Last year I wrote a post about Jess Weiner’s body issues. I feel bad about it. I want to apologize and make amends. Jess Weiner’s body issues are Jess Weiner’s body issues. They are her issues whether she chooses to talk about them in public or private. My point could have been made without calling her out directly. Or I could have let the point go.
I don’t normally call people out personally, even if they are famous. I think it’s an international cop-out “they’re famous so they signed up for the entire world to say whatever they want about them.” No they didn’t. They’re famous and they are people and the entire world just uses this justification to allow their mean flag to fly.
This is one of the most effective ways we silence girls and women, especially politically and in important social activism roles. I’ve often thought that I’d make a good politician with effective with out-of-the-box thinking and lots of new ideas. But, I love myself and my children too much to go through the insane nonsense that we put politicians, especially female politicians, through in this country.
Oh, you made gang-bang porn with a Sarah Palin look-a-like? Hilarious! You forwarded a Photoshopped photo of Sarah Palin in a bikini carrying a semi-automatic weapon at a pool party to a billion people? So funny! Well, she did disagree with your politics and your sense of social right. She deserved it. (Yeah, not so hilarious. Really. Disgusting and disrespectful to all women is more like it.)
You’re a horrible mother!
You’re too fat!
You’re too skinny!
I can’t believe someone would marry you!
She’s a practicing Witch!
She’s a whore!
A woman would have to grow emotional armor the thickness of a T-Rex in order to withstand, to willingly subject themselves and their families, to this kind of treatment for being willing to serve . . . from other women who are supposedly on their own side (in their own political party or of their own social activist realm or religious denomination or whatever group or category a woman tries to make headway in).
So, to Jess Weiner, I’m making a public apology because I made public my criticism.
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2 comments ↓
I don’t understand the problem with your original post last September. I felt you very fairly “reported” the media frenzy that Jess Weiner was undergoing in reference to the article she wrote, and her weight loss. I did not take away from your post that you were pro or con “Jess Weiner”. I actually felt that you brought up points in favor of her concern over her weight, enough that she actually did something about it (which I agree with, is healthy). Anyway, I don’t know if you have gotten flack for “calling Jess out” personally, but I don’t see that as the case. You simply referred to her story and reported what had happened. I don’t feel you interjected many strong personal opinions one way or the other. Just my opinion. Wishing you a wonderful new year!
Thank you for your comments Gina. I do think Jess made positive changes and I don’t think it was fair that she took so much flack for that. And I should have let it at that. I don’t think I needed to say that Jess may not have recovered from her original eating disorder, but that she may have transferred to another one. That’s none of my business.
It kept coming back to me as something I wanted to clear out of myself as the year ended. It felt like something I didn’t want to do – inside me. It felt like I had made a judgement on her. Whether that came across in my writing or not, that’s what I wanted to clear out of myself.
And a happy new year to you.
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