Jools Oliver is thin and ridiculously slim after giving birth to her fifth baby just five weeks ago. Who does she think she is other than wife to celebrity chef Jamie Oliver? Why is Jools Oliver so intent on annoying women who haven't lost their post baby weight or any other weight in five years let alone five weeks? Jools Oliver please stop flaunting your absurd recovery just weeks after having a new baby. We really don't like it and, by the way, why aren't you bonding with your baby because anyone so obsessed with regaining their figure must surely be neglecting motherhood duties?
This is the reaction of women outraged with a recent image Jools Oliver posted on her Instagram account. Jools appears to have regained her pre-pregnancy body, a mere five weeks after giving birth, and this makes her a legitimate target to attack.
Thin shaming is okay because it's not like fat shaming, and the only thing worse than 'thin' is thin without visible muscle and shape. Strong is the new skinny so if you are skin and bone start eating chicken six times a day, washed down with protein shakes, and for goodness sake hit the gym and squat. We replaced does my bum look big in this with a new bottom line and rules demanding women have peachy butts, please keep up. Yes thin is the pariah of body shapes and I'm sorry but you are not a card carrying member of the sisterhood if you are a stick. We accept apples and pears but not runner beans, got it?
Why does body positive appear to apply to everyone but slim women? Campaigns like #BeReal a national movement made up of individuals, schools, businesses, charities and public bodies, #ThisGirlCan Sport England's drive to celebrate active women no matter how they look, and the latest All Woman Project created by two models, have put diversity on the agenda. This mostly female driven activism aims to empower women of all shapes and sizes. Each new body positive campaign carries a similar message women should not be judged, or their worth measured, based on appearance.
These campaigns have done much to challenge the constant pressure women face to be thinner, prettier and younger. The problem is 'thin' has become the enemy and something women must now deny, apologise, or justify.
Poor Jules felt driven to explain 'For God's sake, I still have heaps to lose as I said earlier. My t-shirt hides a lot!' That's okay then, everyone relax, thank goodness Jools is hiding fat under a baggy top. If only Jools would reveal her stretch marks too she might redeem herself with the mummy mafia.
The Women's Equality Party highlights this demonization of thin with the recent launch of the No Size Fits All campaign, to enforce a ban on models with a BMI less than 18.5. Whilst seen as an earnest attempt to halt the fashion and media industry promoting severely underweight women, the campaign fails to define an upper end of BMI or recognise the 'healthy' range between 18.5 and 24.9.
Slim women are often accused of being self-absorbed, obsessive, eating like a rabbit or in Jools' case not bonding with her child and failing to help other women. The implicit suggestion being fatter or at the very least not flaunting her thinness would be a major contribution to womankind everywhere.
Can we please stop this double standard? Attacking thin people and making assumptions is just as bad as attacking those overweight and referring to them as lazy, lacking in self-control or undisciplined. The reasons people are thin are as varied as those who are more generously proportioned.
As an expert in pre and post-natal health and fitness I help women rehabilitate their bodies after giving birth. Whilst Jools' body will take longer than five weeks to fully recover she was blessed with an uncomplicated birth. There is no reason why, with appropriate guidance on postnatal exercise and nutrition, Jools can't enjoy the benefits of feeling and looking her best. Jools' job is not to help other women but to help herself, along with looking after her new baby and juggling the demands of a big family.
Well done Jools I salute you!