As promised…
Do you think as a society we are becoming more accepting of different female body shapes?
I think the move is starting. I think the revolution has started but we still have a long way to go. I think with the programmes like ‘How to Look Good Naked’ and with campaigns like Dove and Special K, seeing real bodies is now an everyday thing and I think our mindset has shifted but we have got a long way to go.
Do you feel like you have helped make a difference?
I hope so. I get told every day about 700 times I have made a difference and I do hope so. I do believe in what we do. I think the ethos is great and I wouldn’t say I was an activist but I definitely am all about empowerment.
So do you think we will ever see a complete turnaround from the magazines where every inch of a woman’s body is scrutinised and criticised?
I hope so. In my lifetime I think it will happen - I have worked hard enough at it! I think people are now willing to support the cause. It was very, very new a few years ago. Now it isn’t, now it’s very ordinary. People talk it about now and I think if we can make a difference at the younger ages now, at the schools, I think we will see a knock on effect in maybe 20 years time.
I have come across a wave of bad press recently towards larger sized celebrities. When Beth Ditto first came on the scene everything was very positive about her but there now seem to be some people are saying that she is a bad role model for people and that we shouldn’t be praising or idolising celebrities that are a bit bigger.
I don’t er, er what f***ing s*** basically! OK all I can say is look at her peers. Compare Amy Winehouse, who I absolutely love, to Beth Ditto. Because Beth is bigger it doesn’t make her a worse role model. It’s just a ridiculous notion. At the end of the day, young people aspire to be people because of a million different reasons not just because of what they look like. If anything Beth Ditto is inspiring kids because she can turn round and say I am a big girl I may be overweight but she is clearly healthier than most of us and fitter because she gets on stage and f***ing dances a lot! I am seeing her tonight actually. She does of all that, but you know she is also out there of being proud of who she is as well. You know the cover of Love Magazine was absolutely phenomenal, and she pushes the fact that she is a real person with a real body and with an exceptional talent and she realises she doesn’t have to fit into the role to be recognised for her craft. I think she’s brilliant.
I think what they are suggesting is that bigger celebs are actually encouraging people to become bigger.
But you know what, the biggest criticism I get is that I encourage big women to eat more which is complete s***. If I was walking around with a big bowl of dunkin’ doughnuts I could understand that. I am telling people to look in the mirror, and it does, it really makes me angry.
It’s a small-minded mentality. People still don’t understand the concept that people might like themselves. You should like yourself for yourself not because a man’s magazine or because a man out there, you know, some big fat overweight guy in a big office wearing a horrible cheap grey suit is turning round and telling women what they should look like. I mean it is ridiculous. Women should feel, at this day and age, 2009, that they should be equal at work, equal in the home place and also equal when it comes to body issues as well and they shouldn’t have to be forced in a certain way.
Well said Gok!
