My favorite quote currently is: “Everybody isn’t gonna love you. Most people don’t even love themselves.” Although I don’t know who said it, the message is 100 percent correct, and it’s something that I, a man battling weight issues, reminds myself of every single day. That’s why I might’ve been the happiest heterosexual brother on Earth when Prince Fielder decided to pose for the 2014 ESPN Body Issue. Amongst all those ripped, unique human specimens was a dude that looked exactly the same way I do when I take my clothes off. Our physique is damn near identical, right down to our skin tones and beards. But, I’m a dude who needs to pump myself up just to take my shirt off at the beach, while this dude just confidently strutted in front of a photographer to pose-up for an international magazine that would be seen by millions. And as much as he received the typical Twitter trolling and insults, he received a LOT of great comments, which I decided to live through vicariously.
Fast forward three months later and we find ourselves amidst a celebrity data hacking scandal that resulted in the leaking of nude pics of Jennifer Lawrence and Kate Upton online. But the hacker more celebrity photos to release and, to be honest, of all the names in the world, I would have NEVER guessed that Jill Scott would be next.
For some reason, I’ve always imagined Scott spending her free time concocting natural cocoa butter lotion recipes and reading her son Maya Angelou poems before bed, leaving her no time or desire to pose half-naked in front of her mirror. But, alas, even Jill from Philly is human and documenting her weight-loss journey — NOT sexting — was what inspired those nude photos. But regardless of her intentions (hell, ain’t nothing wrong with sending a lover a sexy picture or two — or 10), the absolutely perfect thing about Jill Scott’s nudes was, the same thing that made Prince Fielder’s photos amazing: The beautiful glorification of the typical body type.
Typical is NOT meant as an insult, but rather a statistical reality of the world we live in. Let’s be real for a second, when you look at the ESPN Body Issue, you are seeing elite athletes with absolutely insane bodies. When you look at the Kate Uptons of the world, you are seeing a body type that is NOT representative of the average woman. Many celebrities, athletes, models, and pop/R&B singers are NOT physically representative of who many of us truly are, which is why we easily propagate their sex appeal. But after we turn off “The Real Housewives” or the Victoria’s Secret fashion show, many of us stand in front of the mirror and see Prince Fielder’s gut or Jill Scott’s thigh-touch staring right back at us. That’s one of the main reasons I laugh when folks get on social media and participate in body-shaming or bullying with their corny-ass online friends, because they are all out here portraying themselves to be something they’re NOT. Y’all really gonna tell me that in a country battling an obesity epidemic that none of you understand what it’s like to be big, or are trying to work on yourselves? Miss me with that bullshit.
The PERFECT thing about Jill Scott’s half-naked picture is the fact that she’s NOT some airbrushed, fake-ass representation of what a human woman looks like — and she’s still beautiful as hell. Instead of clowning her, more women should be wondering what she did to lose 63 pounds in two years, while LOVING herself every step of the way. And more men should be open to seeing the gorgeous appeal of HOW she carries her weight, especially since there’s a high chance their woman will have extra meat on her bones one day, if she doesn’t already. To the people who insist on shaming Jill Scott, Prince Fielder, or any big person alive, it’s cool — because we know your hate is NOT about THEM, it’s about YOU.
LAB
Lincoln Anthony Blades blogs daily on his site ThisIsYourConscience.com, he’s an author of the book “You’re Not A Victim, You’re A Volunteer” and a weekly contributor for UPTOWN Magazine. He can be reached via Twitter @lincolnablades and on Facebook at This Is Your Conscience.