In a recent issue of People magazine, I came across an article titled "Britney Spears: Body Makeover." The write-up details Britney's weight-loss methods: returning to her gym-rat ways, giving up fast food, and healthy meals delivered to her door. For the past three months, she has been working with a trainer, doing a lot of cardio as well as lots of dancing. People declares that Brit is "back in the zone."
While I think it is great to see press about Britney mending her ways and going healthy, but then there's the caption on the "before" photo? "An Unfit Brit." I wouldn't say she was unfit, just not as fit as before having two kids and a nervous breakdown; to me she this singer looks normal, healthy, and not underweight. Don't get me started about "Britney's New Body Checklist." It's like a grocery list, where they dissect her body into parts. Flat Tummy? Check. Toned Arms? Check. No Double Chin? Check. With articles like this, no wonder so many women have issues with their weight.
What do you think? Is it cool to comment on how Britney's looking more fit and toned now? Or is it uncool to comment on how bad she looked before, when she looked normal?
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i think that it's a little harsh for them to say that she's 'unfit brit' seeing as how a large portion of the country is really 'unfit' and they don't call them out in the magazine like that. yes she's a bit less toned than we've seen, but she had 2 kids really close together and she was going through a rough patch. i'm sure that a LOT of people wouldn't have minded looking like that. she may not be rail thin and toned, but she's not bad looking there.
1Really inappropriate! She's still shakily coming back, no need to kick her. She's progressing and I think this is mean spirited. Screw you People Magazine!
2wasn't she only a size 10 at her largest?
3Not cool. IT wasnt like she was sloppy she actually looked pretty darn good Not forgetting the fact she gave birth to two kids within 3 years.
4Meh, I'm undecided. I feel like maybe you open yourself up to comments like that when you go on stage wearing a spangled bra and panties, but it's still sort of in bad taste.
5This "unfit" body is one that 90% of women would kill to have and 99% of men would love to see but the truth is...she made a poor costume choice. This is amazing for the average person's bedroom but to be seen on tv by millions of people in nothing but your underwear, most people would want to be even fitter than this. It wasn't that she was "unfit" it was just a poor costume choice (and an awful performance but that's another story).
6Although I don't think we should be turning to the media for our self-esteem or body image role models, it is hard not to feel insecure when women are picked apart this way. It is only logical that a reader or viewer would start to mentally dissect themself in the same way.
Has anyone ever read the comments on theskinnywebsite.com? They are the WORST for this. It's like "oh she has fat triceps" and "she has cankles" or "she has kneee fat" on otherwise slim and fit celebs. It is hard not think "God, what would these people say about ME?" It is disturbing.
7It's the media and that's what they do. If you're gonna be in the spotlight be prepared to be dissected.
8Any normal person would curl up and die under this kind of body-scrutiny. We do this to ourselves without the help of outsiders validating our body insecurities. If Britney is "unfit" in that picture then so am I. I am a size 4 and it looks like her body in the "before and unfit" photo is similar to mine. I am apple shaped and carry my weight in my arms and stomach area so yeah, it's possible to look like her and be a size 4. Does a size 4 qualify as being unfit? I don't think so.
9I'm sure that if the Britney at that time and place had been eating healthfully, exercising moderately, and not taking tons of drugs, her physique would have looked better but she looks totally fine to me. The only problem I had with her performance the night that photo was taken was not that she was "unfit" it was that she was a zombie onstage!
I don't think it's that bad. Britney was a mess and she exposed herself in a teeny little costume. Now she's gotten her ass into gear. While the checklist can be interpreted as somewhat negative in the sense that it's de-personifying her, it's not a bad message to send across. Toned arms, a nice stomach and no double chins are good goals everyone should strive towards.
10i don't think making comments like that are good towards anyone.
sure there are fat people in the world.
and sure they need to be healthier.
but our culture has a way of categorizing people like we would categorize things or objects.
now, my personal opinion, she could have worn something nicer.
but she isn't fat
11I'm not a Britney fan, but I don't think this is cool. For a mother of two, her body looked good. Maybe her body wasn't at the standard she set as a teenage pop icon, but in the real world, her body looks fine. Having said that, her mind was not there during that performance and she looked ridiculous in that outfit.
12I'd be THRILLED to look like "unfit Brit" after I have 2 kids!
13Her body type is so similar to mine and im well within a healthy weight. It was very harsh.
14ok, that's what my body looks like aside from the huge boobs & i'm a size 2. last i checked size 2 was not fat.
i thought the thing that was tragic about her was that she was mentally messed up, not how she looks.
it's no wonder why this country is fat. when skinny girls are declared fat by the media, anyone who is normal to slightly overweight just gives up & becomes really fat. it's ridiculous!
15i am getting sick and tired of people, us, life&styles, star ETC always running these "how they got thin" stories....really, is there any difference in the methods relayed in each story???? eat healthy and workout....groundbreaking...get a new story concept!!!
16and that's my pop-culture rant for the night!
I was astonsished when I saw this while I was flipping through People magazine. I thought Britney looked fine a year ago, but she just chose a poor outfit to wear and had really bad posture.
17gross costume, sexy body. This magazine is confusing fit with skinny (mind you I think she looks pretty trim). Sure she doesn't look like a rake (I'm talking to you 90210 girls) but there's no way she should be picked on for this. I'd love to know her BMI here!
18she looked fine. i wish i looked that good.
19Not Cool. She wasn't obese or anything before, she was at a more normal weight. Yes, she looks so much better now however to call her "Unfit Brit" is cruel.
20just because the media does it, doesn't make it right.
21Yeah, totally not cool. I know celebrities have these "superhuman" standards but she really didn't look that bad. Some people would kill to look like her "before" picture...
22I'm confused.
Is that picture supposed to show how fat she is? That is the "before" picture?
She looks great...
23Um actually she looked really good there. If you had to see a girl walking on the beach looking like that you'd think, 'nice bod'.
24I'm going to have to come down on the "uncool" side. I'm used to these magazines going on about how important it is to be "thin and beautiful", so this shouldn't surprise me. But the "shopping list" of great new body "do's" seems particularly egregious. THANK YOU for posting this article.
25What is ridiculous is that they apparently expect her to be fit - who should care about that, besides herself? It's certainly not People's business.
26I agree with the comments that said nice body, bad outfit. Her body looks fine, but the outfit doesn't really complement her shape.
27Um, she looks great in that picture. What gives?
28When people like me are working hard to get a body like in her 'before' picture, and they're bashing it, it's not cool!
29Dissecting her body and declaring her unfit is absurd, especially after they idolized folks who "lost half their size" who were still far far far heavier than Brit. However, it's hard to feel sorry for her when she insists on dressing like that with two little boys at home!
30I'm glad to see them praising her for recommitting to the healthy habits (hitting the gym, eating right, etc), but to slam her so hard for not being in tip-top shape is appalling.
31Take it from who it comes from: a vulgar publication. Completely uncool and tacky. So sad these 'toilet literature' magazines don't get banned like smoking does.
32This poor girl has been under such scrutiny since she was 16 - no wonder she had a breakdown! I am so glad to see her back on track but of course why praise her positive changes when you can dwell on the bad from before? She has never ever been fat and had not been a celeb, she probably would have been praised for how she looked after having two kids back to back.
33I'd happily take Brit's "before" body.
34i wish i looked like brit before too!
35I also think her "before" picture is amazing! Especially after two kids! True, recently she's gotten some of her muscles back, but I don't think there was ever a problem with her body.
36Seeing articles like this really pisses me off. She was never actually "fat", although she definitely should have picked a better costume. I don't think ANYONE would look good in that costume, actually. I'm a size 0-2 and I KNOW I wouldn't look good in that.
It also drives me nuts that they act like Britney can spot-reshape her body...some people can do all the pushups in the world and not get rid of their batwings. You can't choose how your body will respond to exercise; everyone has their own unique shape that they can't really "change", no matter what they do.
Oh, and jkat--I've been to theskinnywebsite.com and I stopped looking at it because of how insanely disgusting most of the remarks are on there. They rip EVERYONE to shreds and most of them think girls like Allegra Versace (who's severely anorexic, in case anyone didn't know) are "perfect". You really can't be thin enough on that website...even the skinny girls on there get picked on for their hair, shoes, toenails, and the shape of their ankles.
37Britney and all other celebrities can never win. They are too fat, too thin... All they do is pick apart everything about their physical apperance, dress, even personality. I would hate to be a celebrity in the spotlight. You can never win.
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