Her name is Melissa Viviane Jefferson. Have you ever heard of her? Me neither. The first time I was aware that she existed was last week when I saw a headline on a news website that said she had made an announcement that she was quitting Twitter. Apparently, several people on Twitter had posted cruel comments and memes about her size and weight.
Melissa Viviane Jefferson is known by her fans as “Lizzo.” She’s a 31-year-old American singer, songwriter, and rapper who is apparently popular among a large segment of young girls in America. Believe it to not, while Lizzo is unknown by most of us, she was named as TIME magazine’s 2019 Entertainer of the Year.
Last week, when I initially saw the news article about Lizzo, I ignored it. A few days later, another news story caught my attention. The headline of the article quoted Jillian Michaels, who is a celebrity personal trainer and a coach on the popular NBC weight loss show, The Biggest Loser. The article described how Michaels had sparked outrage on social media when statements of hers were interpreted as “body shaming” Lizzo.
Lizzo who is morbidly obese (more than 100 pounds overweight), is affectionately referred to by her fans as “Queen Lizzo.” She’s a strong advocate of gay rights and is unapologetic about her openly sexual behavior and beliefs. Her primary message to her fans is that they should love themselves, make peace with their bodies and with who they are, and regardless of the size of their bodies, they should embrace feelings of strength, worthiness, and beauty.
Michaels statement about Lizzo was made during an interview when she was asked what she thought about Lizzo complaining about abusive comments that had been made on Twitter. Michaels pointed out that it is Lizzo who intentionally draws attention to the size of her body.
Michaels then said, “Why are we celebrating her body? Why does it matter? Why aren’t we celebrating her music? … Because it isn’t going to be awesome if she gets diabetes… I’m just being honest, I love her music, my kid loves her music… but there’s never been a moment where I’m like, ‘And I’m so glad she’s overweight.’”
Within moments of the video of Michaels interview being posted, she was attacked on social media by members of the “body positivity movement” for body shaming Lizzo.
I’ll admit that I may be an old-fashioned fossil, but I don’t see anything wrong or shameful about a fitness trainer pointing out the obvious fact that it’s not healthy to promote a lifestyle that celebrates and promotes obesity.
Now don’t get me wrong about this. I don’t think it’s proper to publicly criticize someone for being overweight. But what if that overweight person is a celebrity who has millions of young followers who look up to her, and that celebrity, through her words and behavior, repeatedly telegraphs to her followers that it’s acceptable to be reckless about their bodies, what they eat, and their long-term health?
Can you explain to me what’s shameful about telling Lizzo’s fans that they should watch what they eat, exercise, and take care of their bodies, rather than allow themselves to consume whatever junk food they desire, with reckless abandon?
When did we get to the point in our society when telling the truth and warning our youth about the dangers of excessive consumption of the wrong foods is shameful?
I’m afraid that we have reached the point in our society where truth is made to be evil and evil is made to be truth.
I am reminded of Pilate’s response to Jesus after Jesus said, “[T]he reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.” Without missing a beat, Pilate responded, “What is truth?” John 18:37-38.
Pilate was well aware of the fact that truth was whatever he and the other men in charge of the government said it was.
Unfortunately, in societies where morality has been abandoned, “truth” is whatever the people in positions of power and influence say it is.
So when Queen Lizzo’s message to her followers is that they can be as reckless as they want with their bodies, as long as they love themselves and make peace with their bodies, by today’s standards, she is telling the truth, even though what she is saying contradicts proven medical evidence and science.
Queen Lizzo’s new truth about health and fitness is mild compared to the new truth that has been declared by our powerful media, public educational institutions, U.S. corporations, teachers’ unions, and our state and federal government. That “truth” is that at any time during a person’s life, the person can simply declare that he or she is now a member of the opposite sex, and everyone else must go along with the person’s newly declared choice of gender.
This new truth is not just confined to the United States, it has become a worldwide truth.
The 2020 Olympic Summer Games are scheduled to begin in Tokyo this year on July 24th, and will end on August 9th. With only six months to go before the Summer Olympics begin, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is having trouble deciding whether strict guidelines for transgender athletes will be implemented before the games begin.
Under current guidelines that were issued by the IOC in November 2015, athletes who have transitioned from male to female are allowed to compete in the woman’s category. Now, five years later, the IOC is not so sure about whether this particular guideline should be in place.
The fact that this is a controversial issue that the IOC is unable to resolve is insane. Has everyone in a position of leadership and authority gone crazy?
I can assure you that even those who know what the right thing to do is are afraid that they will be shamed for speaking out about what the real truth is about men who have “transitioned” from male to female.
Are you ready for the real truth? Those men are mentally ill. This truth was actually well-established and set forth in the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, but in 2012, the American Psychiatric Association changed the truth by declaring that a transgender person is not mentally ill.
It’s as though the 2000-year-old moral structure that our society was built upon has been broken into a million pieces that can never be put back together again. Have we reached the point of no return? It appears that we may be close, considering the fact that our children and grandchildren are currently being taught that immorality, debauchery, and licentiousness is an acceptable and honorable form of behavior, as long as the people who behave that way love themselves and make peace with their own consciences.
Lord have mercy on us.
2 Comments
We live in a shameful thinking world. It is difficult to avoid judging, whether in our minds or verbally. I am sorry that people are judged
for their looks. Each person has talents and should not have others judge them one way or the other. Thank you for writing about these judgments that are hurtful to the individual. With loving prayers and love for you and your family.
If men are allowed to compete as women, women athletes will suffer the worst discrimation by this unfair competition. Healthy living should be encouraged as we can all do better. We need to have humility and a touch of humor, such as St. Francis referring to his body as “brother ass.” Social media can be wicked though with taunts over how others look. When someone feels shamed for their looks, it is painful, especially to someone who has greater difficulty fighting their weight. We do better honoring the good, and perhaps passing on comments which may be misconstrued.