[Walk This Way, Aerosmith]

I am irritated at the moment.

DISCLAIMER:  I'm really sick.  Aches, chills, headache, nausea, all of it.  So maybe I'm a little delirious.

But here's the thing- I like to keep my feelers out for what's happening in culture.  You can learn a lot about what people value / desire / despise / live for by spending 10 minutes a day glancing over headlines / stories on a few choice websites.  My personal trifecta consists of CNN.com, People.com, and (not for the faint of heart) PerezHilton.com.

Recently this photo of one miss Jessica Simpson hit the media waves.  I'm pasting it below in the body of this post but you can also follow the link to it's location at People.com.


So, suddenly a flurry of "Jessica's Fat" rumbling hit the net, and then today this atrocity was in the NY Post ; I'm pasting the picture from where I saw it, on PerezHilton .


HORRIBLE.  Not funny, not even a little bit.  Of course, if you have nerves of steel you can click on the Perez site I linked to and read people's horrifying terrible comments.  I read like two and quit.  I would just get irritated and start thinking of the anonymous comment-leavers with the same animosity they leveled against Jessica.

Here's the thing- I'm not a Jessica Simpson fan.  I mean, I have no problem with her- I just am not super into her music (especially not now that it's country- ick!) and while I'm sure she has admirable qualities I've just never found her particularly intriguing.  To be fair, I'm not much of a starstruck kind of gal- celebrities are just people living their lives in front of a captivated (and frequently overly critical) world.  Also, I think that what matters is a person lives life in pursuit of Jesus Christ and everything else is an aside.

That said, I remember seeing a True Hollywood Story, or similar type show, about Jessica Simpson.  I remember very little about it, to be honest, but I do recall one important thing- she was a young teen when she made it big and people were ruthless in attacking her for her weight.  So she went diet and exercise crazy and got really skinny and everyone praised her constantly but she was miserable because it was an incredibly unhealthy way to live.

So look at her now- happy, in a what she says is the healthiest and best relationship of her life, doing music she loves (even if it is country... again, gross), and just living her life.  And suddenly she's a what, size 6?  maybe 8?, instead of a size 2 and people are drawing pictures of her to look as big as I am (which says a lot about how valuable I am to society... apparently intelligence, kindness, things like Teach For America, and giving generously to many different charitable organizations means nothing... good thing my worth is in Jesus and not the swaying and trite opinions of this world) and assuming that it's because she's living on McDonald's.  I guarantee you she's hitting the gym- hard- and trying to tell herself that everyone can suck it but she's hating herself and her agent has called to let her know that the record label hasn't done anything yet other than drop hints but if she's not super hot in exactly 30 days, presenting some big award in a slinky dress or doing a commercial in a bikini, then she might be dropped.  It sounds melodramatic, but that's the way Hollywood works, sadly.

I, personally, am disgusted.  For one, she doesn't even look fat.  Listen, if she suddenly weighed 250 pounds I'd be concerned for her health, since 3 months ago she was looking like she needed to eat about 15 meals in a row.  But, really, she's not even fat.  Even if she had gained 50 pounds instead of 15, who cares?  It is just so infuriating to me that people sit there and chant empty crap like "self-esteem" but then rip someone apart based solely on appearance and a small roll at the top of their pants.

So, I'm annoyed.  I know not to expect much more from people, because when your life is a constant search for worth and meaning you tend to compare yourself constantly to others and look for any reason you can to feel  better about the emptiness you can't seem to fill.  It still makes me sad, though, and I am reminded that Jessica Simpson is a real person with real feelings and anonymous internet commenting brings out the ugliest parts of people.  For her, and anyone comparing themselves to her and feeling like a right heifer, I pray that they'll meet the God who made them beautiful and loves them just as they are.