Actress Keira Knightley's nearly naked Allure cover -- and her interview inside the magazine -- are getting a lot of buzz this week. Not only is she showing off her ultra thin frame in just a Chanel jacket and Tom Ford tuxedo pants and talking about her small breasts (she uses the "T" word liberally to describe them), she's also addressing the anorexia rumors that have dogged her for ages.
Knightley, 27, is beautiful, famous, and talented -- and it seems like she has it all together at a relatively young age. Her figure is what most women would consider pretty close to perfect. But even the most gorgeous women can be left feeling vulnerable about their bodies.
Knightley acknowledges that her weight has been the subject of heavy scrutiny for a long time. People have called her anorexic because of her waif-like frame. It's speculation the star adamantly denies.
The anorexic stuff -- all of that -- it's always going to have an impact, so I think it did hit pretty hard. Because you go, 'Oh, maybe that's right!' I knew I wasn't anorexic, but maybe my body is somehow not right. Or my face is not right. Or the way I speak is not right.
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Who in Hollywood has not been accused of having an eating disorder? Let’s be honest -- celebrity culture imposes ridiculous body-type standards on today’s actresses. It seems that almost every female star fits one of three categories: pregnant because her tummy is a little bloated, anorexic because she is as thin as Hollywood demands, or obese because she is above a size 6.
Even if you are thin, criticism of your body can still affect your self-esteem. It's not just overweight women who are insecure about their size. Thin women are sometimes given just as hard a time. And body image issues are not really about size at all -- they are about perception. They're a state of mind.
Thin girls typically don’t get as much sympathy or attention because people expect that if you are naturally thin, you should be happy. As if being skinny is a privilege. But when you're called anorexic or told you need to eat more because of the slim figure you were born with, it's just as easy to feel bad about yourself as if you were ridiculed for being fat. Just ask Keira Knightley.
Do you think that girls who are too thin suffer the same self- esteem issues as those of us who are overweight?
Image via SuperScrat55/Flickr
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Comments 16
You should please no one but your self.
i've always been big. and now i have 4 kids and as soon as the doc gives me the ok im going to the gym. my youngest is 8 days old. but i have always had problems losing weight. i have tried all kinds of diets and workouts aand everything else i could think of. my husband loves me and my body. i feel ok in my own skin but i wouold still like to tone up a bit and get my muscle back. people call me fat all the time even my dad i just try not to let it bother me... too much any way.
I was really thin when I was young, often just around 100 lb., then about 105-110 by forty. I was lucky, I didn't have to diet (I am short, buy the way.) I did get the anorexic comments, but blew them off because I figured people were jealous. I am moving toward my sixth decade and am a good bit heavier in the other direction and now starting to hear comments from relatives about loosing weight. I think I'd rather hear the anorexic ones!