Shonda Rhimes has lost more than 100 pounds during the last few years and, while it's definitely nice to have your hard work appreciated, the television queen doesn't really appreciate the fact that she was shown a lot more respect and humanity only after the weight was gone.
In the latest edition of her Shondaland newsletter, the Scandal and Grey's Anatomy showrunner talks openly about how her purely physical change sparked a sudden increase in attention from everyone around her. "Women I barely knew gushed. And I mean GUSHED. Like I was holding-a-new-baby-gushed. Only there was no new baby. It was just me. In a dress. With makeup on and my hair all did, yes. But ... still the same me," the 47-year-old wrote, per EW. "And men? They spoke to me. THEY SPOKE TO ME. Like stood still and had long conversations with me about things. It was disconcerting."
But even more disconcerting, according to Rhimes, "was that all these people suddenly felt completely comfortable talking to me about my body. Telling me I looked 'pretty' or that they were 'proud of me' or that 'wow, you are so hot now' or 'you look amazing!'" She added, "After I lost weight, I discovered that people found me valuable. Worthy of conversation. A person one could look at. A person one could compliment. A person one could admire. You heard me. I discovered that NOW people saw me as a PERSON. What the hell did they see me as before? How invisible was I to them then? How hard did they work to avoid me? What words did they use to describe me? What value did they put on my presence at a party, a lunch, a discussion?"
She realized, "When I was fat, I wasn't a PERSON to these people. Like I had been an Invisible Woman who suddenly materialized in front of them. Poof! There I am. Thin and ready for a chat." But, Rhimes wrote, "Being thinner doesn't make you a different person. It just makes you thinner."
Unfortunately, Rhimes is right: Sizeism is still alive and well. Another successful woman, Gabourey Sidibe, recently spoke out about the same topic. "Since I've been losing weight over the past year, people have been saying, 'Congratulations on your weight loss!'" Sidibe told Refinery29. "It just annoys me, because I'm just like, don't congratulate me on that. If you're going to congratulate me on my weight loss, also congratulate me every time I pee. Congratulate me every time I'm burping." She continued, "My body actually has nothing to do with you. I don't really need your support for it. It seems ill-placed."
