Response Blog #2-The New J Hud

In a recent post about the flack Jennifer Hudson has received about her new slimmer physique, Miss Major Substance writes about how unfair it is that one should be criticized for losing a healthy amount of weight. I completely agree with her. The music and entertainment industry is full of these double standards. I too, was shocked by Hudson's new body when she came out to present an award on the Oscars. However, I would hardly say she looks emaciated. I thought she looked healthy and, as always, beautiful.  Why do we do this to women in the industry? When I was pursuing a singing career, I obsessed about my weight, worrying that that could be the determining factor that kept me from making it big. Jennifer Hudson says she lost weight purely for health reasons, but let's face it, the phones have probably not been ringing lately and she needs to appeal to the largest possible audience. And guess what: I think that's OK. It's just good business sense. Blame society. Even Lady Gaga, who sings about being proud of who you are and who goes out of her way to be as non-conformist as possible, has spoken about restricting her food intake in order to be thin. It is a sad and seemingly unchangeable fact that stars with mass appeal have to be within a certain weight threshold. Why does someone who was probably not at a healthy weight get criticized for not only becoming healthy but also possibly opening up her music to a new audience?