Everything Wrong With The Buzz Around Adele’s Weight Loss
Hi Musers. Today I’m going to have a chat about singer Adele’s weight loss that has been publicised and discussed to death in both traditional and social media. Many people rave about how fabulous she looks, and others condemn her for betraying women. I think both of these viewpoints are problematic, and I’ll explain why.
Before I do, though, I want to say I was a little sad when I saw the pictures. I loved the way she looked before and thought she suited her curves. However, no one owes me a specific body, and it’s entirely her choice. If she’s happy, it’s none of my business.
Comments About Adele’s Weight Loss That Are Just Plain Wrong
1) Almost Everyone Is Complimenting Her
As I explained in my post about weight-based compliments, I don’t think they’re a good idea. Firstly, it perpetuates society’s belief that looks are all important. Sadly, that belief has led to a massive upswing in anxiety, depression and eating disorders, particularly amount young women.
Also, in the spirit of equality, I want to remind women that their worth lies far, far beyond how they look. Adele has an incandescent talent both in songwriting and singing. To me, that’s what we should be celebrating.
Secondly, until she spoke out recently, we had no idea why Adele lost all this weight. It may not have been for a positive reason. Maybe she spiralled into a major depression after her husband left, or maybe she lost a family member or close friend to covid, or possibly she was really ill herself. Unless we know 100% why the weight loss happened, we shouldn’t be complimenting it.
2) People Are Acting Like She Betrayed Women
Some members of the body positivity community, probably the same ones who publicly flogged Lizzo for posting about her juice cleanse, attacked Adele for losing weight. They said that by losing weight, she was betraying women everywhere by caving to society’s fatphobic standards.
There are two problems with this. Number one, as above, we didn’t know until recently why she lost weight. If we don’t know, where does anyone get the right to accuse her of betraying women?
Number two, no one owes us a particular body. Fat people do not owe society a slim body or even a plan to lose weight. Similarly, though, celebrities who are plus size icons do not owe us a plus-size body.
Actually, I was disappointed with Lizzo about the juice cleanse, but not because she may have been trying to lose weight. I was disappointed because I think juice cleanses are completely unnecessary. They’re part of the wellness culture crap that peddles cleanses and teas that make companies money and do nothing to help users. You don’t need a “cleanse”; that’s what your liver and kidneys are for!
Sorry, I digress. So one more time, NO ONE OWES US A BODY TYPE!! Other people’s bodies, celebrity or otherwise, are none of our business, so we should keep our damned mouths shut.
3) Diet Companies Taking Credit
Once the photos emerged, parasitic diet companies slithered out of the shadows, desperate to take the credit. Why? So they could sell more diets that don’t work. Two of the worst offenders were intermittent fasting and the Sirtfood diet.
Adele has since made it clear that she did not diet at all to achieve this weight loss. Instead, she suffered from severe anxiety during the covid pandemic and lockdowns. I’m sure many of us can relate to that!
Happily, Adele found a way of coping; exercise. She discovered she felt better after a workout. Adele has a good deal more money than most of us, so she was able to hire a personal trainer to work out with her daily.
She starts the day with strength training, does some high-intensity cardio in the afternoon, and sometimes ends the day with a third workout. Thar’s a lot of exercise, not to mention muscle building, so no wonder she lost weight. If it was what she needed to do to stay well mentally, then good luck to her.
4) Talking About Her “Revenge Body”
Many articles referred to Adele’s weight loss as an act of revenge against her ex-husband following their divorce, sort of a last “screw you”. I don’t know where to begin with this one!
Firstly it assumes women decisions revolve around men. There can’t possibly have been an amicable divorce, for example. Even if it weren’t, though, Adele isn’t capable of acting like a grown-up and making decisions that are best for her, no it all HAS to be about a man.
Many women do lose weight following a divorce, and the assumption seems to be that it’s either to let back at their ex-spouse or as an attempt to land a new man. No. Just no!
They may have lost weight due to anxiety caused by the stress of the divorce. They may also have been extremely unhappy in their marriage at the end and were comfort eating. Once the marriage is over, this may no longer prove necessary. Finally, these women may find they have more time for themselves once they’re on their own and start exercising more.
All these reasons have nothing to do with men. Can we stop judging women’s actions only as they relate to men and see them as entities in their own right?
The Bottom Line
Adele is a gloriously talented artist, and as far as I’m concerned, her body is literally the least interesting thing about her. We’ve all lost our minds over Adele’s weight loss, we’ve picked apart why and how she did it. So can we now go back to talking about her as one of the most talented singer/songwriters of our generation and shut up about how she looks?
