A Fat Activist in Defense of American Idol's Simon Cowell

By: Karen L. Smith, MSS, LSW

Simon Cowell was berated by his co-judges, and Americans at large, for his comment to a contestant that it would benefit her in the competition to lose some weight. Talk about killing the messenger.

One would think that record producers, publicists and advertisers are responsible for the unachievable beauty ideal coveted by American women. Not the case. Advertising executives are whores to the highest bidders. More that perhaps any other profession, their capitalism is driven by figuring out what appeals to the largest demographic and serving it up.

My question to the public is how many of Simon's critics stand in the mirror every morning hating what they see, swearing themselves to daily restrictive diets, and complementing friends on weight loss as if it is worthy of achieving? How many of his critics announce that they were "good today" when they restricted their food intake, and "bad" when they ate a cookie, placing a value judgement on satiation of hunger and pleasure?

As an Eating Disorders expert, fat activist, and a fat women myself, I am of course concerned about the current beauty ideal of the emaciated women. The issue for debate is who is responsible for that image. Do we believe ourselves victims of an industry that imposes images on us, powerless to resist? Might we be more empowered to change the status quo if we understood that we are its creators and supporters?

I would argue that we actively participate in a narrow and unrealistic view of women's bodies every time we hate ours. 80% of American women look into the mirror within the few minutes of waking up and are displeased with what they see. We then spend upwards of $30 billion dollars a year to change our appearance through product purchase and cosmetic surgeries.

Simon Cowell has to put his money where his mouth is. He goes on to produce the winner of American Idol. What I imagine is that he liked this contestant, felt she had what it takes to be the program's winner, and appropriately advised her based on the audience who would be judging her: America.

I am in no way opposed to our outrage at the demands on women to be unrealistically thin, but curious that we feel so compelled to defend this young gal. How are we so indignant that someone competing for the title of "American Idol" might receive a recommendation of weight loss? 67% of Americans are on weight loss diets at any given time. Americans idealize weight loss. Rather than getting all up in arms that some random woman feels pressure to lose weight, might not our energies be better directed towards rejecting our own sense of pressure to lose weight?