Tyra Banks Drops 30 Pounds, Sends Mixed Messages To Young Fans
Posted by: Wendy Atterberry
Filed in:
celebs
10:30AM, Tuesday October 13th 2009
When I watched our own Kiki T. on “Tyra” yesterday I noticed something quite different from the last time I watched the show nearly year ago: Tyra was one skinny bitch! Huh, I thought, When did that happen? Didn’t she famously tell everyone to kiss her fat ass not too long ago? I thought she said she liked being curvy. This morning, new photos of the 5’10” Tyra flaunting her new size-8 figure on a shoot around New York City have hit newspapers and blogs. Joining the ranks of Jessica Simpson, Jennifer Love Hewitt, and countless other female celebs who publicly claim to love their fuller figures only to then drop a bunch of weight, Tyra has recently lost 30 lbs. and is excited to show off her smaller frame. She especially likes showing it off nekkid: “I might be doing a little TMI — I always feel great when I don’t have clothes on.”
So, was Tyra lying two years ago when unflattering photos of her in a swimsuit hit the press and she said on public TV that she was liked the way she looked with a little extra weight? “When I told the world to kiss my fat ass, I remained that size for two years. I maintained it with my ice cream and my salad with ranch and dressing and croutons and bacon bits.” Oh, I get it. Maybe she didn’t actually like her extra curves, but she liked the lifestyle that gave them to her. After years and years of professional modeling, maybe she was relishing the opportunity to actually eat. Naysayers be damned! Two years later and 30 pounds shed, it’s easy to see from Tyra’s new photos she’s feeling more confident than ever. Telling everyone to kiss her fat ass may have been empowering, but it’s clear that firming her ass has done even more for her self-esteem.
So, what kind of message is that sending to her fans ... and does Tyra even care? Back when she was still enjoying her ice cream, she defended herself against the naysayers in part by saying: “I get so much mail from young girls who say, ‘I look up to you, you’re not as skinny as everyone else, I think you’re beautiful,’ So when they say that my body is ‘ugly’ and ‘disgusting’, what does that make those girls feel like?’” Well, how does it make those same girls feel seeing Tyra validating the negativity by dropping the weight that made her “ugly” and “disgusting” in the first place?
Tyra’s made no secret about wanting to be the next Oprah. If she starts next season with the weight back on, I guess we’ll know she really means it.
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KatyInLasVegas
wrote on October 13 2009 @ 09:39 am: [report]
Yeah ‘cause being the next Oprah is just about weight fluctuations. WTF?
danila
wrote on October 13 2009 @ 09:41 am: [report]
I think we put too much pressure on celebrities. We give them way too much power over our children. These are human beings we’re talking about. They breathe the same air as everybody else. Who really cares if she gained weight/liked it…lose weight/liked it. She’s doing exactly what she wants to do. Example: One season you may like the way you look in a certain pair of jeans and the next season you may say “ughh, what was I thinking”.
danila
wrote on October 13 2009 @ 09:44 am: [report]
lol @ KatyInLasVegas.
PinkRanger
wrote on October 13 2009 @ 10:09 am: [report]
Segway back into modeling perhaps?
Nicaly
wrote on October 13 2009 @ 10:17 am: [report]
size 8? that’s a good healthy range size. That’s not really sending mixed signals because she’s still curvy and not a skinny stick model figure.
belligerentjane
wrote on October 13 2009 @ 11:08 am: [report]
I like skinny Tyra better than “fat ass” Tyra. There’s less of her
Frisky Noetic
wrote on October 13 2009 @ 01:35 pm: [report]
The last sentence of this article was uncalled for. Your stab at weight is sending ‘mixed messages’ to readers.
Otherwise I appreciated reading through it. I liked Tyra promoting the ability to be comfortable in our skin. We need that reminder! However, after the beach photos and dropping all that weight, it lead me to the conclusion that she wasn’t all that comfortable in her own skin after all. She bought back into the media hype of what girls and women should look like. Disappointing, really.
thickasawhaleomelette
wrote on October 13 2009 @ 01:43 pm: [report]
So, basically, it’s controversial for Tyra to be happy with her body no matter what? She’s still a curvy woman (and always will be, it’s a body type), and she’s still bigger than so many models. To me, the mixed message is that you have to stay however you are as a statement based on what others dictate; the idea that losing weight for yourself should be a message about what others should do with their own bodies. A healthy self-image is self-focused; the consistent message is to celebrate yourself as you are.
Frisky Noetic
wrote on October 13 2009 @ 02:09 pm: [report]
Feeling healthy and good psychologically and physically at any size is important. Yet we see people bashed for putting on and/or maintaining a few “extra” pounds (Tyra, Oprah, Jessica Simpson, Jennifer Love Hewitt, and so on). Then they drop it to what appears to be to gain the good graces of the tabloids again. I don’t think it is controversial or an issue that Tyra lost weight as much as it seemed to piggy back off of external media events; the very thing that challenges us to feel good, ‘as is’. Maybe I am wrong though, maybe it was coincidental but in this case, I have to wonder where it is stemming from. If you are 5’10 and weigh 160 lbs and decide that dropping 30 lbs is what you need to feel healthy on all fronts, outside of what other people think one way or another, then do it. If we don’t feel personally good, than do something about it. Just try to challenge the mind and body for self satisfaction regardless of what other people are doing. I agree, thickasawhaleomlette, lets celebrate as you are.
SterlingSilver36
wrote on October 13 2009 @ 04:33 pm: [report]
Tyra looks amazing. If she feels amazing thats even better. Point blank. As an 18 year old I’m often included in this group of “young women” who celebrities are role models for. I personally believe that regardless of her size, as long as she is confident and owning it, that is what matters and that is the best example one can set. Who CARES what size Tyra is? Confidence with one’s self > being an “underrepresented” size.
A size 14 woman might not be a role model to everyone, but a confident woman will always be a good role model.
She’s stunning. On a side note: I’m surprised she’s a size 8, I would have assumed a smaller size.
klmc
wrote on October 14 2009 @ 07:53 pm: [report]
I don’t think this is fair. The fact that we’re now giving her #&@$% for losing weight is absurd. As long as she looks healthy, then we should praise her. She’s shown young girls that it’s fine to be bigger, and now she’s showing them that it’s okay to get healthy, too. Good for her.
gmnoel7
wrote on October 14 2009 @ 09:31 pm: [report]
This article, as well as so many others out there, really piss me off. Why is the automatic assumption that when Tyra or JLH loose wait that they were lying about being happy with their weight before? Perhaps they were happy with their weight before but that doesnt mean they have to maintain that weight for the rest of their lives. They may feel like being curvy at one point and slimmer at another point. It does not make them fake or any less supportive of being curvy or thick. I am thin and I support curvy women. Im pretty sure I dont need to gain 30lbs to continue that support. Moral of my story: leave Tyra alone. She is a wonderful role model and an inspiration.
ChocoBoo
wrote on October 15 2009 @ 03:37 am: [report]
I read this once, skipped over to some other Frisky pieces, then read this again w/ all the comments underneath..
I mixed-up by the mix of ‘mixed-messages’> like KatyInLasVegas said> Oprah’s just about weight fluctuation?
Although I found Tyra’s ‘kiss my fat ass’ moment a bit overdone, now everyone hates her because she lost some weight. Note: some weight , not soo much that we can count her ribs, but just enough to wiggle into some size8 outfits @ 35. That now makes her a snob?
I’m a 34 yr. old size 9> I guess that makes me a ‘fat ass’ ‘snob’?
I’m confused> time for a sushi break!
jackofhearts
wrote on October 15 2009 @ 05:46 am: [report]
I think there’s a basic flaw in the argument that this writer puts forward. Tara was never morbidly obese, neither is she now morbidly underweight. To criticise/question her for changing shape is about as redundant as pointing out that she has had both long hair and short. I’m sure she enjoyed being soft and rounded, just as she is currently enjoying wearing clothes that accentuate her lithe physique. I’m with SterlingSilver36
The celebrity weight debate is a moribund area of journalism, which contributes to the ‘problem’ as much as it opens it up for debate.
Pookie
wrote on October 15 2009 @ 10:52 am: [report]
Why does her weight loss have to be due to criticism? Has it occured to anyone that it may haven been a health issue? I personally am happy with my size 14 figurem but have recently noticed a re-occuring knee pain. And have started to diet amd excersize to drop the excess weight to help reduce the knee pain.
Red_Lady
wrote on October 17 2009 @ 08:46 pm: [report]
Exactly, gmnoel7!! Losing weight doesn’t mean she wasn’t happy before! It is possible to be happy at a variety of different weights. And as many have already pointed out, being a size 8 does not really send mixed messages. If she somehow dropped to a 0, yeah, but 8 is completely normal.
lanceypantsy
wrote on October 18 2009 @ 11:27 pm: [report]
the girl can’t catch a break? everyone was mad when she was fat. now they are mad when she’s skinny. who really cares that she lost weight? is she not a person who has insecurities just like the rest of us. Also if she made herself healthier by exercising regularly and eating healthier foods, she then should be a bigger role model to girls. Teaching them to live a healthy lifestyle.