ColumnGet ready to roll your eyes and laugh, cry a little bit: someone has accused Ronda Rousey, the top-notch U.F.C. fighter, of being fat… I know.
Apparently, some incredibly misguided folks in Hollywood (big surprise there) told Rousey during a fitting for a television commercial that she might want to lose weight. She discussed it in a New York Times piece.
News like this is, sadly, no surprise. Hollywood — heck, even everyday folks — hold women and men, and boys and girls to an impossible weight-standard. And although there are plenty of Hollywood stars who have spoken out on the subject, and have even condemned the people and companies who support these impossible standards, nothing ever seems to change.
Let’s quickly look at just a few of the people who have been called fat by media, an executive, or some other blowhard:
1. Gabourey Sidibe, actress, received a lot of fat shaming when she walked the red carpet during the 2014 Golden Globes.
2. Yes, fat shaming doesn’t just happen to women… singer Sam Smith was called fat and ugly by Howard Stern of all people.
3. After giving birth, singer Kelly Clarkson was called fat by Katie Hopkins, a media personality. Hopkins tweeted the following about the singer:
“Jesus, what happened to Kelly Clarkson? Did she eat all of her backing singers? Happily I have wide-screen.”
Classy.
4. Tyra Banks was called fat by tabloids. The media “fat-shaming” came after some photos of the model relaxing on the beach surfaced.
5. Prince Fielder, baseball player, was mocked after he posed nude for ESPN The Magazine’s 2014 Body Issue. The jokes were aimed at him because he’s a larger athlete. Because, duh, people who are bigger couldn’t possibly be athletic.
All of these examples were originally reference by Identities.Mic. The article also references five other gross instances where people were body shamed and mocked for being larger or gaining weight, too.
So, what’s left to do? Keep fighting these stupid stereotypes and ignorant jokes, apparently. And luckily, that’s just what Rousey intends to do.
According to The Times, Rousey responded to the unwelcome weight comments quite well. She ignored them and decided to do the commercial as she was. The ad went off without a hitch and Rousey was successful. She ended that portion of the Times interview by stating: “‘I swear to God,’ she said, shaking her head, ‘if anyone calls me fat one more time in my life, I’m going to kill them.'”
Ronda, please don’t kill people. You will not do us any good behind bars.
Even though we don’t love murder jokes, we’re still happy that she feels that way about her body now, because according to The Times Rousey didn’t always have such a healthy perspective about her body or weight. When Rousey was a teenager, she suffered from a lot of body image issues. Many of those problems stemmed from the judo weight limits she had to reach when competing. This stress caused her to struggle with bulimia.
According to The Times, “her body didn’t match the ideal she saw in men’s magazines, and going to school in Los Angeles, she would wear zip-up jackets even on 90-degree days. ‘I was afraid to show my big arms,’ she said.”
Now, though, Rousey is determined to be the woman who isn’t always represented in the media. And we’re quite happy she’s willing to fill that role.
While we know that Rousey’s moxie and talent won’t stop the fat-shamers from shaming and the haters from hating, we do hope that her strong message makes those fools think twice before spewing their hateful words.
Related on EcoSalon
Brittany Gibbons’ ‘Fat Girl Walking’ Promotes Body Confidence and Owning Your Quirks
6 Ways to Break Up with Your Inner Critic
What’s So Wrong With Food Porn? Foodie Underground
Image of Ronda Rousey from Shutterstock