When Can Women Stop Trying to Look Perfect?

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If Carrie Fisher doesn’t like being judged on looks, she should quit acting
By Kyle Smith
December 30, 2015

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Carrie Fisher arrives at the world premiere of "Star Wars: The Force Awakens." Photo: Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP

Pity Carrie Fisher, who said she felt “pressured” to lose 35 pounds to reprise her role as Leia in “Star Wars: The Force Awakens.”

It’s shameful of Hollywood to have done that.

One pictures similarly gruesome headlines for other entertainers. Imagine a Scott Weiland story on his 65th birthday in 2032: “Weiland: Those Record Company Bastards Pressured Me To Give Up Drugs in 2000.” Or 2001 lung cancer victim George Harrison still being around to angrily promote the Beatles on Spotify this Christmas Eve: “Harrison: Paul McCartney Bullied Me Into Playing Guitar on ‘Maxwell’s Silver Hammer,’ Giving Up Smoking in 1969.”

Fisher told Good Housekeeping UK that — news flash — Disney didn’t love her weight when casting for “The Force Awakens” a couple of years ago.


(From left) Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill in “Star Wars” in 1977.Photo: AP Photo/20th Century-Fox Film Corporation

“They don’t want to hire all of me — only about three-quarters!” Fisher said. “Nothing changes, it’s an appearance-driven thing. I’m in a business where the only thing that matters is weight and appearance. That is so messed up. They might as well say get younger, because that’s how easy it is.”

Not really, because while it isn’t possible to get younger, it is possible (not to mention beneficial) to lose weight, which is exactly what Fisher did. What’s surprising about Fisher’s comments is the note of weary resignation about the importance of “appearance” in the movie biz.

No one would know the name Carrie Fisher if it weren’t for her ability to leverage her looks. George Lucas only cast her in the first place because she was young, slim and cute at the time. (She turned out to be a talented writer as well, but it’s an open question whether the second career would ever have gotten off the launch pad without the fuel provided by her first. Mostly she has written about what it’s like to be Carrie Fisher.)

This week Fisher had herself a Twittantrum when she noticed people were talking about whether she has “aged well” (she’s still only 59!) in the new movie. In a shaky-looking tweet posted at 2:26 a.m., she suggested her fans should “blow us,” meaning her body and her self.

Carrie Fisher @carrieffisher
Please stop debating about whether OR not EYE aged well. unfortunately it hurts all 3 of my feelings. My BODY hasnt aged as well as I have.Blow us.
12:26 AM - 29 Dec 2015 · Los Angeles, CA, United States

The source of her anger was fan discussion. “Please stop debating”? When has that ever worked? Fisher is a public figure. If she didn’t want the public to talk about her, she could have spent the last 40 years teaching kindergarten. As for whether it’s “messed up” for Hollywood to prefer pretty people to appear in its films, Fisher made millions off being pretty. Far from being bitter about this, she and other actresses who profited nicely from their looks should be grateful they had a turn at the top.

That’s more than average-looking people ever get. As for Disney’s “pressure” to lose weight, she should be even more grateful for being nudged to get healthy.

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‘Fat’ cards are being handed out on London’s Tube
BY Alexandra Gibbs
Tuesday, 1 Dec 2015
CNBC.com

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A group claiming to call itself 'Overweight Haters Ltd' has been handing out abusive cards to commuters on London's underground rail network, branding them as "fat" and "ugly."

National Health Service (NHS) worker, Kara Florish took to Twitter slamming the campaign group's "hateful" and "cowardly" tactics after being given a card on the London Underground.

The card went on, adding that Overweight Haters Ltd hated and resented "fat people", accusing them of "wasting NHS money" and adding "it's really not glandular, it's your gluttony."

kara Florish @kflorish
was handed this card on the underground. is hateful + cowardly +could potentially upset people struggling with confidence
Follow
Kara Florish @kflorish
@kflorish pic.twitter.com/gBIvj69WQ1
2:52 PM - 28 Nov 2015

Overweight Haters Ltd.
It's really not glandular, it's your gluttony ...
Our organisation hates and resents fat people. We object to the enormous amount of food resources you consume while half the world starves. We disapprove of your wasting NHS money to treat your selfish greed. And we do not understand why you fail to grasp that by eating less you will be better off, slimmer, happy and find a partner who is not a perverted chubby-lover, or even find a partner at all.
We also object that the beautiful pig is used as an insult. You are not a pig. You are a fat, ugly human.

The British Transport Police have announced that they are aware of the cards, and ask anyone who was handed one to call them.

"We have spoken to a number of people and, to date, have had two formal complaints and several anecdotal reports," the police said in a statement Tuesday.

One person reported on social media that he saw a woman in tears after a "young man" at Oxford Circus handed her a printed card saying "You're Fat".

People across the globe ran to the woman's defense, condemning the actions of Overweight Haters Ltd.

Kara Florish @kflorish
@kflorish pic.twitter.com/gBIvj69WQ1
AmandaHudg @dersalers
@kflorish I'm so sorry this happened to you. What absolutely cruel inhuman cowards. Love sent from Texas ❤
5:46 PM - 30 Nov 2015

Anna @TGAnnaWade
Overweight Haters Ltd are clearly very limited people...
8:42 AM - 30 Nov 2015 · Lambeth, London, United Kingdom

Kara Florish @kflorish
was handed this card on the underground. is hateful + cowardly +could potentially upset people struggling with confidence
Not Dressed As Lamb @notlamb
@kflorish I hope this brings a smile to your face. Be smug in the knowledge you're a kind and decent human being x pic.twitter.com/Jhv0HqSA3p
10:50 AM - 30 Nov 2015

Bigot Detesters Ltd
It's really not personal, it's your personality ...
Decent human beings dislike and resent bigots. We object to the enormous amount of positivity you extinguish while half the world is doing their best to find happiness. We disapprove of your wasting time and resources to feed your own low self-esteem. And we do not understand why you fail to grasp that by treating others with kindness you will be more popular, less stressed, nicer to be around and find a partner who is not a sadomasochist, or even find a partner at all.
We also object that the (sometimes cute) troll is used as an insult. You are not a troll. You are an insignificant, ugly human.

Emma Oulton @eggplantblog
If someone hands me an Overweight Haters Ltd card on the tube I'm gonna eat it
10:41 AM - 30 Nov 2015

Catherine Gee ✔ @catherinegee
I really really want to see someone hand over one of these Overweight Haters Ltd cards so I can take them to task on their spelling.
10:28 AM - 30 Nov 2015

Erin Cardiff ✔ @erincardiff
LIFE HACK: Given a fat-shaming card? Use it to spoon Nutella directly out of the jar. Hazelnut based spread > haters #OverweightHatersLtd
6:39 AM - 1 Dec 2015

Companies from all walks of life including personal care brand, Dove, and plus-size clothing designer, Navabi, have reached out on Twitter to show their support to those affected.

Kara Florish @kflorish
@kflorish pic.twitter.com/gBIvj69WQ1
Follow
Dove UK & Ireland ✔ @DoveUK
@kflorish We salute your bravery. #SpeakBeautiful.
12:23 PM - 30 Nov 2015

navabi @navabiFashion
If anyone can find this woman, we'd like to offer her a free outfit up to £500. Life is short. Be positive. https://twitter.com/thomasknox/status/6 ... 9824287744 …
7:18 AM - 30 Nov 2015

navabi @navabiFashion
If anyone can find this woman, we'd like to offer her a free outfit up to £500. Life is short. Be positive. https://twitter.com/thomasknox/status/6 ... 9824287744 …

navabi @navabiFashion
We're getting cards printed & going to Oxford Circus to give to people. Feel free to use & do the same if you like pic.twitter.com/IeU7eIuUzC
8:21 AM - 30 Nov 2015

Local government body responsible for the city's transport, Transport for London (TfL), has issued a statement about the matter, saying the anti-social behavior wouldn't be tolerated.

"All of our customers have the right to travel with confidence, and this sad and unpleasant form of anti-social behavior will not be tolerated," Steve Burton, director of enforcement and on-street operations at TfL, said in a statement emailed to CNBC.

—By CNBC's Alexandra Gibbs, follow her on Twitter @AlexGibbsy.

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Carrie Fisher's Comments on Appearance Are Even More Revolutionary Than You Think
by Sarah Seltzer
January 4, 2016

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Internet denizens got into our customary “go girl!” frenzy when Carrie Fisher took on critics of her appearance — initially aiming her virtual blaster at grousing fans and subsequently firing back at nasty New York Post writer Kyle Smith for sneering at her age. As these cycles tend to go, it was a rout. The masses cheered, deeming Fisher even more heroic than she was when Princess Leia singlehandedly strangled Jabba the Hutt. It seemed like yet another feel-good moment for pop-culture feminism, with Carrie Fisher as the latest “queen” who “owned” her “haters.”

Except what Fisher actually said went deeper than one might initially consider, even tweaking and undermining some of the accepted wisdom of today’s iteration of online feminism. She didn’t just say what many of her supporters said: “Stop hating — I’m a beautiful older women.” Instead, she basically said, “Screw beauty, it’s superficial anyway, and my other attributes matter way more than my appearance.”

How else to interpret her statements on Twitter? “Youth and beauty are not accomplishments.They’re the temporary happy by-products [sic] of time and/or DNA. Don’t hold your breath for either,” Fisher wrote. And: “My body hasn’t aged as well as I have. Blow us.” And finally, my favorite: “My body is my brain bag, it hauls me around to those places and in front of faces where there’s something to say or see.” This latter statement is a somewhat shocking thing to hear in our cultural moment of hallowed mind-body connectedness. Whatever our ideology, we are a culture that enthuses about workouts and cleanses, seeking purification through physical transformation.

In fact, at this particular moment in time, dismissing beauty as unimportant and tedious, as Fisher has done, is positively radical. Today, selfies are celebrated, excellent lipstick is deemed feminist as hell, and putting in effort to look good is in no way seen as incompatible with empowerment. Nor should it be; feminism’s current relationship with beauty is focused on exposing the time and labor behind constructed appearances, and smashing the standards that reinforce white, thin female bodies (which Fisher was famous for having) by showing other bodies and faces as equally beautiful.

Praising Michelle Obama’s arms, spotlighting the new group of transgender models, and celebrating plus-size Instagram stars and athletes’ tough builds are all ways to push back against dominant and painful beauty standards. It’s vital and important work. And by doing this work, contemporary feminist are also shaking up stereotypes that haunt feminism: bra-burning, dowdy women who “don’t take care of themselves” on one end and shallow, manipulative shopaholics on the other. Contemporary feminist thinkers from beauty bloggers to Amy Schumer have successfully pointed out that most women are constantly buffing and primping just to look acceptably “bare” to male eyes. “Look at Beyoncé!” we cry. The most beautiful woman in the world is strong and wise, too, and her line “I woke up like this” cleverly pokes fun at the idea that cover-girl-worthy beauty is naturally occurring.

But what Fisher is actually saying goes even further beyond that level of critique and explanation: she thinks “taking care of yourself” is overrated, boring, and secondary to the life of the mind and spirit. She has gone on the record complaining about how dull it is to talk about dieting and exercise, and actively made fun of the training regimen she was on for the new films. She didn’t buy in to the idea that, as Kyle Smith suggested, she should be grateful for her new body or her fitness regimen, preferring to lay it bare as a mandatory, frustrating aspect of her work. These quips, and that attitude, earned her derision. But they also reinforce one of the best aspects of Star Wars‘ female characters: Rey and Leia are remembered by female fans for their baggy, nondescript desert outfits as much as male fans salivate over that one stupid slave bikini.

Speaking of the legacy of that lamentable bikini, as a woman who found herself fashioned into a sex symbol for nerds in order to sell a movie, Fisher may have particular cause for her utter rejection of her former body and disdain for the culture that worshipped it. And as a white woman, she has the privilege of remaking herself in her own image, critics be damned. So keeping her unique circumstance in mind, I don’t wish to valorize Fisher (I’m sure the outspoken actress has said many stupid and possibly offensive things in her time) — or even take her words as universally applicable and a Lesson For All Women Everywhere.

But I do think hers are words that 2016 needs to hear. Because her set of comments is also a corrective to a disturbing trend that Jia Tolentino nailed in her year-end essay on feminism, writing: “There is a growing inseparability between female narcissism and feminist liberation and female identity full stop; there is an idea that women and women’s bodies have to be sacred, treated worshipfully or never mentioned, in order to be worthwhile.” In our efforts to course-correct the pernicious white male gaze, are we replacing it with a female gaze that, in its own way, emphasizes external appearance and glossy success over substance and ideas? At the very least, it’s a question worth asking.

I wish it were OK for young women who don’t care about appearance to acknowledge that our bodies are just our brain bags, and that what matters are the things that, as Fisher puts it, we “say and see.” Sure, some of us might want more adorned bags, or sleeker ones (no one’s coming for your lipstick or spinning class), or utterly pragmatic ones that simply take us from place to place. But at least none of us would accept it as a given that Oprah, the most powerful woman in the entertainment industry and culture at large, would mournfully endorse Weight Watchers with this upsetting statement: “Inside every overweight woman is a woman she knows she can be.”

As a fellow writer noted on Facebook, we should feel free to start with a premise that’s closer to Fisher’s: the person we want to be is already there, and our packaging is arbitrary window dressing for the inner character that matters. Carrie Fisher can’t be the only person who feels that way, so in this year of ascendant feminism, why is she so alone in expressing it?