"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.

Petitechick: Oh, but they do comment on overweight celebrities just as much as the ultra skinny ones...look what they did to Jennifer Love Hewitt, Tyra Banks, Carnie Wilson..etc...etc....both sides of the spectrum get it.

I just want to make clear that I am in no way in any shape or form blaming this girl for the unhealthy outlook that girls endure, I just didn't like the fact that she more or less was saying that 120 on 5'3 is just too fat. That is a false statement. She may have slipped fine..I blame "People" magazine just as much for printing that comment. But then again they are the ones that will post when such and such a celebrity is getting "too thin" or "too fat" and emphasize on a great big ol article how such and such is losing weight. I mean if the girl wanted to comment on her own body that's ok..but just the fact she had to add in that 120 on 5'3 is considered chunky was very inconsiderate. If she wants to comment then yes comment on your own body, but don't add in that someone who might be that height and weight is a *chunky monkey.* I've heard worse though and I'll let that go.

PG- I think it's great you are doing research on such things and I do find that kind of stuff interesting it would be interesting to hear some of the points you have found out.

About the whole ED thing...Young girl's mind can be easily warped and they think because magazine's are telling them that losing weight and getting pin thin is what makes you feel beautiful...so they try to achieve this...Yes an ED is more or less a mental problem dealing with their lives, but then again they are perfectionists so try to achieve these goals...so to be perfect they try to achieve these kind of looks.......but of course being a perfectionist goes to other things other then looks...but it is a big part in an ED.

I didn't interpret her comment as saying that 120 was chunky on any 5'3 girl.  I interpreted as her saying that 120 would be chunky on her.  She specifically referenced her "frame" (not just her height) - which is really teeny tiny.  Yeah, it might not have been the best answer, but she managed to keep the comments to her body only and keep her actual weight out of it - both good things.

Going back to the original post: what struck me more than the comment itself  is the OP's concern for her daughter. Or better, how a young girl or young woman could interpret these comments. I would guess that most of us in this thread are 20+ (some of us 20+++  LOL). And at this age we can rationalize the comment and determine whether or not we agree. A 10 or 16 year old who idolizes the show may not have the same judgement.

Don't get me wrong. I'm just shy of 5.3, have a muscular build and try to keep my weight between 115 and 120. On MY frame, going under 115 is a bit too thin. On MY frame, going above 135 (still within a healthy BMI) and I start looking a bit too chunky. Small girls just don't have the space to store extra weight without it showing.  So it is possible that on the ACTRESS'S frame, going up to 120 could be a bit too heavy for TV.  And we've all said that 85 (the reported media weight) is not a healthy weight -- even for the actress. But is it wise for a teenage role model to declare that 120 pounds could be considered "fat" -- even if she is referring to her own body?

When I was in grade school (not that long ago - just graduated 3 years ago), every time I went to buy new school clothes or something for a special day like Homecoming, I was in agonizing pain because I had to buy -gasp- size 10 when my friends were all healthy and natural sizes 2-6, and other girls were even thinner. Looking back on it, while being the heaviest one out of my group was painful, it wasn't painful because of my friends - they were always loving and supportive. It was because I'd spend hours at 14 poring over Seventeen magazine and reading celebrity news, watching the famous shrink thinner and thinner as time went by. Even if this Shenae girl meant this as an innocuous comment about only herself, it just adds to the terrible way pretty much every single young girl feels about herself when she looks at herself in the mirror and thinks, 120 means I'm chunky? But I'm 130 or 140 or 150... etc. Granted, it's different for everybody's frame and height, but still, what a dumb comment for her to make.

Original Post by silentdeadlyrose:

Petitechick: Oh, but they do comment on overweight celebrities just as much as the ultra skinny ones...look what they did to Jennifer Love Hewitt, Tyra Banks, Carnie Wilson..etc...etc....both sides of the spectrum get it.

Yeah, I agree they do but it doesn't last long and they don't talk about the other side as much. There also isn't so much negativity from other woman regarding an overweight celebrity versus a skinny one. I just think woman are so mean when it comes to someone who is skinny and they "must" have an ED to get that way.

There are tons of young teenagers who are very skinny and will fill out more as they stop growing but I am beginning to think a lot of them are going to start thinking they have an ED and are too skinny when they are not because their is so much ED calling to every skinny person in the media. I am just saying that everyone is "so" concerned with the way young girls feel about their body but nobody considers the young girls who are just naturally skinny and will fill out later in life. The public is trying to turn it around and make it seem as if anyone who is skinny is unhealthy and has an ED. Their are so many full grown woman trying to lose weight to be skinny and young girls see them in real life and are going to think that being skinny is best so it is not just the media doing this but from young girls looking up to woman in their personal lives and seeing how unhappy they are with their bodies and what they are doing to change. There is so much more than being skinny that is influencing young girls yet everyone is just concerned with the skinny part. What about breast implants? So many young girls think they need big breasts and at such a young age. I don't hear much negativity about this in the media or from the public and breast implants are very unsafe and can ruin many lives down the road and also can make young girls feel like their value lies in the size of their breasts.

scaroppo, did you really just use "wise" and "teenage" in the same sentence?

i think ajde's story is particularly relevant here.  yes, magazines and other media can have an influence, but shopping with friends (or comments by parents, involvement in activities like dance and gymnastics, etc) are likely to have far more influence.

more importantly, not liking your body at 14 does not necessarily translate into an eating disorder.  i didn't like ANYTHING about myself at 14: i was too skinny, i had no boobs, my nose was too big, my lips were too thick, my hair was too straight, my feet were too big, my eyes were too far apart, etc etc.  doesn't mean i was sick; just means i was 14.

Original Post by pgeorgian:

 at 14: i was too skinny, i had no boobs, my nose was too big, my lips were too thick, my hair was too straight, my feet were too big, my eyes were too far apart, etc etc.

so what's changed ;)

seriously I keed I keed, but you made it to irresistable to a jerk like me to pass up <3

what's changed is that i now know my feet are hot ;)

And sweaty too! I can smell them from here.