Photo credit: Entertainment Weekly
Even if you didn't watch the Super Bowl last night, it would be hard not to see or hear all about the half-time show featuring the talented JLo and Shakira. As a fellow Latina woman who grew up at a time when being Latina was not something anyone talked about in my suburban, predominately white neighborhood, seeing these women at the top of the game was thrilling and inspiring for me!
Moving on...
As expected, there is lots of talk about how "good" their bodies look, their age and their costumes. For a fresh perspective, I want to shift the narrative and talk about this instead.
⭐JLo and Shakira are two midlife women who are living out their dreams proving that midlife women don't need to blend into the background just because they reach a certain age. This is inspiring to young girls and women (and non-binary folks too) of all ages to see.
⭐They are both gifted performers who are sharing their gifts with the world reminding us that it's never too late to dream or to see our dreams come true.
⭐It’s refreshing to see women who work hard and get ahead in this world, especially in a male dominated field like the music industry. Again, reflecting back to us that hard work and dedication can be rewarded to any of us.
⭐Women of any age are allowed to wear whatever they please. I love that both women wore provocative clothing that many wouldn’t dare wear at their age bucking the idea that only certain types of clothing are permissible for older women to wear.
⭐While it appears that they are in excellent physical condition (cardio), we’ve no idea what they’ve had to endure to remain “smaller” and "fitter". Let's not forget that Beyonce had confessed adhering to an extremely restrictive and disordered diet when she was preparing for her Coachella concert in 2019. Just because our culture normalizes disordered eating, that doesn't make it normal!
What diet culture tells us...
Diet culture would like us to believe that woman at any age can be thin and have a shape like JLo or Shakira if they just tried hard enough. This simply isn't true. Research indicates that weight is very complicated and many factors influence a person's weight, shape and size. Even if it were true, it often comes at a high emotional and physical cost.
Many diet culture victims preach that these women look amazing "for their age" and that we should all aspire to look like that. I'm not surprised so many feel this way because diet culture is pervasive and omnipresent. And, of course, many do wish to look this way because it would be much easier considering our culture puts so much value on thinner, smaller, fitter bodies.
The truth is...
As radical diet culture dropouts, we know that (or are re-learning) that all bodies are worthy at any age, weight, shape and ability level. We don’t have to feel badly that we don’t look like, dance like or dress like these women.
We’re learning that there is more to a woman’s beauty than just her outsides. So, give yourself permission to wear what's comfortable on your body and what makes you feel confident and strong!
We are of value simply because we were created. The true value of a woman (or any other human) is and never will be defined by her appearance, her talents or anything else.
Do not allow any of this to derail your recovery.
Join the discussion in the No-Diet Sisterhood on Facebook.