Doobie Doo
Veteran
Celebrating Adele's weight loss isn't a compliment – it's fatphobia
Adwoa Darko
2 days ago
Editor’s note: The opinions in this article are the author’s, as published by our content partner, and do not necessarily represent the views of MSN or Microsoft.
This week, pictures emerged of a slimmer looking Adele, as the singer arrived at rap star Drake’s birthday party.
Instantly people were tweeting and sharing the photos, congratulating her on her “revenge body” – a reference to her ongoing divorce with Simon Konecki. Across my social media feeds, it seemed that everyone was sharing headlines that discussed her "sensational new look”, posting her “before and after” snaps. The resounding reaction was: “She looks so good now!”
or me, this was far from unexpected. It merely confirmed that we live in a society which idealises thinness and celebrates weight loss as inherently positive. The underlying premise behind the reaction to Adele’s photos was a) the assumption that her “old” body was “wrong” and b) that she made a deliberate and “healthy” choice.
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In reality, this reaction is just a series of backhanded compliments. Saying that she looks good now, is just a more subtle form of body shaming that masquerades as a compliment. By glamourising this terrible concept of the “revenge-body”, we are saying that fitness and eating well are tools to be weaponised against a former relationship as opposed to a positive choice we should all be making. It centres our value in our physical appearance, and the idea that bigger bodies are not worthy of a fulfilling relationship.
Gallery: The science behind Adele's 'sirtfood' diet and 24 other bizarre celebrity weight-loss plans (Insider)
At its worst, the fixation on Adele’s post separation “glow up” reveals our deep rooted societal fatphobia, in which skinniness is valued at any detrimental cost and equated with attractiveness.
We have reached a stage in which we are well versed in the health implications of obesity, which can be a positive thing. After all, it is important that we all make steps to eat well and exercise for our mental and physical wellbeing. However, why do we rarely acknowledge that weight loss, especially at a rapid rate, can be a cause for concern?
It is an uncomfortable truth that, although packaged as support for the person’s health, in general these “compliments” speak to the fact that our celebration of weight loss is not always about welfare. Society just cares that you’re slim, no matter how objectively harmful the journey was to get there.
Adele always has been and always will be beautiful. She is more than a before and after picture, she is an immense talent and national treasure – this, not her body, should be the focus.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/lifestyle/spotlight/celebrating-adeles-weight-loss-isnt-a-compliment-–-its-fatphobia/ar-AAJufT9?fbclid=IwAR0mFBQw6z3QFiMTviXMtLQIK0qwLMJ5pkFA818JigF_wMg_q-I26vbrg48
