very same care tag in it, and only the day before something had made me remember it and tell my son about it. I’ve been reading your blog for a while, but I don’t think I’ve ever commented. I belonged to your Y for several years, and taught in Eagan. Turbo Jenni and I went through Pump training together. Anyway, it’s always fun to read your posts with familiar places and people.
I didn’t hear about Jennifer Hudson’s dress size and I really don’t care. Zero smearo. Vanity sizing is crazy. I have pants in huge range of sizes too. I actually think I’m pretty good (not perfect) about not comparing myself to others and I am really good at guesstimating the size of my hips, waist, and even body fat %. Sometimes though I err on the other side thinking I’m smaller and leaner than I really am. 😉 Hmm….wonder what that means.
Love this post! I feel like once a day at least I’m telling a client to focus on goals besides reaching a certain pant or dress size! I constantly remind them that their size can vary depending upon the brand and even the year in which they bought something. I’m definitely recommending all my clients check out My Body Gallery! Thanks so much for this post!
Body dysmorphia equals distorted body image? That would be me. Size 4 (ISH) but I see fat when I look into the mirror. It doesn’t help that I’ve gained some inches over the last 4 months, but even at my most recent skinniest, I still saw fat. I know that is wrong!
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