During Sunday's MTV Movie Awards, the cast of the upcoming movie The Other Woman presented the award for Best Male Performance. Leslie Mann, Kate Upton, Nicki Minaj, and Cameron Diaz took the stage and there was a clear divide between the group, at least when it comes to their shapes. Mann and Diaz fit the mold that is popular in Hollywood — extremely thin with barely any curves. Minaj and Upton, however, have much fuller figures with curves that many movie fans can identify with. But one of them would rather fit in with the other former group, as Upton said that she envies Diaz's body.
Really, Kate? Upton is hardly a spokesperson for body acceptance, but she's still an important presence in a primarily thin industry. Yes, she also has a small waistline, but not a six-pick; she has slender legs, but not a thigh gap. Then there are her boobs, the boobs that when shown overflowing from a bikini top on her very first Sports Illustrated cover helped propel her to instant fame. In previous interviews, Upton showed pride towards her naturally large breasts, and it was nice to see a model embracing her curves.
Then she undid it all in one interview. Talking to The Sun, Upton started by completely reversing her stance on her boobs, saying that she wished they were smaller, before shattering any reputation she once had as a champion of fuller-figured women. When asked what kind of body she'd rather have, Upton said, "In my eyes, Cameron Diaz has the perfect figure," revealing that, in reality, Upton's eyes are as upsettingly brainwashed as the rest of Hollywood's. Look at the body she's complaining about.
No woman should wish for someone's else body, no matter what they look like. Yes, being confident and comfortable in your body can be extremely difficult, but Upton's is actually what gave her a successful career. It's constantly praised and that is actually a good thing, because it is voluptuous, curvy, and different from the rail-thin perpetuated ideal. If even Upton, a woman who's entire career is built around people liking her body, is not happy with herself, who can be? When another woman hears that Upton doesn't like her swimsuit-model body, how will she feel about her own?
It's hard to imagine a world where women can actually accept themselves when even those with the most idolized bodies can't, and even harder to picture one where stick-thin is not the ideal when adulated swimsuit models still want to be thinner.
With just a few quotes, Upton went from someone women applauded for strutting a fuller figure to just another part of the dangerously negative atmosphere that surrounds body image today.
