opinion
Weight debate
Adele doesn’t owe anyone to be fat
Adele also talks about her weight loss in interviews
© Simon Emmett / Columbia Records / PA Media / DPA
The release of her new album is imminent and Adele is on a major PR tour. She is asked again and again about her great weight loss – and counters it brilliantly.
When photos went viral in January of last year of a slim Adele having fun on vacation on the beach, a discussion about the character of the singer began.
Adele comments on weight loss
Some claimed that Adele had lost too much weight and was no longer true to herself. Others praised her for her discipline. At the beginning of her career, Adele was celebrated for standing by her curves despite the ever-present criticism. “I never wanted to look like models on the magazine covers. I represent the majority of women and I’m very proud of that,” said the then 23-year-old Adele of People magazine.
And so the pictures of the thin Adele were difficult to endure for some, after all, the Englishwoman has proven for years that success and popularity are completely independent of weight. Her body ensured lasting identification, especially among her female fans. Adele is “one of us”, after all, she has a “normal figure”, so the tenor. But that’s where the first problem begins: What is normal anyway? The second problem: no matter what Adele looks like, there is comment on her body. In a good way or in a bad way.
Adele’s feelings were hurt
In the new interview with Oprah Winfrey, the exceptional artist commented on the debate and found an answer that couldn’t have been more apt. “I’m not shocked or worried about it,” she replied. “Because my body has been made an object throughout my career. I’m either too fat or too thin, either hot or not,” she said. She knows that fans are sad about their weight loss and that they relate to themselves.
“But it’s not my job to evaluate how people think about their bodies. I feel bad when it makes someone feel terrible – but that’s not my job. I try to get a grip on my own life. I can’t add one more worry, “said the singer. The musician was particularly disappointed that so many women had shaped the debate. It hurt her feelings, she admitted in the “Vogue” interview.
To put it bluntly: Adele doesn’t owe anyone to be fat. Nor does it owe the world to lose weight. Let’s be honest: The eternal weight discussions are at least uninteresting, but in the worst case they can also be dangerous. Because they continue to convey that a person’s worth is determined by his or her appearance. If even a world star like Adele, who publishes hit after hit, is not immune, how bad are the chances for everyone else?
The problem with “body positivity”
The Adele case also symbolizes a problem in the body positivity movement. For years, Adele – like singer Lizzo – was an involuntary figurehead. The loud criticism of Adele’s changed body doesn’t fit in at all. Because shouldn’t body positivity include all bodies? Thin, thick, big, small and everything in between?
Or even better: Instead of body positivity, it is better to practice body indifference. The bodies of other people, whether stars or friends, do not need to be commented on. They don’t need to be celebrated or hated. It is not necessary, does not get anyone any further and in the worst case scenario it ends up dangerous. To paraphrase Adele, we cannot add one more concern.