"I'm sorry, but 120 on my frame?"

Did anyone else read this article in People.  I have never heard of this girl, probably because I don't watch TV much and definitely wouldnt watch the new 90210 but this girl, Shenae Grimes says,

"At one point, they said I was 85 lbs.  And then they said my average weight when I am healthy is apparently 120.  I'm sorry, but 120 on my frame? I'd be a little chunky money walking around!" - Oh sorry, edited to add: She is 5'3"

Wow - this is exactly what is wrong with Hollywood.  I hope my daughter doesn't even get this shallow, crappy frame of mind when she is older.  Boy...I have a road ahead of me trying to teach her that this is NOT the way real people should be.  Yikes.  Sickening really.

I can see where she's coming from I guess, because she's probably never been close to that weight.  But she really should watch what she says.  That's very offensive and not appropriate especially since I'm sure she has girls who look up to her who weigh more than 120.

she was talking about her own body in response to questions asked.  you can't make a teenage actor responsible for the emotional well being of your children.

It's still irresponsible. She should know regardless that girls look up to her and the young ones look at her as a role model and watch her show. She should know that there are girls 5'3 who may be 120 pounds or more who would be offended by this comment. A smart person would have just kept their mouth shut. It would have came off more classier and be less offensive.

Original Post by emilyd22222:

Original Post by silentdeadlyrose:

True. But, she really shouldn't even have commented. Think about how many girls are going to read that and think, "What, I weigh that or more then that!, What am I, FAT?!" Stuff like this just leads to major self esteem issues. Girls don't need role models like this. It's very disturbing and heartbreaking.

 Agreed. Not sure what People was thinking, printing the flippant remarks of a teenager.

Perhaps they're doing what they're there to do - to get people to talk about their magazine and generate publicity :p

And for those who are curious about what Shenae Grimes looks like, here's a link.

well next time people magazine sticks a microphone in your face, sdr, i'm sure you won't stumble over your words, have a brain fart, make a single slip of the tongue, or fail for even a moment to consider all the possible implications of every word that comes out of your mouth.  because you're perfect that way, right?

Well let's see if this girl apologizes for her comment, but I doubt it...because she probably meant what she said. The point of the matter is..it was just a very stupid comment that is full of B.S.

sure she meant what she said.  because she was talking about her own body.

this trend of blaming the media for eating disorders is way off the mark.  ask 100 girls with eating disorders what caused them to get sick, and i doubt that 10 will say "skinny girls in magazines made me starve myself."

I do agree that her comment has the potential to hurt feelings - but - I really doubt that she said it specifically thinking of the teenage girls reading the article. Btw, her BMI at 120 would be 21.3. For someone with an extremely small frame, maybe their ideal BMI is closer to 19 or so. I'm not saying she should weigh 85 lbs (that is clearly unhealthy) but maybe 120 would be pushing it for her.

The negative influence like the comment this girl made is subconsciously one of the reasons WHY I HAD and ED a few years back. Like I said earlier people are too obsessed with celebrity and yes I was guilty and can be guilty too, it's just said how people will not go by a doctor's method of healthy, but the vain indications that HollyWEIRD shows.

Yes, I am very sensitive to this comment because it bothers me with the influences that are out there for young girls. Comments like these are horrid..whether she was talking about her own body or not she could have just bluntly said "No, I do not have an eating disorder, I am small boned and this is just the way I was meant to be." She didn't need to go into 120 being a *chunky* weight for someone who is 5'3 which it is obviously is not. Whether you want to believe it or not celebrities do play some part in a girl with an ED..go to any pro ana site and you will see A LOT of discussions by the girls claiming the perfect celebrity body they strive to have which is the skinniest girls you can image. What I remember of those sites is just a horrible thing to remember. I don't care if this girl had a supposed *brain fart* or not she should have still known she would offend a poor girl who may be 5'3 and 120 pounds who possibly felt comfortable in her body until reading a comment like this. It's bad enough girls have this pressure on them to be ultra thin due to these images, that comments like these do not help. After making this statement, the girl could have at least put of a more pleasant tone to it so it would not upset any fellow female readers, but she stopped at that and point blank she IS saying that 5'3 and 120 is chunky...and that is a load of crap.

Stuff like this just gets to me as yes I do have a past of an ED..and comments like these are very triggering and disrespectful to the female population. You can talk about your own body all you want, but you should at least respect others out there who may be comfortable in their own bodies and should not have to feel bad about themselves because some teenaged celebrity girl thinks they aren't the supposed *right* weight.

maybe she does have an eating disorder.  maybe the media report that she weighed 120 was triggering for her.

if you're that sensitive, you probably shouldn't read people magazine or pay attention to what silly little girls in hollywood have to say about their bodies.

edit: for that matter, if you're that sensitive, you probably shouldn't engage in conversations like this one.

So you agree then that the girls comment was silly? Then that's all I need to hear.

Original Post by pgeorgian:

this trend of blaming the media for eating disorders is way off the mark.  ask 100 girls with eating disorders what caused them to get sick, and i doubt that 10 will say "skinny girls in magazines made me starve myself."

I completely agree.

I've had my share of issues with disordered eating and having ill mentalities, but the cause of them is much deeper than media influence. Sure, I admired celebrities of extremely thin proportions, but that was never what caused me to start harming myself.

If you're going to blame the media, blame the media; don't use a teenage celebrity as a scapegoat. She's just another teen as well. Just because she's a celebrity doesn't mean she's perfect and flawless; they make mistakes just like the rest of us - we all say things without thinking of the implications. If anything, the magazine should have been more responsible in printing such things, but hey, they're there to get people talking and go out and buy their product.

Point of the matter is we're all going to have different opinions of this subject and differen't reactions to it.

My personal opinion is that the comment was ridiculous. And others have theirs. No, you can't personally blame everything on celebrities and the media it's more inner issues then that, obviously. It's just some girls will take great offense to a comment like that and it could make them feel like crap. My main thing was just saying that I don't believe that someone who is 5'3 and 120 pounds is fat. That is all I want to get across here. And I'm done at that.

I believe that the media has a HUGE impact on the way young girls see themselves and their bodies nowdays.  However, this girl Shenae is not the media.  I believe that she is probably just another girl who has been told that being thin will help her career.

I blame the media.  I do not blame this girl.  Silent, I understand what you are trying to say.  I just don't think it's fair to blame her for it. 

I think the media puts a lot of attention on skinny celebrities because everybody makes such a big deal over it. If they only talked about overweight celebrities...nobody would be "so" concerned and feel violated.  I am a naturally thin person and very short. 120 lbs. would definitly be to big for me but I also think it could be too skinny for someone else my height. I think the more attention society gives towards this the more it is going to be out there for young females to see. the media is in it for the money. A lot of young teenage females around this particular actresses age are thin and it doesn't mean they have an ED. I think the word ED is so over used now. We might as well just say everyone has an ED no matter what their weight because everyone has different dieting and eating habits. Everyone thinks all of hollywood had an ED because that is what the media shows is just skinny actresses. Whenever they show an actress that is overweight nobody cares or talks about the "number" their weight is.

i'm 5'1 and 120 on was too much weight, very out of shape.  she shouldn't have been that specific in the article because it is irresponsible, but whoever reported that she was 85 is so wrong.  and personally, i think she looks perfect that way she is, it suits her.

Original Post by silentdeadlyrose:

So you agree then that the girls comment was silly? Then that's all I need to hear.

i don't read people magazine and i haven't met the girl, so i'm not going to talk specifics.  i will say that i think she has every right to respond to what the media has to say about her (weight or otherwise) and i give her credit for not telling them what she really does weigh.

Original Post by peaches0405:

I believe that the media has a HUGE impact on the way young girls see themselves and their bodies nowdays.  However, this girl Shenae is not the media.  I believe that she is probably just another girl who has been told that being thin will help her career.

I blame the media.  I do not blame this girl.  Silent, I understand what you are trying to say.  I just don't think it's fair to blame her for it. 

it probably does affect the way some girls feel about their bodies, but i don't believe it makes them sick.  if it did, close to 100% of the girls in the western world would have eating disorders.

and realistically, there isn't much that doesn't make teenagers self-conscious. 

i'm doing qualitative research on this right now.  the influences that push girls to get sick are much closer to home (some of them learn behaviours from studying eating disorders in school and seeing cautionary tales on TV and in movies, though).

You are right, pg.  I should have said that I don't only blame the media.  They are just one of several things that are the problem.  I also believe that it is lack of good parenting, pro-ana internet forums, easier access to ED information in general, and just a general lack of good adult guidance that these teens are getting.  It would be very interesting to see your research and your findings on this issue.

i just think there's way too much attention on thing like media and body image that are really only tiny pieces to the puzzle. 

the research is going pretty well, peaches: interviews done, transcription almost done.  i'll be starting analysis on saturday and hopefully writing up findings by the middle of the month  ;)