Tuesday, February 27, 2018

Stop Calling Amy Schumer’s I Feel Pretty Offensive




I had to write about Amy Schumer again. This is about body issues. Again.

People are already calling Amy Schumer’s new movie offensive. From the trailer. Because it is about a woman who only considers herself gorgeous only after she hits her head. Oh, come on.

Of course, it is not about that. Her character in I Feel Pretty isn’t allowed to have body issues because she is white, able-bodied, and of average weight. And?

No, seriously. I mean it. And?

I’m not an Amy Schumer fan. I’m not a hater, either. But this is my second piece to defend something she did.

There seems to be a set of rules that make you eligible to have problems with your body. And apparently, her character doesn’t qualify.

But who made these rules?

Look, in an ideal world, no one would have body issues. Body issues give you anxiety, self-doubt, self-loathing, lack of confidence...It’s not good for anyone’s psychology, or romantic and professional life.

But I’ve not met a woman – or man, for that matter – who didn’t have some sort of issue with their body. Regardless of race, body shape, gender and sexual orientation, pretty much everyone has a body issue or ten to a certain degree.

On a good day, we don’t care. We feel good. We feel gorgeous. We rock it.
On a bad day, we doubt everything. We feel guilty for caring about something shallow, but at the same time, we can’t help it.

I have more issues about my body now that I gained more weight. If I had this weight in high school, I’d have probably gone crazy. But guess what? I thought I had pounds to lose those days when I was 40 pounds lighter. Oh, the audacity.

If I’m being honest, though, I had every right to those issues. It was high school. It was all about friends, bullies, school, first romances and the fear for our future. Whether we looked pretty or not, whether we felt pretty or not, was a big deal to us.

I fail to see what is offensive about any woman, thin or not, having issues with herself. Did you know Michelle Pfeifer hated her lips? Did you know losing weight for Trainwreck was not Schumer’s idea?

Sure, you have the right the call it offensive- but not if you are also white, able-bodied, and of average weight. (Your points, not mine.) Remind yourself that the next time you look in the mirror and think something is not right. That you’d rather be thinner or fatter. That you had something different to work with.


In that case, you might not deserve to have body issues...by your standards.

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