A rock and a hard place

There's been a lot of news coverage on the Australian Miss Universe competition lately. That is, the winner didn't seem to get any coverage at all, at least world-wide, but the runner up, Stephanie Naumoska has even given an exclusive interview to Good Morning America yesterday.

This is because she is frightfully skinny, and her bony figure in a tiny red bikini has had the entire world flapping about anorexia and other eating disorders. She insists that she eats normally, that she is healthy and active, and that she cannot help being thin. She says: 'Some people are just naturally skinny... I think it is very unfair just to all the other girls out there who have the same body type as myself.'

I can relate to this, to people who continually criticize you for your bodysize. My problem, as people who know me can attest, is the other direction: regardless of what I try, I can never seem to get my weight down to an acceptable level, even though I do eat regularly and healthy. Even if I spend all my time moving and playing sports, and even if I'd eat too little for any person to live on, I'd still be overweight.

The problem is that no one ever believes you when you have a weight issue. I only have to walk into a supermarket to get the idea that there are people watching what I put in my basket. No matter who I talk to regarding food, or what I eat, I always have the feeling they don't believe me. So, I can commiserate with Stephanie for her ordeal.

And let's face it: who cares? If she is naturally skinny, let her be naturally skinny. If she's not, and she is actually starving herself, let her starve herself, it's her life. You can say she's a bad role model, but if there wasn't a Miss Universe competition in the first place, she wouldn't have been able to be a role model anyway?!?!? If she is anorexic, isn't it possible she has contracted that disease from watching beauty pageants anyway? Perhaps it's time to stop criticizing everyone on how they look and just be glad there's all kinds of people in the world.

But I must confess that I secretly had a chuckle that, after all the overweight publicity (heart disease, obesity, type-II diabetes and so on and so forth), the world finally seems to have a problem with the other end of the scale. Maybe they'll get off my back for a while!