More on weight loss, weight gain

I posted on this topic earlier and got some very interesting responses. I am writing again about it because of a post by Katy, another blogger, where comparisons were drawn between Linda Evangelista and Victoria Beckham, more precisely about Evangelista's weight gain and Beckham's alleged eating disorder.
The gist of the post is that basically everyone should be free to put on weight if they so choose which is apparently what Evangelista has done -  perhaps temporarily? I could not agree more!
However, my point is that everyone should be also free to lose weight if they so choose, without any comments. Yes, I know, we are constantly bombarded by images of slim women and the idea that slim is beautiful is inculcated in us at a very young age and that may have negative consequences.
But we are also bombarded with lots of other messages whose impact is equally negative - smoking for a long time was depicted as glamorous, for example,  and drinking continues to be glorified. Here I would simply say that what we need to do is learn from a very young age to recognise that ads are manipulative. Once we realise that, we can be in control, we need to listen to our body and make our own choices in relation to what makes us feel happy. We need visual literacy and we need to be able to separate the wheat from the chaff. As Linda Evangelista said herself "It’s nonsense to say that perfect images of models in magazines are bad for women, because we know they’re not real – we look at them because we love to dream".

As for the statements made by Kate, whose posts I otherwise always enjoy reading, ie that to keep yourself in good shape you need a lot of money or the will of a gladiator, I would say you need neither. Some people like stuffing their faces with cakes, I for example dislike sugary things and you will not catch me eating candies. I exercise daily because I like the feel good factor, the buzz it gives me and I do not fill my stomach to bursting because I like being able to experience a tiny bit of hunger, it makes me clear headed and  makes my next meal much more satisfying.
I am not a super fan of Victoria Beckham but as she has been very slim for most of her adult life perhaps it is unfair to keep on comparing photos of her with those taken  when she was much younger and she was carrying puppy fat. She is quite petite (she used to wear only heels to make herself taller) so extra weight would show quite quickly on her frame and would make her look shorter than she is, whereas Linda Evangelista is 5'9 with very long legs, so she can carry any extra weight much more easily.
Why can we not accept that Victoria Beckham feels more comfortable with herself as a very slim woman? She may be following a diet but obviously it's not so  damaging or she would have died by now. I believe she also exercises regularly - she has had four children and her abs are toned! How can one say that the quality of her life must be pretty low because she does not eat cream cakes? I doubt it she is unhappy on account of not eating sugar.

It's ironic to contrast Victoria Beckham with Linda Evangelista. In an interview given some years ago  when she finally graced Vogue cover Victoria Beckham said she would have loved to look like Linda but no matter what, she couldn't, because you cannot lengthen your legs or add height  so she accepted herself as she was and decided to work on herself to feel comfortable with her own shape. She also claimed to have been blessed with good genes and that keeping slim was not an effort.
Damn, your shape is, when all is said and done, a lot to do with choice and also  accepting what your genes have handed you.  I  respect  personal choices concerning appearance, just as I respect the choice of someone deciding to go vegan - I am not,  but it does not mean I criticise vegans.
We are all different and we all like different things. We should be allowed to put on or lose weight without this becoming an issue. It is just a personal choice.

(All photos from a recent shoot for Karina Martemyanova and for Florentia Martines Cruces)